In
anticipation for the release of “Wolf Creek 2”, I decided to check out the
original film again to see if it still holds up. Even though this was either my fourth or
fifth viewing of the film, I had not seen it for about eight years and I am
happy to report, after all of this time, the film still works as well as it did
the first time I viewed it back in 2005.
For
those who may have never seen “Wolf Creek” before, here is a brief synopsis:
“Ben, a typical Australian bloke, along with his two British tourist friends,
Liz and Kristy, are on a road trip together to Cairns and along their journey
decide to stop and visit Wolf Creek, to see the giant meteor crater that it is
famous for. After returning from their
hike and picnic at the crater, the three friends come to find out that their
car has broken down in a bad way. In the
middle of nowhere and in the pitch black of night, the three realise they are
stuck there for the night, but suddenly relief comes in the form of a local
man, Mick Taylor, who happens to be passing by Wolf Creek. He examines the car and determines the cause
of its failings and explains to the friends that he has the parts and tools
back at his place to fix the problem.
Everyone agrees this is the best idea to quickly restart their journey,
but their acceptance proves to be the biggest mistake of their lives because
Mick Taylor isn't anything like the mild mannered and friendly Aussie he portrays
himself. Soon the friends find themselves
in a battle of survival against a deadly madman intent on seeing them dead.
As
I said above, “Wolf Creek” has aged very well and still succeeds in being a
very successful and scary horror film.
What really impressed me about the film was the way director Greg McLean
paced the film. This is a film that
builds slowly as we get to know and love our main characters and it is almost
an hour into the film before the horror starts to take place and Mick enters
the frame. During this first hour, we
witness Ben and the two girls having typical Aussie fun by going to parties,
swimming in the ocean and just having a good time while driving to their
destination. The chemistry between our
three characters (and actors) is so believable and it comes across as being
very real and in the moment. It never feels
like we are watching three people heading towards their doom, rather we are
with these guys while they are enjoying themselves. The handheld camerawork also gives the film a
feeling of immediacy and of what we are watching could be happening in that moment. Surprisingly for a horror film, “Wolf Creek”
is a very bright film, and a large portion of it is shot in daylight, including
some of the horror sequences and it all works brilliantly well.
The
performances from our doomed three are all excellent and as I have already
said, all are very natural. Nathan
Phillips, who plays Ben, is an actor I enjoy watching on screen because he has
an everyman kind-of presence and is incredibly charismatic. He feels like a real guy, not a character in
a film. What I love about his character
is that he isn’t a big macho guy who is going to save the day, instead when he
does get the chance to escape, he does just that without looking back to see if
his friends are ok. This rings very
true, because while I am sure everyone would like to think that they would go
back to help their friends or loved ones, in moments of intense terror such as
these, I wonder just how many would rather than look out for their own
skin. The actresses who play the two
British girls, Cassandra Magrath and KestieMorassi, are actually both
Australian, but both are competent in producing a British accent that is
convincing. Where these two girls excel
are in the scenes of intense terror, particularly Morassi who is a mess after
the torture she endures, as there is no doubt they are terrified for their
lives in these moments. Magrath(Liz) does
a great job at showing an inner strength, proving she is willing to fight for
her life and that of her friend, while Morassi(Kristie) is already clearly traumatised
by her ordeal to the point that she is like a different person; almost
childlike in her fear.
As
good as these actors are, there is no doubt that “Wolf Creek” belongs to John
Jarratt and his evil character of Mick Taylor.
Greg McLean has stated that his intentions with Mick was to create an
Australian Freddie Krueger-like character.
What he meant was that he wanted to create an iconic Australian villain
and he has clearly succeeded in his task.
The casting of Jarratt in the role of Mick Taylor was a stroke of genius
because it totally plays against the persona Jarratt has in real life. He is known as a true blue Aussie, but also
the nicest guy in the world, which is the way Mick comes across at the beginning
when he first meets our stranded characters.
When he reveals his true murderous colours, Jarratt is astounding in the
role and it is hard to believe that this man that Aussie’s know and love from
television had the ability to drudge up intense darkness from somewhere at the
depths of his soul. He is absolutely
terrifying in the role, but he also has fun as Mick Taylor while he plays with
his victims. He is constantly making fun
of them and playing with them in a blackly comic way but there are moments of
intense violence that shows his intense darkness like in the scene when he
headbutts Liz after she destroys his truck.
But hell, this is no doubt a demented man, who likes to do sick things
to his victims which are many so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when he kills
his victims in the most depraved ways ever.
While
it is a very violent film, I must admit I was surprised when re-watching “Wolf
Creek” because I remembered it being more violent than it really is. This is great achievement by McLean to be
able to give the impression the film is more violent than it really is (this is
something Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” excels at), and I think
it all comes down to the film’s tone and how seriously the horror scenes are
treated. There is never a wink at the
audience during “Wolf Creek”.
I
have mentioned that the film is a brightly lit film for the majority with
McLean using the sunlight and the vast landscape to his advantage. Never have the large open spaces of the
outback seemed so claustrophobic before as they do here. One thing that McLean obviously worked out
very early on was just how menacing Mick Taylor looked in silhouette, with his
large brimmed hat and solid body creating a terrifying figure. McLean reverts to the silhouette a number of
times and it always comes across as horrifying and the fact that most of the
film takes place in daylight helps this image considerably.
Overall,
Greg McLean’s 2005 film, “Wolf Creek” still holds up almost a decade
later. It is still incredibly terrifying
and bleak, but in the time since its release Mick Taylor has since become an
icon of Australian horror cinema. John
Jarratt excels in his murderous role bringing nuance and a devilish cackle to
his intense villain character. This is a
film that has a number of brilliant scenes in it but my favourite would have to
be the scene when Mick chases Kristy in his car, which is a scene that is both
funny and scary in equal measure. After
revisiting “Wolf Creek” I am now primed and ready for Mick Taylor’s return in
Greg McLean’s “Wolf Creek 2” (due in cinemas this week). Bring it on!
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