Wolf Creek: Unrated Version

There are some films that I could tell you exactly who I saw it with and whereabouts I was sitting and Wolf Creek is one of them. I remember going on either Monday or Tuesday after release with my brother and Kay Lancaster (hello if you're reading this!) and I sat about two thirds of the way back just to the right hand side. Some of these films are memorable because it was an occasion, such as when I saw Diary of the Dead on my birthday or The Exorcist at a midnight showing. Others are memorable because of what other people were doing, such as when I saw the Dawn of the Dead as I remember Ally, the woman I was with, spending half the film laid on her back with my scarf in front of her face! I can't remember what it was about Wolf Creek that makes a day so easy to recall, but it must have something to do with leaving the cinema and just thinking 'Wow, that was superb.'

The film is set in 1999 in Broome, Western Australia, and follows a couple of British tourists, Liz and Kristy who team up with, Ben, an Australian who is on holiday from his humdrum life in Sydney. Director Greg McLean is obviously striving for a degree of authenticity, with events in this film not unlike those that befell the British backpacking couple Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees in 2001. As such, the film begins with a series of captions which are designed to leave you in no doubt as to what will happen during the course of the film will not be pleasant and is based on truth. The four intertitles read: 'The following is based on actual events.' '30,000 people are reported missing in Australia every year.' '90% are found within a month.' 'Some are never seen again.'

After this rather downbeat opening, we are introduced to the three protagonists who are all fun loving people who want to get the most out of their holiday in WA and one of the things they want to see is the famous Wolf Creek Crater which was created hundreds of thousands of years ago when a meteorite hit the Earth. Taking the long and lonely drive to the crater, the sexual tension between the three is palpable and, whilst they are exploring the huge crater, Beth and Liz kiss. When the walk is over and they are ready to continue on, they return to their car only to find that it is completely dead and the engine won't even turn over.

After several hours and when the sun has set, a guy pulls up in his truck (slightly fortuitously for an area so out of the way) and, after introducing himself as Mick, offers to have a look at their car and, after declaring that it is basically knackered, he proposes to tow their vehicle back to his place so they can spend the night in relative warmth before he fixes the car in the morning. Following some light-hearted banter around the campfire, the mood suddenly darkens when there is a mention of Crocodile Dundee and how Mick reminds them of the famous Aussie bushman played so memorably by Paul Hogan. It transpires that Mick was only pretending to take offence at this and they have a reasonably fun evening before the three of them quite suddenly fall asleep.


Waking up some time later in different locations, it is clear that Mick is far from Crocodile Dundee as you can get as he has murderous intentions towards our trio, and not just of the quick and painless variety. Mick wants to make them suffer and clearly enjoys what he does and has had plenty of practice. What follows is a quite horrific ordeal in which both the characters and audience are put through the ringer as Mick goes to work on the three tourists and they, especially Liz, do all they can to escape but find that Mick is nothing if not resourceful.

I remember at the time that the timing was extremely interesting as the film was released in the UK whilst Bradley Murdoch was on trial in Australia for the murder of Peter Falconio and the abduction and rape of Joanne Lees. I recall there being a great deal of controversy about this as many in Australia didn't believe Lees' version of events and some believe she fabricated the whole story. Although this was in my mind going into a film in which some tourists are kidnapped, tortured and killed, I doubt the publicity harmed it in any way and, as the saying goes, "there's no such thing as bad publicity".


Watching the film, I had absolutely no idea that Cassandra Mcgrath, who plays Liz, is an Australian as her English accent is pitch perfect and Kestie Morassi and her have a terrific on-screen chemistry and their interactions with Ben, extremely well played by Nathan Phillips, is one of the reasons why the film works so well. The key, though, is John Jarratt who first burst onto the scene as a young man in Peter Weir's beautifully haunting and disturbing Picnic at Hanging Rock. Jarrett plays Mick with a real sense of menace and, even when he's just laughing and joking, there is a real sense of something dark under the surface that you know is not going to be pleasant when it emerges.

