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Wolf Creek

**

Directed and written

by Greg McLean

Starring Cassandra Magrath,

Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips

and John Jarratt

Classification: 18A

A cross between Crocodile Dundee and Hannibal Lecter, the serial killer in the effectively disturbing Australian horror film Wolf Creek first appears as a saviour, a loner jack-of-all-trades who arrives on the scene just as three young travellers discover their car won't start. Stranded in the middle of the Outback at nightfall, they have no choice but to accept the stranger's offer to tow them to his "camp," an abandoned pit mine, and fix their car so they can get back on the road in the morning. Yeah right.

But first-time feature director and screenplay writer Greg McLean isn't in a rush to unleash the flick's violent visceral kicks. His minimalist cinematic approach to building suspense throughout the leisurely paced first act of the film keeps you engaged as the knot in your gut tightens.

From time to time, the filmmaker hints that something evil lies just around the corner -- although, of course, in the flat, almost barren Outback there are no corners, just the occasional creepy town and plenty of hidden craters, both natural and human made. You can run in any direction, but you can't hide because if you try you'll just be caught in the crosshairs.

The spectacular crater of Wolf Creek National Park is where our three young travellers are headed. But first we spend some travel time with British friends Liz (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy (Kestie Morassi) and their urban Aussie "tour guide" Ben (Nathan Phillips) in a used station wagon, loaded up with camping gear.

Anyone who has ever taken a road trip through the Australian Outback -- or any sparsely populated badlands -- will know how perfectly McLean captures that mixture of boredom and wonder, the companions taking turns at the wheel, staring out the window, chatting, joking and making up funny songs to pass the time.

But there are small signs, foreshadowing if you will, that this excursion will not end well: a lone dog suddenly barks violently at something we can't see just as the travellers are departing a trailer campsite; a menacing, dirty bunch of foul-mouthed creeps taunt Ben and make not-too-subtle sexual remarks to the women when they stop at a rundown outpost to buy gas. Whew, you think, good thing they got out of there.

After non-stop sunny days, the sky turns grey and begins to drizzle when the trio finally reaches Wolf Creek. McLean conveys the slowly evolving dynamic of the three friends mostly through visual clues, Ben and Cassandra stealing a few sweetly innocent kisses as they share a moment alone looking out over the crater.

But it's a downward spiral from then on. Ben's stories of alien abductions in the Outback look like they're about to come true when the panic-stricken travellers see a light approaching. So, when Mick (John Jarratt), a stereotypical, roughly mannered, Outback hunter-gatherer, steps out his truck they are relieved, if slightly uncomfortable with his plan.

McLean employs the horror genre's familiar pattern of tension followed by brief relief, the viewer always taking in the experience from the victims' perspective. After a drink of water, which we discover later is laced with some drug, the travellers fall asleep as Mick begins work on their car.

The next day Cassandra wakes up bound and gagged, presumably somewhere in the mine. Confused and terrified, she wriggles free and starts looking for her friends. She sees the car's engine parts on the ground and a bloody sleeping bag, then hears Kristy screaming.

From then on, the pace and the realistic violence are relentless, cringe-inducing and sometimes stomach-turning as each character tries to escape Mick, who seems almost supernatural in his ability to track and terrorize his victims. You want to close your eyes but can't -- a sure sign the horror is working.

Although McLean uses elements from real-life Australian serial-killer and Outback murder stories, Wolf Creek is an inventive spin on the formula. And while it's not exactly the kind of movie many will feel like catching during a holiday break, fans of the horror genre will appreciate the fresh take on a killer's hunt for fresh meat.