Wolf Creek

[Jasen]

If you hadn't seen Wolf Creek, put it on your queue. (get the Unrated Version if possible) For me this was wild because I just played it without knowing anything about it.
Thought it was beautifully post card/artistically shot,( Will Gibson, the Director was a painter, prior to getting into films) as well as the timing /pacing was not like the normal horror films like today (might be hard for some people to sit threw without squirming around, so relax & turn off your cellphone for this one ). Also liked that it wasn't relying on the sound system for cheap scares. If you have a nice widescreen TV, this is a good one just for the outback shots alone.
This was like two types of films into one and not really a action film but there was a tiny few seconds of a section that made me want to see The Road Warrior again.

Also the Commentary has some good nuggets of info worth checking out.

[krisvahl]

Funnily enough, actor Jon Jarret the villian in this movie, used to host a Home and Garden show here in Australia. For me it was weird (yet strangely fitting) to see him in this role.

[Jasen]

Funnily enough, actor Jon Jarret the villian in this movie, used to host a Home and Garden show here in Australia. For me it was weird (yet strangely fitting) to see him in this role.

Yeah, Heard Jon Jarret was a comic on a Australian show, First time I saw him in anything (Wolf Creek) although Jon Jarret kept making me think of a macho older version of Harland Williams http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005558/

[HellboyOne]

Here's the old, funny thread about it:

http://www.drawingboard.org/viewtopic.php?t=39279

I saw this about a year ago and loved it.

[Jasen]

I knew some might have a hard time with the pace but that is what I found refreshing about it, that and it doesn't go along with the "horror rules" and it didn't steer you with music either. I was watching an older James Bond movie and was thinking today people need the movies to feel like as if someone sat on the Fast Forward button.
It wasn't until after viewing that I saw the high praise and quotes. When horror movies get too big for their britches with praise someone will come along & be more then happy to knock it down.
Blair Witch was like that.

[Elliotanimated]

I have major issues with this film
Here are some edited comments I made on my blog after seeing i.
Bear in mind that I am no prude - I just posted a drawing of a girl pooing on another girlt:

"Last night I watched a film called Wolf Creek - an Australian film that is supposed to be a horror movie.
It's full of good film making and it's shot beautifully and was a great success, but it's the most repulsive film I can think of.
I strongly believe that when you are creating images and you are commenting on something important then doing it in a violent visceral way can be entirely appropriate.
But the horror in this film is not the horror of blood and guts.
It's not the horror of the dark, or the unknown or monsters.
There's not even the thrill that I think is supposed to come from a horror movie.
It's the horror of torture and human suffering.
Now then - this film is about three kids who are picked up in outback Australia by a psychotic who then tortures them and does all sorts of dreadful things to them (I have no idea what happens in the end because we turned it off).
This is not a movie about civil war, or about white mans treatment of aborigines, or even a spy movie.
This is a film about torture and upset with no context beyond entertainment.
I'm sure the film makers think they are very clever - to be sure they play with some of the horror conventions but that hardly takes an expert.
And I'm sure they are pleased with the fact that they've made a film that has has such a strong reaction - you'd have to be pretty stoic to not be affected.
But again - that's all the film is about - a reaction.
And a reaction to not one single solitary important thing.
I felt sick afterwards and angry that talented people had made such repulsive stuff.
I watched it with 2 good friends and as mentioned we turned it off before the end.
And I am proud of us that we did.
We did not turn it off because we were so frightened that we couldn't cope anymore, we turned it off because we are good people who do not think the suffering of innocent people is something that should be trivialised in this way."

[drugmassacre]

Here's the old, funny thread about it:

http://www.drawingboard.org/viewtopic.php?t=39279

I saw this about a year ago and loved it.

oddly enough i was the last person to contribute to that thread and seemed somehwat knowledgeable of it at the time....and for the life of me now I could swear that I have never even heard of wolf creek and no nothing about

I also regret talking about enjoying the Saw films because I've been bashing the shit out of them lately

[Elliotanimated]

I regret everything you say.

