Wolf Creek

We're all well aware that you take your life into your own hands if you backpack through the Australian Outback and your car breaks down.

In Wolf Creek, three young backpackers are supposedly 'helped' by a local who offers to tow their defective vehicle telling them he'll tow them back to a place of civilisation. They gradually get to realise that their 'helper' is not the kind benevolent type they thought he was, and their experience is soon going to get a good deal worse.

This is horror with a mean streak in Wolf Creek, a film that may put off some from even contemplating a trip across Australia. Its slow, calculating pace is matched by its capacity to explore the depths of a bad situation so don't expect much in the way of light relief. Debut director Greg McLean explores the fear of the unknown, how characters will need to explore the depths of their own resolve if they are to survive through a bad situation. It's a dark and brutal film, likened to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre although I suspect the comparison will help this film more, merely because the latter is a horror classic and this one a salutary reminder to check your car over at least three times before you head into the Australian wilderness because there isn’t going to be an AA service for miles!

Matt Arnoldi