0.5/4  NOT SCARY
Fans of newer horror films such as "Saw" and "Hostel" will scream when they see this movie. That is, scream at how BAD it is. The media made this movie out to be another "Hostel" type, but it's not even close. Wolf Creek fails on every ... (read full)

2.5/4  Wolf Creek Quick Review
If you splice together The Blair Witch Project, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel and Crocodile Dundee you'll get Wolf Creek. The villain is creepy, the story is OK though not so original. Decent horror fare for late night viewing.

3/5 just one nagging and persistent question ?
  by B. Lafave (lakeland , fl)
why didn't the young ladies brain him (the baddy) when they had the chance and certainly would have in real life ? otherwise quite creepy and well made . the writer and/or director must have gotten off on either infuriating many of his more intelligent patrons or had a severe vapor lock . unforgivable . great villian (i guess a really sweet man in actuality) . otherwise very frightening filmaking . why ask why ? because you blew it bloke . now go nosh on a blummin' onion and mull that choice over with the missus and your joeys . better luck next time mate .

5/5 Highly recommended
  by vonMoltke (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Yes, that's true, not so gory, not so many teens being slaughtered, not funny at all (but I don't praise funny horror movies). So what?
On the other hand, good acting, good story seriously plotted, interesting grainy effect, and suspense, a lot of suspense, increasingly poured and wisely graded all along the story. It was at some point so unbearable, I was about to leave my seat (but I didn't, and I got some of the best scares I had from a horror movie in my life). And, since I pretend, from a good horror movie, suspense and scares, I would place it among the "perfect" horror movies of my collection, beside Halloween and a few more. I don't understand the poor rating up to now received, but I want to add my personal 5 stars.

5/5 Way too disturbing for the sissified viewer
  by C. Christopher Blackshere (stalking you from the shadows)
This 2005 Australian tale is one of the most horrifying films ever made.

So disturbing, many critics just can't hang. Roger Ebert gave this a rare 0 stars, stating how he desperately wanted to walk out.
Other whiny critics cry about the excessively brutal torture scenes aimed toward women.
Still others moan about the extended buildup of the story. They're used to horror movies showing ample nudity and some grotesque murders in the opening credits of the film.

Whatever, go watch a lame remake of a classic Japanese ghost story then. This is pretty close to perfect for the real horror fanatics.

Loosely inspired by the Backpack Murders in the 90's. We are shown actual footage of Wolfe Creek, the large crater caused by a meteorite crash. A trio of hikers explore this site, and upon returning their car will not start. Crikey!

Little do these tourists know, the real fear is about to begin. Mick, a brash but jovial Aussie bushman just happens to be strolling by, and he offers some help. With little options, the group accepts the tow back to his place. They wait by the campfire while he works on the car. But they make one more costly mistake--they shouldn't have drank the water...

The handheld camera gives a very raw feel to the sadistic torture scenes. There is plenty of blood and gore as the madman does his deeds. This film avoids nearly all stupid cliches of the genre to make for a truly unsettling experience. The acting is outstanding, plus it has one of the most alarming villains ever!

One interesting note, Mick's little lair appears to be at an abandoned mining site called NAVITALIM. Flip that around a bit and you have the real killer's name--Ivan Milat.

Ignore the bad reviews, this is one of the best horror films in the past 30 years, without a doubt.


4/5 ruthless predator . . .
  by trebe
Filmmaker Greg McLean's conceived the basic story for Wolf Creek several years before it came to the screen. His goal was to do a distinctly Australian horror thriller. Apparently, elements from a real case involving a serial killer who preyed on hikers, and other actual crimes, were later incorporated into the screenplay. While not strictly `based on actual events' as is stated at the beginning of the film, Wolf Creek is a chilling tale featuring a ruthless and sadistic predator, with a long history of murder and torture in the Australian outback.

