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 ith
strong advance word from mainstream critics (including a nomination for the
Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes film festival) as well as the usual genre
sources, Australia's "Wolf Creek" is undoubtedly one of the most eagerly
anticipated and hyped horror events of the year. Thankfully, this is one of the
rare occasions when a film manages to live up to its billing, as "Wolf Creek" is
every bit the genuine article, being unbearably tense, vicious and cruel with a
sense of chilling, wild insanity that marks it as the closest anyone has come to
emulating the feel of the classic "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".
Writer-director
Greg McLean draws on a number of local real life incidents for the plot of "Wolf
Creek", including the bloody crimes of serial killer Ivan Milat, who preyed on
backpackers, and the mysterious disappearance of British traveller Peter
Falconio in the wastelands of the Australian outback. Instead of following the
facts of one particular case, McLean pulls together elements of several,
following the events which befall two young English backpacking girls and their
Australian friend after their car breaks down while visiting a meteor crater at
the titular location. Stranded hundreds of miles from nowhere, the trio are
relieved when they are rescued by the eccentric Mick (John Jaratt, "Dark Age"),
who offers to fix their car at his nearby campsite. Needless to say, things go
rapidly downhill, as the initially amiable mechanic and part time vermin killer
shows his darker side, pitching the travellers into a nightmare of madness and
pain.
In a way, it is
the sheer, horrible simplicity of "Wolf Creek" which gives it the power to
terrify. The story is pure, uncluttered, and horribly believable, gripping the
viewer and never allowing for one second any doubt that the horrors we are
witnessing could indeed happen to anyone. Although the film does eventually
stray into the lunatic fringe, unlike the vast majority of genre films, its
horrors do not befall its characters as a result of ridiculously bad judgement,
or wandering off alone to investigate strange noises, but rather in spite of
their best efforts to simply survive. There are a number of narrative twists as
the plot develops, several of which are unsettling and unexpected, though none
of which feel forced or out of place.
McLean adds
complexity to the characters by dropping in personal details and allowing
relationships to grow in a manner which, if not exactly subtle, pays off
perfectly as the film progresses. Through this, McLean manages to make the
audience not only sympathise with the characters, but to actually feel their
terror, blind panic and agonised despair. He exploits this last element
mercilessly during the latter stages, notching up the tension with an almost
sadistic glee and torturing the viewer along with the on screen victims. Though
the film does start somewhat slowly, building the atmosphere and gradually
allowing the feeling of menace to slide under the skin, McLean soon picks up the
pace, and once the horror begins, events proceed with a relentlessness that is
positively brutal.
Visually, "Wolf
Creek" is quite stunning, as McLean goes for a bleached out, sun baked look and
a sense of isolation which fits the mood. As have many Australian directors in
the past, McLean makes full use of the cinematic potential of the outback,
including plenty of wildlife footage, as well as some beautiful shots of
sunrise, and an excellent use of light and shadow. All these elements lend the
film an almost documentary type feel at times, which only serves to further the
realistic nature of its horrors.
"Wolf Creek" is
an intense, decidedly visceral experience, and sensitive viewers should be
warned that it contains a fair amount of wince-inducing torture and hateful
violence, especially towards the female characters. Even before the blood starts
to flow, McLean introduces the viewer to the perceived misogynism of outback
males, playing on this to discomforting effect and to draw a line between the
urban and rural characters in a fashion similar to the classic "The Hills Have
Eyes". McLean flinches away from none of the gory details, and the sheer, primal
evil of Jarratt's homicidal handyman makes him a singularly horrifying creation
whose casual sadism makes him one of the most fear-inducing figures of recent
years.
The overall result is a classic of modern horror, a film which strips away the
layers of empty commercialism which have afflicted the bulk of Hollywood genre
output, dispensing with the music video stylings and cheap scares that have been
slowly smothering the possibility of true cinematic terror. What's left is a
harrowing experience which attacks the viewer every bit as much as its doomed
characters with a single minded aggression that is simply impossible to ignore.
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