It serves up a platter of gratuitous gore that could feed an army of slasher-film lovers.
No, I did not care for this film. But I did find John Jarratt's performance as Mick, the kindly fellow who gives roadside assistance to the backpackers and then morphs into their killer, to be chillingly convincing and more complex than anything else in the film. He's certainly more interesting than any of the other characters. I also enjoyed the scenery, and wished that McLean had relied more on the frightening expansiveness of the Outback to convey a sense of vulnerability. We get a few shots of that—as, for example, when a distraught and bloody Kristy is shot against an endless deserted highway—but the potential for the land to serve as the killer's virtual accomplice is virtually ignored. Instead, we get gorgeous shots of pillowed, stratified sunsets and shots of white birds in flight filling the skies—nature photography. Though I enjoyed it, I also thought that the land had much more potential to become an integral part of the drama than the usual reliance on darkness.
At last count, the box-office tally was up to $17 million, so clearly there are people who want to see films like this. But when it comes to watching someone talking about cutting a woman's "tits" off, severing a spine with a Bowie knife, and lopping off fingers—even though the latter end up rolling like the fakest prank prosthetics—that's nothing I find artistic. Or interesting. Or compelling. Or any adjective we've come to associate with the best horror/suspense films.
Video: The video quality is decent, presented in 1.78:1 widescreen that's "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions.
Audio: The soundtrack is pretty robust—something you notice during the MTV phase of the film—with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and subtitles in English (closed captions) and Spanish. No complaints here. The bass is rich and full, and the treble isn't too tinny.
Extras: Pretty standard stuff here. There's a group commentary track featuring director McLean, producer Matt Hearn, and actors Magrath and Morassi that's fairly average and offers nowhere near as much insight or anecdotal information as one might hope for, and way too much polite backslapping. A "making of" documentary isn't bad, but again, it's pretty average. And a single deleted scene doesn't tell us anything more than we already know. Then again, if it did, it would probably be in the film. Rounding out the extras is the original theatrical trailer.
Bottom Line: I frankly don't understand how "Wolf Creek" earned a nomination for the Grand Prize at Sundance. It's predictable, it has a romantic plot that fizzles instead of sizzles, it has a plodding first half, and it serves up a platter of gratuitous gore that could feed an army of slasher-film lovers.
At last count, the box-office tally was up to $17 million, so clearly there are people who want to see films like this. But when it comes to watching someone talking about cutting a woman's "tits" off, severing a spine with a Bowie knife, and lopping off fingers—even though the latter end up rolling like the fakest prank prosthetics—that's nothing I find artistic. Or interesting. Or compelling. Or any adjective we've come to associate with the best horror/suspense films.
Video: The video quality is decent, presented in 1.78:1 widescreen that's "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions.
Audio: The soundtrack is pretty robust—something you notice during the MTV phase of the film—with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and subtitles in English (closed captions) and Spanish. No complaints here. The bass is rich and full, and the treble isn't too tinny.
Extras: Pretty standard stuff here. There's a group commentary track featuring director McLean, producer Matt Hearn, and actors Magrath and Morassi that's fairly average and offers nowhere near as much insight or anecdotal information as one might hope for, and way too much polite backslapping. A "making of" documentary isn't bad, but again, it's pretty average. And a single deleted scene doesn't tell us anything more than we already know. Then again, if it did, it would probably be in the film. Rounding out the extras is the original theatrical trailer.
Bottom Line: I frankly don't understand how "Wolf Creek" earned a nomination for the Grand Prize at Sundance. It's predictable, it has a romantic plot that fizzles instead of sizzles, it has a plodding first half, and it serves up a platter of gratuitous gore that could feed an army of slasher-film lovers.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]18512[/release]