Wolf Creek | Review

Merging fact with fiction makes indie horror show a pleasantly unpleasant X-Mas present.

Tourism. It’s an industry where locals benefit from foreigners, where travelers are sometimes made into victims from those who pray on them. This horror flick from the land downunder bases itself on that very principle. Wolf Creek borrows from the slasher subgenre of the 70’s and certainly evokes both in style, and in narrative with such classics as the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While Greg McLean’s directorial debut offers little in terms of innovation, this indie flick manages to offer generous amounts of chills derived from pure suspense – an item which is barely offered in today’s half-attempts in the blood and hatchet game.

Rule number one. If you’re going to do some traveling in the land of Dundee – make sure you don’t buy a used car. This half-second afterthought for used car salesmen of Australia says a lot about how the film really sends the chills up the spine. For one, the tale is based in part on true events and the road trip formula utilizes the best looking shots of an unforgiving outback. It sets itself up as a “this could happen to you” – which is what sets this film apart from the rest of the gore flicks that churn out almost on a one per weekend rate.

McLean initially builds this as a pay-no-mind trip among friends, this dead time in plot allows to build a rapport with the eventual victims and survivors. Mashing the notion of youthful exuberance with this cast of three no-names, McLean’s draft delivers a series of pray versus predator duels which are highlighted by the constant flux of twists in narrative. While the chase game has certainly been better delivered in other examples of the genre, it’s the gritty cinematography, the merciless landscape and an antagonist in actor John Jarratt as the boogeyman in the bush which really makes this a true digital creepshow.

What’s scary is not the visual strategy that addresses the torture sequences (these sequences exist to make the viewer cringe). The frightening part is that there is this sense of helplessness that reigns throughout – the multiple reversals, and the sense of victory is within sight keep the pacing of the film cranked-up to the maximum. Wolf Creek is either a film for those a little tired of the genre – or for those who are true fans and looking for something better. Let’s just cross out fingers that the film’s final resting spot (a great symbolic shot) doesn’t make producers sequel trigger happy.

Rating 3 stars