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Complete
isolation: Kestie Morassi, as Kristy, has nowhere
to hide and no one to save her.
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Highway
to hell
Wolf
Creek
Stars:
John Jarratt, Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath and Kestie
Morassi
Rating:
3/5
IF
YOU’RE driving long distance over Christmas to new postings,
you might want to save Wolf Creek for when you’re settled
in your new city.
It’s the story of three backpackers – two British
girls and a Sydney bloke – who buy an old bomb to drive
from WA to Cairns. You just know in the car-buying scenes
that something is going to go terribly wrong – and the
car might be to blame.
After a WA backpacker-style farewell, the trio start their
all-Aussie adventure. Their second stop is Emu Creek, the
last fuel station for a few hundred kilometres.
They run into some unusual locals who make them feel slightly
off.
The first tourist attraction they decide to visit – despite
the urban myths – is Wolfe Creek, an enormous crater
(the e in Wolfe was dropped for the film to make it more scary
sounding).
When their car won’t start after a bushwalk into the
crater and back, the three resign themselves to having to
spend the night in the car and scare each other with UFO abduction
tales.
Fortunately, Mick (Jarratt), a local, comes to their rescue
and offers to fix the car free of charge (alarm bells anyone?),
but they have to let him tow them back to his camp (lair)
a few hours away. After a bit of a chat and a tasty beverage
beside a camp fire at Mick’s, the trio settle down for
a kip while Mick fixes the car.
Things take an odd turn from there and let’s just say
the car’s not good to go the next morning, and the gang
don’t quite make it to Cairns.
Wolf Creek is adapted from the Ivan Milat backpacker murders
and the Peter Falconio disappearance in the Northern Territory.
It’s not given an R rating for nothing and if you’re
not used to graphic violence, steer clear.
It’s an excellent production, with lots of cunning techniques
to make it scarier and eerier. John Jarrat and Cassandra Magrath
were exceptional too, with Jarratt a little too convincing
as a serial killer (a long way from Better Homes and Gardens).
–
Lieutenant Simone Heyer
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