Although the critics weren't overly keen on Wolf Creek, I thought it was one of the best films of that year and one of the best horror films of the last 10 years. Watching it again now, my opinion hasn't changed and I still consider it to be a top genre flick and an extremely intense experience. It is great to see that Greg McLean has lived up to the promise he showed in this film with the superb crocodile movie Rogue.

The Disc

Extra Features
The commentary with Greg McLean, executive producer Matt Hearn and actors Cassandra Mcgrath and Kestie Morassi is an interesting and revealing affair which manages not to fall down the trap that so many commentaries do in which they all praise each other's work and are so busy talking about what a great shoot it was that they forget to say anything about what he was like to actually make the film. This is a very well organised commentary track in which they talk about the rather unseasonal weather that struck them as they had planned for a dry shoot as there had been no rainfall in the area for six years but mother nature chose that day to break the dry spell. They also talk about what it was like to work with John Jarratt, how tough it was for the grout to come to terms with an English accent and what it was like working on a small budget. They also comment on the difference between this, the Extended Version, and the theatrical cut.

Making Of featurettes tend to fall into two camps: those that are extremely short and tell you almost nothing about the process in which the film was made and those that are lengthy and are extremely comprehensive. This falls into the latter category, running at 50 minutes and going out with just about everything from conception to pre-production all the way through to post-production and reception. Greg McLean is clearly very happy to talk about his film and other members of the cast and crew appear to help out and give their two cents.

Additionally, there is a deleted scene which really didn't need to be included and the theatrical trailer.


The Picture
Shot on DV, the film looks extremely good on DVD and, as it wasn't shot on film, there is no print damage, scratches or other detritus. I'm always wary about digital as it can look absolutely stunning (as in Collateral) or absolutely terrible (as in Public Enemies and some other low budget films that I've seen) as it seems to have problems with high contrast light sources which leads to some lack of clarity and colour bleeding. Fortunately, Wolf Creek looks extremely good and it is quite clear that cinematographer Will Gibson really knew what he was doing and it obviously helped him to have a director from an art background. To see the benefits of having a background as an artist on the director, you need look no further than the films of Ridley Scott.

If I was being really picky, I would point out that some of the darker scenes like a little detail which would be the case if they were using film and some of the wider shots aren't quite as solid as they should be. Even so, this is an extremely colourful and highly detailed picture that can easily make the transfer to Blu-ray Disc, something I plan to remedy in the not too distant future.

The SFX make-up and prosthetic work is extremely well done and really adds to the sense of realism in the more intense and brutal scenes. Adding to these is the sterling work done by the art department who really created a place, in Mick's scrapyard, that is the stuff of which nightmares are made.


The Sound
You have the choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround or 2.0 stereo and, as the sound design and score play such a huge role in creating atmosphere and building tension, you should really go for the 5.1 if you have the equipment. It is a very well balanced and mixed track that makes the most out of the brutal scenes, really adding to the events on-screen and making them that much more effective.

Just to see how much of an impact Frank Tetaz' music and the sound effects have, watch the second of the film with the sound down or the commentary on and it is amazing how less horrific most of the scenes are. I always find this with 28 Days Later as, if you take the sound away, the scenes that make you squirm are quite easy to watch.


Final Thoughts
Wolf Creek was one of the best films of 2005 and remains one of the best horror films of the last 20 years. It fits neatly into the 'ordeal horror' subgenre as it is just as much an ordeal to watch as it is for the characters on whom the real terror is being inflicted. There is a strong masochistic element to watching horror films and it is films like Wolf Creek that make you both feel compelled to watch but desperate to turn away at the same time. John Jarratt's Mick should really be considered up there with some of the greatest horror icons as he is such a terrific character who is absolutely merciless and sadistic yet oddly charming at the same time.

I'm not sure that the extra five minutes are absolutely necessary, certainly the first extra scene in which we see that Kristy and Ben slept together prior to leaving for the trip is probably better left out but the other material, with extended scenes involving Mick and the tourists, especially the one in which you see how Liz loses the revolver and discovers something quite horrific in the process, are probably better in than out.

Overall, this is a magnificent horror movie with a very good commentary track and comprehensive Making of featurette. This, coupled with the remarkable AV quality and the sheer brilliance of Greg McLean's film makes it a 'must buy' for any horror fan.