I spent most of the weekend doing manual labor. As a reward, I dangled a few fil-ums in front of myself. One of them was Wolf Creek. Holy crap! I’m a huge fan of horror movies. It takes a fair amount to gross me out and even more to truly scare me. This one did both. In fact, I had to watch it in three sittings, because it creeped me out that badly. The creepiness started with the juxtaposition of the wild and gorgeous and completely unforgiving landscape with the “happy kids on holiday.” It was just three college students and the Australian Outback, where there’s nothing but sand and rock and sky and wildlife, as far as the eye can see. That isolation created a sense of disquiet that continued to build, unrelieved, throughout the film. I think the tension, as much as the actual “gore” scenes, was what made the film so frightening.
It was “based on a true story” in the same way that Fargo was. In other words, not so much. There are several murder cases that it is said to be based on, but none of them are a good match. I think linking it to actual events was nothing but creative marketing. It didn’t hurt that it was written, acted, and filmed in a hyper-realistic manner. There is a true crime feel to to the movie that adds to the uber-creep factor.
Basically, three college students go on a backpacking trek across Australia. They decide to buy a car and drive to Wolf(e) Creek Crater, which is in the middle of nowhere. While there, their car dies mysteriously. Just as mysteriously, a Crocodile Dundee-type stranger appears and offers to tow their car to his camp, where he says he can fix it for them. Having never seen a horror movie and therefore unaware that strangers are Very Bad News, they stupidly take him up on his offer. They drive and drive and drive and drive and drive until they reach his camp, at which point offers them drug-laced water and much awfulness ensues. I shall spare you the truly gory details.
I will say, though, that while it scared the hell out of me, I don’t see the point of some critics who thought the movie went overboard. It’s a horror film. It’s supposed to gross you out and/or scare the pee out of you. Yes, some of it is in really, really bad taste. Again, it’s a horror movie. It’s not supposed to be in good taste. Duh.
On a technical note, it was shot in hi-definition video. Wow! The nature/landscape sequences, including one of an eclipse, are stunning. The cinematographer has done a lot of documentary work, and his skills are put to good use here. The Outback is truly one of the stars of the movie.
red paper boat 