[Jasen]

I don't know about it being trivialized, many people probably get into this situation every year, getting into a strangers car or cornered into situations just like the actors in this film. For example if your car was stalled on the side of the road and someone pulled up "looking" like a knife murdering psychopath you probably not get anywhere near that person to start.
This movie had a nice villain, a typical crocodile Dundee/Steve Erwin type that most Americans think of as the way we'd probably like to see Australians. I took this movie in a round about way of, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" type of thing.

My own sister was almost abducted when she was eight years old. but lucky for her the man yelled at the top of his lungs, "GET IN THE CAR NOW!" and when she and her little friend took off running... the guy pealed & left too.
She is about 35 years old now and I asked her again about that day, and she told us that, the reason they ran immediately is because the guy was mean & yelling.

[CameronStewart]

I haven't seen Wolf Creek and don't intend to, based on many many reviews, both pro and from friends, that echo what Elliot said above. The general consensus is that it's a very slick, well-produced piece of exploitive, sadistic garbage.

I have a real problem with this "torture porn" genre. I picked up Hostel on dvd, having not seen it previously but convinced that it would have some merit based on Tarantino's endorsement (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm opening myself up to attack here), and thought it was pretty worthless. I couldn't even get through the first Saw (not because I'm a lightweight, just because I thought it was shit).

The worst part is that they have to continually be trying to outdo each other for sadism and cruelty, so we're seeing some pretty vile stuff up on screen in the guise of entertainment. As Elliot says, it's a shame that money and people of talent are wasted on creating this stuff.

[HellboyOne]

We did not turn it off because we were so frightened that we couldn't cope anymore, we turned it off because we are good people who do not think the suffering of innocent people is something that should be trivialised in this way.

But then again, it's only a movie. And the claim that it's based on true events is probably dubious at best. (Although the vast expanse of the Australian outback makes it seem plausible.) I admit, it's a fucked up movie. But I loved the 70s style pacing and the excruciating build up to events.

Also, enjoying a dumb horror movie doesn't make you bad people. The end.

[Elliotanimated]

Jasen - You are entirely right - but the story (such as it is) isn't about the dangers of hooking up with strangers, it's about torture as entertainment.

(Also - I'm Australian. I promise we're not really all like that...unless you fuck with us).


Hellboy - It is very vaguely based on certain events that did happen, but only very slightly.
And I don't think it's a dumb movie.
It's a well made movie that a lot of people liked.
It bothers me on a social level what it is that most people liked about it, but yes of course - it's doesn't make you a bad person if you did like it.
It does make me a little sad that so many did though.

Cameron - it's very hard for me not to sound like a reactionary prude here, so it's nice that you seem to know what I'm whining about.

[CameronStewart]

I don't know about it being trivialized, many people probably get into this situation every year, getting into a strangers car or cornered into situations just like the actors in this film.

Yes, but those real situations aren't filmed and edited and set to orchestral music and presented in multiplexes nationwide for people to pay to go see as they eat popcorn and candy.

That's what Elliot means when he says it's trivialized - what's the artistic purpose? What's it trying to do or say? Nothing. It's presenting graphic depictions of human suffering as something to watch for entertainment on a Friday night with your chums. Watching a human being tortured to death = fun.

That's a horrible thing.

[drugmassacre]

i am generally not a huge fan of the torture porn genre, but i am extremely fond of the Hostel films, and think they are extremely retarded fun

[HellboyOne]

I found that in Wolf Creek, I wasn't looking forward to these kids getting tortured and killed. They spent most of the movie having you fall in love with them and when the shit hits the fan, you want them to get away. You want them to figure out how to get out of this horrific situation. You feel bad for all the wrong turns they made. (Well, I did anyway.) I know a good amount of people out there love the violence and sadism, but I'm not one of them. I've never seen Hostel (though it's often recommended) nor any of the Saw movies. I've stayed away from some of the Asian horror flicks that I've heard are the same way.

Also, I like road pictures. And I'm often weary of road trips myself. Long expanses of highway with nothing in between scare the shit out of me.