Review of Wolf Creek (2005) by Adam R — 30 Jun 2010

A horror film that lacks bite, if you'll forgive the pun. Though it's well-made and well-acted all around, "Wolf Creek" falls prey to an unfortunate consequence almost all horror movies must bear: the victims/protagonists are rarely more interesting than the opponents they're facing.

This is true of "Creek": Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), named - perhaps - after the Rolling Stones' largely forgotten guitarist though he is, is menacing, ruthless, sadistic, and far more entertaining to watch than the three rather bland twenty-somethings he's facing. Because the heroes have substantially more screentime than their tormentor, this makes the majority of the film a bit boring. However, I must give director Greg MacLean credit for making the downtime before the savagings begin legitimately compelling, rather than just lifeless and dull.