Wolf Creek

 3/4

Starring: Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips, John Jarratt

The version being reviewed is unrated.  For the record, the theatrical cut is rated R for Strong Gruesome Violence, and for Language

"Wolf Creek" is for hardcore horror fans only.  Those who are repelled by extreme violence or stomach-churning evil should not bother with this movie.  It is not for everyone as those with weaker constitutions will be repulsed or sickened by this movie.  In fact, Roger Ebert gave it a rare 0/4 rating, saying, among other things, that: "It is a film with one clear purpose: To establish the credentials of its director by showing his skill at depicting the brutal tracking, torture and mutilation of screaming young women."  He later went on call it a "sadistic celebration of pain and cruelty."  Other critics, such as James Berardinelli, praised it.

Although I don't agree with Roger (the film has more to offer than just violence), I can see what he means.  This movie is unrepentant.  It pushes the genre as far as it can go.  It hits you in the pit of your stomach and generates terror and dread in equal measure.  But as James pointed out, it's a horror movie, and that's what it's supposed to do.  By design, horror movies are supposed to push all kinds of buttons.  Perhaps it touched the same nerve in Roger that "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" did in me.

Storywise, "Wolf Creek" isn't what you'd call original.  Two Brits, Liz (Magarth) and Kristie (Morassi), and their Aussie friend Ben (Phillips), have decided to take a detour to the crater site at Wolf Creek on their way to a new city.  When they have finished their tour, their car won't start.  Luckily for them, a passing stranger by the name of Mick Taylor (Jarratt) comes along.  He offers them a tow and agrees to fix their car.  Out of options and believing that Mick is a dead ringer for Crocodile Dundee, they agree.  Big mistake.  Instead, they have found themselves in the lair of a madman.

What probably turned off Roger and other detractors of the film is the way it was made.  It lacks the cinematic language of traditional horror movies.  There are no traditional horror movie set pieces with escalating tension, false starts, and so on.  The three friends aren't traditional film "characters" but played as normal people.  And Mick Taylor is truly depraved.  Director Greg McLean has given his film an air of reality that lacks the unseen safety of normal horror cinema.  In look and feel, "Wolf Creek" isn't just another horror movie.

The film is so intense that what gets lost is that the four actors are really good.  McLean's screenplay doesn't do a lot to flesh out the ill-fated heroes, but they are talented enough to capture the little bits of behavior that make them seem like real people.  We identify with them and fear for them, and that's enough.  The true star is John Jarratt, who, believe it or not, was the host of a gardening show at the time he was cast.  What Jarratt accomplishes is as incredible as it is disturbing.  He gives us a sense of pure evil.  Mick Taylor is a violent sadist and Jarratt does nothing to humanize him once we see his true face.  It's a daring performance because it runs the risk of turning people off.

McLean shies away from the traditional "rules" of a horror movie.  This is a poker-faced horror movie in the sense that he does away with the safety net.  When someone screams, they're no scream queen.  They're overcome with pure terror and despair.  There are no real stunts or special effects.  There is a musical score, but it's minimal and unobtrusive.  He's also adept at sleight-of-hand, never letting us be sure of what will happen next.  Or who will survive.

I do have some criticism of the film.  The writing in the first half of the film (Mick Taylor doesn't show up until a good 40 minutes in) is only adequate.  With stronger dialogue, we would have become more closely bonded to Liz, Kristie and Ben, giving the film even more power.  I also didn't like the ending.  It's rushed and unsatisfying.  Attempts to make it seem like it was based on a true story (its tied so loosely to real events that McLean shouldn't have bothered) are gimmicky and intrusive.

Again, I must stress that "Wolf Creek" is not for everyone.  It is very violent with true menace and dread.  But on those terms, it succeeds.  It is scary and intense, and the feelings it generates are difficult to shake.  Those feelings are not of misogyny and cruelty (McLean doesn't linger on the helplessness of his victims, who are, for the most part, smart and assertive), but of true horror.