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The Aussie Chainsaw Massacre (without a chainsaw)
Seems like every movie these days is "based on a true story" or "inspired by true events." Well, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was inspired by the Crucifixion... There were some serial killings in Australia in the '90s that had some impact on Wolf Creek, but writer-director Greg McLean had already drafted the script before he heard of them; so he was inspired more by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which of course was inspired by true events. The first half of Wolf Creek is a spring break road movie that lays some ominous undertones and ultimately strands its three young protagonists in the middle of nowhere—and Nowhere, Australia is really remote—with a folksy old gentleman whose intentions may not be as noble as they seem. The second half is more typical slasher fare with a heroine doing everything (except looking in the basement because there is no basement) audiences since time immemorial have been shouting at horror heroines not to do. For all the time we spend with Liz (Cassandra Magrath), Kristy (Kestie Morassi) and Ben (Nathan Phillips) we don't get to know them very well. The women are British and doubt whether Ben, an Australian, really has a girlfriend in Sydney as he says. He seems like the kind of bloke who'd be yelling "Show us your tits!" the loudest at a beach party. But something seems to be developing—mostly off camera—between Ben and Liz, and Kristy is protective toward her friend; either she doesn't want her to be hurt or she wants her for herself. They party like it's 1999—because it is—and then they go off in a car Ben bought cheap, for a long ride. If you don't know what the movie's about—and if that's the case, why are you watching it?—you may think you're in for science-fiction when they sit around a campfire telling UFO stories, then go to Wolf Creek, "one of the biggest meteor craters on the planet," and find their car won't start. The opening titles inform us that 30,000 people go missing in Australia every year and 90 percent of them are found within a month, but "some are never seen again." Our heroes seem to be the only visitors to this major tourist attraction, so they're in trouble until Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) happens along with his truck and offers them a free tow and car repair. Is he the sweet old codger he seems to be or a one-man tourist trap? They'll find out when they wake up in the morning—IF they wake up. (The ads give it away in the Quentin Tarantino quote so why should I keep it a secret?) Wolf Creek is a frustrating but effective little thriller in the low-budget tradition of Open Water and the Saw movies. Its treatment of women is less than exemplary but that's par for the course. Steve Warren is a local actor and film reviewer. His reviews can also be seen weekly in the Sunday Paper. |
Wolf Creek
Directed by: Greg McLean 
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(2½ out of 4)