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(The ARCANUM feature is my attempt to present some of my older write-ups to newer Good and Most Beloved and Precious Readers)
I really dig WOLF CREEK and actually watch it pretty often, well, maybe some of it here and some of it there while I am getting ready or doing something or other and it’s on. I just re-read this and I think I actually, kind of, did a good write up so I won’t give this any more intro other than: I present it again here, remastered in HD (and spell checked) with some pictures that weren’t found on the original. I hope you enjoy!
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When this first came out on DVD however many years ago, it really blew my mind with it’s completely gory, actually-kind-of-frightening awesomeness involving three twenty somethings getting hunted, tortured and killed by an extremely R-Rated Crocodile Dundee (and yes they reference Dundee in the movie). There’s only four actors in here who get serious screen time and I thought they all did very well, especially the two ladies Cassandra Magrath and Kesti Morassi. Not only did the film look good (and so did they) but they really delivered and made me believe they were scared, hurt, terrified and trying to survive. The other two characters are also well done: John Jarratt is hilariously evil as the deranged tourist-murderer Mick Taylor and Nathan Phillips has some well acted screen time early, but spends most of the second half of the movie out of site, until the end.
I’ve probably seen this a dozen times but I gave it a revisit the other day and I was still fully engaged the entire time; further, I don’t know if it’s because I am getting older but I really felt bad for Magrath, Morassi and Phillip’s characters – maybe it’s just the way they portrayed them so well. If you were like me and went around waiting for “MOOOOOORE” from Greg Mclean (the director) we eventually got the so-so “Rogue” and then he dropped off the face of the earth. Well – if you’ve been paying attention, “Wolf Creek 2″ is in pre-production (supposedly) so we should be getting some more gruesome action from Mclean in the future.
If you’re not familiar with this – three attractive youths head out on vacation with part of their stop being the Wolf Creek crater (or we could use the MUCH more fun scientific term “astrobleme”). On their way there, out in remote Australia, they run across a bunch of nasties at a local gas station – which doesn’t really seem like it’s a necessary scene until much later on. Anyway, at the site, Magrath and Phillips make some moony eyes at each other, do some smooching and their friendship is turned into a romance – awww how sweet. Unfortunately for the three of them (Morassi included), their $1500 dollar car breaks down at the bottom of the – yes – astrobleme and they’re all fucked! (didn’t they ever hear “1000 Dollar Car” by The Bottle Rockets??) Luckily, help arrives in the form of bizarre and awesome Mick (Jarratt), a grunting, feral pig killer who can fix the auto but they’ll need to go back to the old, junk filled mining quarry he calls home. There, they drink some rain water out of jug and – shit – it’s drugged so they all pass out.
We then focus on Magrath’s character as she wakes up to find herself bound inside of some mobile office. Eventually she escapes and comes across Morassi, chained up, bloody and being tortured by Mick. Things really go downhill fast from here on out – down, down, way downhill and it’s pretty grizzly. Fingers, intestines, brains, bullets, knives and a head on a stick fill the last third of this movie. While it’s pretty tough to look it, it’s done very well – very, very well IMO and I even felt bad for what happened to Magrath and Morassi (and that poor old man). So, yes, totally recommended and encouraged.
