FrightFest Movie Haiku - Wolf Creek

www.wolfcreekmovie.com


Dir: Greg McLean


Cast: John Jarratt, Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi


They're stuck in outback

he won't really fix their car

tortures them instead


Wolf Creek is based on ‘true events’, but essentially it takes the statistics – a horrifying 30,000 people are reported missing in Australia every year – and then takes one or two specific murder cases to fashion this grisly ‘what if’ scenario. So we have two girls (Magrath and Morassi) and a guy (Phillips) stranded in the outback when bushman Mick (Jaratt) appears from out of nowhere to offer his help. We just know that Mick’s got other plans for the trio, it’s just a case of when, where and quite how badly is he going to torture them? The waiting is unbearable. For the first time all weekend I felt genuinely uncomfortable and on edge. The relief when the terror actually starts is short lived because really there is no relief whatsoever – Mick is a sick, twisted individual, as single-minded and unfeeling as Leatherface or any of the other best horror icons. Without a doubt Wolf Creek is horror in its purest form and the film is an undoubted triumph. With steady direction from McLean and edgy performances from the cast (including the great John Jaratt who relishes his role as Mick – just wait until you hear his Crocodile Dundee gag), this was the perfect – if unrelentingly grim - movie to close FrightFest with. A must-see film for all horror aficionados, I strongly urge you to visit Wolf Creek – just don’t forget to pack a spare pair of pants.

soulmining rating: *****