Wolf Creek DVD Review:

Driving through the Outback to get to Caines, Ben (Phillips), Liz (Magrath) and Kristy (Morassi) make a stop at Australia’s largest meteorite crater in Wolf Creek. When they return to their car they discover that it will not start. Faced with spending the night in the car, the trio are relieved when Mick turns up and offers to help them out of their predicament. Gratitude soon turns to fear when they discover that Mick (Jarratt) isn’t as helpful as he first seemed.

Teenagers led to the slaughter as they travel through the remotest areas of the country has been the plot of many a horror movie but can ‘Wolf Creek’ bring something new to the premise?

With the tag line ‘based on true events’ this, like many horror movies before it, try and add more to the fear when you think that this actually took place. The problem is that when you watch the film you realise that the filmmakers have taken a few liberties with this statement.

The remoteness of the Australian Outback is a location can be exploited as a horror setting. The barrenness and the feeling of isolation is enough to strike fear into anyone but when you add in a killer that preys on unexpected passers by you are moving into very familiar territory. The story for ‘Wolf Creek’ is very similar to many other slasher films that have gone before it and unfortunately the filmmakers do nothing to make it standout from the crowd. There is absolutely nothing new here and if it wasn’t for the Australian accents you could be back in remote deserts of America all over again.

The film also takes a very long time to get going. After over an hour’s worth of road movie clichés and character development that really doesn’t give you much of an insight into travelling companions, we finally meet Mick and the action finally starts. The character of Mick is very much the stereotypical Australian that most people who live outside of the country expect to meet in the Outback but then he turns very nasty. Actor John Jarrett plays the role with great aplomb and seems to be having fun in the role which makes the final third of the movie all that more watchable. Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi do there best as Ben, Liz and Kristy but the script and lack of real character development lets them down.

‘Wolf Creek’ does nothing to remove the notion that you have you seen this in a form or another before. While the final third of the movie does get the pulse racing slightly, the lack of real character development means that you are not invested enough in the characters to care what becomes of them. Still it does do enough to put you off driving through the Australian Outback.

Star Rating = * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the movie is presented well because of the fact it was produced using High Definition Digital technology.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Commentary from Greg McLean, Matt Hearn, Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi
The director, executive producer and two female stars come together to talk about the production of ‘Wolf Creek’. This is a fun and chatty commentary for a horror movie, with the four reminiscing about the low budget production that brought horror to the Australian Outback. They talk about the changes from the original idea to the story and what changed during the actual production and post production of the piece. This is a good and informative commentary from people that are clearly very invested in the film.

Trailer (1.40 mins)
Watch the theatrical trailer for the movie

Disc 2

The Making of Wolf Creek (49.43 mins)
Writer/director Greg McLean, executive producer Matt Hearn, producer David Lightfoot, director of photography Will Gibson, production designer Robert Webb, makeup FX supervisor Rick Connelly, editor Jason Ballantine and stars John Jarratt, Nathan Phillips, Kestie Morassi and Cassandra Magrath take you behind the scene of ‘Wolf Creek’. This documentary offers a fascinating insight into production of an extremely low budget movie. Over the course of a five-week shoot, we see how the film comes together, as the cast and crew reveal how they became involved with the project and what is was like working with first time director Greg McLean. The characters of Liz, Ben, Kristy and Mick Taylor are also cover as the actors and director talk about the evolution of the characters and sense of evil John Jarratt had to create for his role as Mick. This is an excellent documentary that reveals how inventive low budget filmmaking can be.

Deleted Scenes (5.58 mins)
Entitled ‘Nathan at the store- G’Day’, ‘Kestie in bed with Nathan’ and ‘Cass down the well’, these deleted scenes suffer from a lack of an introduction or commentary to explain why they were removed.

Teaser Trailer (1.00 mins)
View the preview of ‘Wolf Creek’

Meet Mick Taylor: An Interview with John Jarratt (20.56 mins)
The star of the show answers questions about his satanically evil character and regales you with stories from the set. He reveals how he became involved with the project and what drew him to the role. He also discusses his career to date and what it was like working with first time director Greg McLean. The actor also talks about what it was like to play someone so evil and what it was like watching his own performance on the screen.

Other Releases
View previews of ‘Switchblade Romance’ and ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’

Cry_Wolf Exclusive Clip (3.40 mins)
Watch a clip from the upcoming Optimum Pictures release, the low budget horror movie ‘Cry_Wolf’.

OVERALL

For a low budget film the DVD treatment of ‘Wolf Creek’ is extremely good. The documentary is first rate and offers a fascinating insight into low budget filmmaking. The commentary track is also very good and the interview with actor John Jarratt only adds to the value. Fans should be very pleased.



Jamie Kelwick