Wolf Creek

Directed by Greg McLean
Arclight Films
3 1/2 stars

“In Australia, 30,000 people are reported missing every year. 90% of them are found, some are never seen again” begins “Wolf Creek.” Can three teenagers simply be wiped off of the face of the Earth during a mundane road trip through the Outback?
Writer/director Greg McLean brings to the screen the “based on a true story” account of Sidney resident Ben (Nathan Phillips), and British tourists Liz (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy (Kestie Morassi). Although the camera work is certainly appealing and the plot gripping, the movie ultimately seems like an Australian version of “The Blair Witch Project.”
The movie kicks off with wild party footage like that of a teen comedy, but rapidly turns into an exhilarating thriller. The trio drives along endless dirt roads until they reach a small town, where they attempt to pick up gas and the girls are sexually threatened by a group of un-groomed locals. McLean successfully uses shaky camera footage and a series of UFO-related stories to create a genuinely foreboding atmosphere.
After their car fails to restart, the teens are towed by Mick (John Jarratt), an eccentric outbacker with a strange wit. Jarrat’s performance is clearly the strongest part of this movie, playing at first a friendly and appealing man and then promptly switching to the personification of evil.
As the action cuts to the three protagonists waking up in Mick’s junk-yard residence, bound as his prisoners, the movie becomes intensely dark. Strings of bullet shots, chases through the desert, exploding cars, and intense silences make the film a heart-stopping thriller more than a gross-out horror movie.
Additionally, McLean offers the American audience extraordinary footage of this vast and untamed area of Western Australia. Wolf Creek, a park at the top of a meteor crater, is one of the fantastic shots in the panoply of natural beauty the movie shows.
The acting of the trio of teenagers is certainly convincing, though nothing exceptional. Their roles—fun loving youngsters who get themselves in trouble—have been seen in everything from “Scream” to “Scooby Doo.” While McLean clearly deserves the praise he’s received for his directing (at the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival), his predictable screenplay leaves something to be desired. “Wolf Creek” won’t keep the viewer guessing the plot twists, but is a solidly entertaining two hours.