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Young, dumband headed for disaster
The film's tag line says it all: `The thrill is in the hunt'
By Manohla Dargis
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, NEW YORK
Friday, May 25, 2007, Page 17
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Retro-horror recipe, ready in 99 minutes: take three nitwits (who can't fix cars), place in a deserted wilderness, add a psycho killer, a few chases and top off with a generous dash of gore. Voila.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GROUP POWER
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The vogue for retro-horror, particularly the stripped-down shivers of 1970s slasher flicks, continues apace in this nasty little piece of work from Australia. Written and directed with an eye toward Hollywood by the enterprising Greg McLean, Wolf Creek explains why traveling in the Outback without a couple of guns and a man-eating Rottweiler is never a good idea, especially when — like the three nitwits at the center of this creepfest — you're young, nubile and don't know the first thing about fixing cars.
McLean, whose resume indicates an extensive background directing commercials and short films, has clearly watched his share of genre favorites. Using a mixture of old-school hokum and new-school hucksterism ("based on true events" flashes at the start of the film), he keeps his storytelling tight and the plot admirably pared down.
Three young party people (played by Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi and Nathan Phillips) break down far from civilization and phone lines, whereupon they are rescued by a bushman (a fantastically effective John Jarratt) with a peculiar glottal giggle. As the bushman tows their car through the spooky night fog, the three young people, all of whom are now wearing little invisible bull's-eyes in the middle of their foreheads, work themselves into a contagious frenzy: McLean has apparently watched his share of Val Lewton, the legendary B-movie producer (the original Cat People) who could raise shivers just by dimming the lights.
| Film Notes |
| Wolf Creek
Directed by: Greg McLean
Starring: John Jarratt (Mick Taylor), Cassandra Magrath (Liz Hunter), Kestie Morassi (Kristy Earl) and Nathan Phillips (Ben Mitchell)
Running time: 99 minutes
Taiwan Release: Today |
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Alas, McLean's commitment to contemporary genre expectations turns out to be unwavering and what follows these imaginative night tremors is just the usual butchery. Lest we forget, this is a film that comes with the tagline, "The thrill is in the hunt."
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