After watching the film tonight I decided to try and give the special features a go. The first couple sentences included, “The whole point of the film is to just scare people.” I’m sorry to say but your film failed.
After having an amazing discussion with fellow cinema lovers on extreme films, Wolf Creek came up as a new age exploitation film. I had bought this movie years ago and only watched it once, but through the discussion I wasn’t sure why. I decided to give it another go. Unfortunately – maybe it was because I wanted so much from it (or possibly my insane heartburn the first hour of the movie, possibly because of how lacking in entertainment it was), I just didn’t get into the film. I even turned out my lights, closed my blinds, and laid down in bed to set the mood, but no creepy ambiance helped this film. The trailer for Silent Hill was scarier then Wolf Creek, and that’s not saying much.
To say this film moves slowly is an understatement. The first 35 minutes is a snooze fest and the first exciting thing to happen is ruined by the trailer if you remember it during the film. (I used to word ‘exciting’ loosely here). Then it’s still another 30 minutes before any horror type scene is being shown. That right there proves it is in no way as exploitation film but rather another generic new age horror.
The movie starts by introducing the characters and building on their relationships with each other, but I challenge anybody to tell me anything remotely character building. You still don’t know anything about these three people other then where they’re from, what kind of shots they enjoy and who has a crush on who. None of these things come into play the second half of the film. (Which I’d like to add as a side note: I have the uncut 1 hour 44 minute version, I’d hate to see the hour version as I doubt it could be any better or worse.) I think the only reason there’s a crush and random kiss scene happening in the first hour is to justify the girl going back to save the guy and carry this movie out another 20 minutes. It felt more of an after thought then a plot point.
Some people have compared Wolf Creek to that of Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Last House on the Left. It hurts me to think they are in the same category. Horror movies of the present don’t hold a candle to horror of the past in my opinion. Today’s horror lacks something. It’s hard to describe, but the best way I can but it is the element of surprise and originality. We’ve seen the hitchhikers and tourists find a small hick town and get killed by a serial killer, it’s nothing new. We’ve seen juxtaposition of beautiful landscape to bloody murder. It’s all been done before, and Wolf Creek borrows many elements of the old to try and make a new. It even tries to pass it off as ‘based on a true story’ when in reality it only lends itself to an ‘inspired’ real life event.
This movie really did nothing for me which is very rare. I can’t write about how it has impacted me as I have done with other movies, all I can do is sit here with a puzzled look on my face wondering how anybody can honestly say this movie was as realistic and horrifying as they make it out to be. For the people who do however, please let me recommend some better horror/exploitation movies (I’ll try and keep then as new as possible) to you and you can get back to me.
Recommendations: The Decent, High Tension, Audition, Suicide Club, The Devils Rejects
Mick Taylor: I’m going to do something now they used to do in Vietnam. It’s called making a head on a stick.
