Starring: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr, Shannon Ashlyn
Director: Greg Mclean
The gruff Taylor (Jarratt returning in his signature role) once again dispenses his own brand of justice with a penchant for a clever quip and more than a modicum of violence. Taylor makes for a wily villain yet tends to step far too many times into Freddy Krueger territory. While always entertaining there isn’t really a point where one would say the film is scary.
In typical Aussie fashion the level of gore is above average at one point Taylor dismembers a body tossing a severed penis in a bin while comparing the victim to a donkey it’s gross and funny but not terrifying. That’s the dilemma while Taylor makes the film fun and the shocking displays of gore are well represented in the few graphic scenes, it doesn’t quite know what type of film it wants to be. The premise has the makings for serious terror yet it’s mostly delivered in a tongue and cheek way that lacks any legitimate scares.
The vast expanses of the outback make for the perfect backdrop for sadistic killings being both beautiful and dangerous. What sets Wolf Creek 2 apart from typical b movie horror is the quality of the victims acting. Particularly Ryan Corr and Shannon Ashlyn they both convey a legitimate sense of fear not typically found in lesser genre fare.
Another trick that sets it apart is rather than the usual horror film plot path that would follow a group of tourists as they are hunted down one by one, WC2 takes a novel approach segueing from one situation to the next, it’s a good half hour in before the real cat and mouse game between Taylor and Paul even begins.
The opening scene with the police is worth watching the film alone for, while not scary in the least, the shocking gore and violence makes up for it. Besides where else are you going to see a semi truck run over a troop of Kangaroos?
Grade – 80