It was supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime in the Australian Outback - full of fun, sun and adventure. But what happened to a trio of twenty-something backpackers took a wrenching detour into the depths of unrelenting terror.
Release Date: December 25, 2005 Studio: Dimension Films (The Weinstein Co.) Director: Greg McLean
Screenwriter: Greg McLean Starring: John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Andy McPhee, Kestie Morassi, Guy Peterson, Nathan Phillips, Gordon Poole, Jenny Starwall, Aaron Sterns Genre: Adventure, Thriller MPAA Rating: R (for strong gruesome violence, and for language) Official Website: WolfCreekthemovie.com
Liz Hunter (CASSANDRA MAGRATH) and Kristy Earl (KESTIE MORASSI) are twenty-something British backpackers in Broome, Western Australia, on a road trip with their Australian friend, Ben Mitchell (NATHAN PHILLIPS). For them it’s a time to cut loose, reconnect, and rediscover life, friendship, perhaps newfound love, and the countryside’s astonishing visual beauty.
Their journey begins full of energy, jokes, and a little urban myth-swapping about UFO sightings. These playful tales told one evening at a camping spot by Ben rightly spook Liz and Kristy, however, the worry they experience pales in comparison to the impending terror which shreds their definition of fear shortly after reaching the ‘Wolf Creek’ National Park, a meteor impact site which is the attraction of many road-tripping tourists.
The trio spends a day at the site, its massive size a picture perfect setting for silence and rumination – a calm before the storm; the handsome Ben even finds it an opportune time to make his move on Liz, who is more than receptive to his kiss. Ready to leave at dusk, they find their watches stopped, a peculiarity compounded by the fact that their car is not working either. As they relinquish themselves to spending the night within the vehicle’s cramped confines, Liz spots some lights traveling toward them. The intimidating growl of an approaching truck dismisses the thought of a UFO encounter. Enter Mick Taylor (JOHN JARRATT), an affable brute of a man equipped with a warm grin, infectious laugh, and the means to tow the broken down vehicle back to his camp where he promises to get it up and running.
Back at his compound, Mick paints a bloody, vague portrait of his life as Liz, Kristy, and Ben settle in around a fire. Once a former vermin shooter, his position was considered archaic by his superiors. Their reason being the mounting use of poisons replacing the effectiveness of a well-placed bullet. Now he lives in solitude surrounded by the husks of corroding vehicles and mining equipment. With the hour growing late, Mick continues his work on the car as Liz, Kristy, and Ben doze off, unaware that the morning will give rise to a feral struggle for survival...
And the charming Mick Taylor persona they placed their confidence in is merely an unassuming shell for an unrelenting killer within.
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