The Australian film industry is one of paradox. On the one hand there is a gushing flow of acting talent that achieves not only local fame but also international stardom. And then there are the horror themed films which, with few exceptions, fail to really spark. But the country that gave us Mad Max, Bad Boy Bubby, Romper Stomper, Chopper and The Wiggles is not one to lay down. The following films point to a darker vein of cinema, one that would perhaps prefer you throw a severed limb on the barbe’ than the obligatory shrimp.
Wolf Creek (Unrated Widescreen Edition)
Mick Taylor: ‘… See? Head on a stick!’
- Director: Greg Mclean (Rogue)
- Starring: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt, Gordon Poole
- Original Title: Wolf Creek (2005)
- DVD Release: April 11, 2006
- 104 minutes
- Australia
Time is invariably the ultimate test of a films true worth. It is now five years since Australia’s attempt at Texas Chainsawing and Wolf Creek seems still to have a little fuel left in its tank. This is perhaps strange as it was a film punched from a template that had previously been the basis of a legion of ‘disposable backpacker’ style horrors.
What gave Wolf Creek an edge over its predominately lesser genre-mates is its uncredited and most famous star; the great Australian outback. Here it yawns before the films unknowing cast with ruddy and foreboding beauty. A set designer and art director will slave for hours to drag emotion from the inanimate. But here the natural canvas of endless rocky plains and ancient meteor craters give the production an exacting quantity of isolation and beauty untamed.
Wolf Creek – Based on a True Story?
Even the gimmicky "based on true events" aspect of the films initial marketing seems tactile and valid. Producers have pointed to loose inspiration via the infamous New South Wales Backpacker Murders of the early 1990’s. There is a sense throughout Wolf Creek that the characters are real people, the blood is sticky and the evil is breathing. But even fleeting review of the horrific original crimes begs the question of why they were not more closely adhered to. Therefore, its probably more accurate to state that it was the true crime that mirrored the standard tent poles associated with Wolf Creeks style of sub genre. Abduction, mutilation, isolated helplessness, a brooding and mysterious stranger. Even the type of evidence found at the Backpacker Murderers home, carefully stored personal effects of his victims, are now a now a tried and true horror plot element.
These types of films are not hard to make but they are hard to make well. Wolf Creek unfolds slowly, very slowly. This pace gives the viewer more of a taste of the characters before they are rolled into the rapid-fire violence and helter skelter tension of the third act. The acting is confident and hits all the right pitches but then this kind of work has all been seen before. There is always talk of a particular film turning its respective genre upside down and driving it into all new territory. Wolf Creek did not do this. What it does do is take a tired story structure and represent it with grit and style. Had it been the first then it would have been a pacesetter. But at the end of the day it still remains yet one of the many. 3/5
Lost Things
Tagline: A weekend to remember.
- Directors: Martin Murphy (Water Rats –Television/ second unit director)
- Starring: Leon Ford, Charlie Garber, Lenka Kripac, Steve Le Marquand, Alexandra Vaughan
- DVD Release: October 4, 2005
- 83 minutes
- Australia
Lost Things has become just that. A little known film that lives huddled at the very bottom of DVD Hells unloved bin. This is what makes it such an interesting find when viewed with little to no prior details. It is a shaky film no doubt with continuity and dialogue stumbling over each others feet in places. But it is one whose atmosphere sneaks in and eventually dictates a thoughtful and twisted production. This is a film that is far more psychological than slasher; a fact that is belied by its stupidly misleading promotional artwork.
Lost Things – A Day at the Beach
The narrative centers around a group of friends who decide to travel to a remote beach for a weekend of surfing and snuggling. What ensues is a mind slap that thankfully is shot almost entirely in daylight. It is seldom that tension is even attempted outside of the darkness and blending shadows of some rickety house, asylum or forest. Here Australia’s natural beauty again comes to the fore in the form of an endless shoreline. A minimalist setting that reveals through its shifting sands an eerie capacity for burying the past.
Zippo, a Minor Cult Favorite
The acting here is pretty much uninspired, although they do look the part as appointed clichés are for the most part cleverly sidestepped. Then there is Zippo, Steve Le Marquand’s extremely weird, large knifed mumbling beachcomber. It is this very ‘Australian’ performance along with the films clever twist that makes this the not-half-bad film that it really doesn’t deserve to be. It wont please everyone or even many but it does hint at better things to come. 2/5
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Hari Navarro - Hari Navarro is Topic Editor for Suite 101's Horror Film section and Editor/ Writer at online horror review site, The Hell Street ...
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