The killer is a bushman named Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), and his latest victims are a trio of visitors to Wolf Creek National Park. Aussie Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips), is travelling with a couple of British tourists, dark haired Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and fair haired Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi). After spending the day hiking around the scenic meteor crater, the group find themselves alone and stranded, when their car fails to start. Spending the night in the car, they are awakened by the arrival of a tow truck. The driver Mick, seems friendly and willing to help, so they hitch up the car and tow it back to Mick's place, what appears to be some kind of mine somewhere deep in the boonies. After a little supper around the campfire, the tourists bed down for the night with no worries, while good old Mick gets down to working on repairing their vehicle . . . . .

. . . . . well unfortunately Mick is into brutality, rape, and torture, and for the three unlucky travelers, life will never be the same again. Much of the film from this point forward follows the actions of Liz and Kristy as they attempt to escape from a sadistic killer, who is an expert hunter, tracker, and marksman.

While there are some questionable plot developments that challenge logic, overall the story holds together pretty well, with a strong atmosphere of fear, urgency, and terror. And when Mick gets riled up, he's one mean and nasty guy. The grisly act of making a `head on a stick', is just a source of amusement for his twisted mind. Not to reveal specifics, but this is one nightmare that doesn't end well.

The DVD's special features include the `The Making of Wolf Creek' an excellent, extremely comprehensive documentary that covers most of the key aspects of the making of the film. The film also has a commentary track with McLean, actors Kestie Morassi, and Cassandra Magrath, and executive producer Matt Hearn. The commentary is informative, but being generally lighter in tone, at times it may seem somewhat inappropriate for the grim happenings on screen. Wolf Creek was shot in high definition video, with much of the footage shot with the camera hand held. The reasons for doing this were to give the film a `documentary' type look, capture high definition images, and also enable the film to be shot at a faster pace, and less expensively.

Wolf Creek is an impressive feature film debut for writer/director Greg McLean, who succeeds in his goal of bringing to the screen the chilling story of a sociopathic killer loose in the Australian outback. McLean would return to present another unique view of Australia in his next film, Rogue (2008), an exciting adventure featuring a giant killer crocodile. Hopefully bigger and better things are in store for this filmmaker.


5/5 AN EXCELLENT INDEPENDENT FILM 9.5 OUT OF 10
  by ACEMAN1 (Ripon, California)
Wolf Creek is a fantastic example of how you can do a lot with a little. This easily one of the best independent films I've ever seen and is easily one of the most terrific and well-executed horror films I've seen. While the film received mixed reviews from critics (Roger Ebert, you're a major ***hole) and moviegoers, if you give it a chance and you're not easily bored, Wolf Creek does impress.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Year: 1999. Three friends; Liz, Kristy, and Ben decide to go on a cross-country across Australia to go to Wolf Creek to see one of the world's biggest craters. When they get back to their station wagon, it won't start or even make noise. Just when they are about to spend the night there, a man named Mick just so happens to come along and offers them a tow to his place to fix their car. So the group goes along with the plan, but when they wake up the next morning they realize that are trapped with a vicious and dangerous serial killer in the middle of nowhere and try to find a way to escape. The problem is, like Mick said, you never know where he might pop up.
MUSIC: Music comes and goes at times, but it's still very good and provides for the tense atmosphere which this film does an excellent job of providing.
ACTION: This film starts off pretty slow, but when it gets going it doesn't stop. This film is very tense, very suspenseful, and is actually scary. This film does a great job of capturing the feeling of realism because this is fully capable of happening. The violence is pretty gruesome throughout the film as well. Thank God, a horror film that is actually scary.
ACTING: This area was generally good, but there were times in which the actors dropped the ball and they were cheesy. The dialogue was fairly believable, but it also ran into problems. It's pretty good overall and the actors make it seem real, that's the important thing.
OVERALL: If you're a person who is tired of the usual pointless crappy horror films, then Wolf Creek is a definite must-have. Wolf Creek is a fantastic independent horror film that is definitely worthy of a purchase. It's creepy, it's gruesome, and it feels realistic.
THE GOOD: The actors, the gore, the music, and the realism.
THE BAD: Moments of bad acting and dialogue, and it's slow in the beginning.