 |
Additional Cast: John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips
Production Status: On DVD
Premiere Release Date: Sundance Film Festival 2005
Cinema Release Date: December 25th, 2005 (USA, wide)
Directed By: Greg Mclean
Screenwriters: Greg Mclean
Genre: Horror, Suspense
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong gruesome violence, and for language
Internet Movie Database | Official Site | Photo Gallery | Video Clips
It was supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime in the Australian Outback - full of fun, sun and adventure. But what happened to a trio of twenty-something backpackers took a wrenching detour into the depths of unrelenting terror. Based on true events, "Wolf Creek" is the haunting story of their unthinkable ordeal - a mounting white-knuckle nightmare so real it was destined to become horror legend. "Wolf Creek" is a startlingly intense motion picture experience of rapidly escalating dread and suspense. At the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, the film - written and directed by Melbourne's Greg McLean - was acclaimed as a daring, original blend of visually hypnotic thriller with unbearably scary movie. The chillingly believable events begin as freewheeling, college-aged pals Liz, Kristy and Ben head out for a holiday hike in stunning Wolf Creek National Park to see its mysterious meteor crater. When they return, their car won't start. Trapped in the vast emptiness of the wilderness - all they can do is wait for rescue. Luckily, as night falls, along comes colorful local bushman Mick and his massive truck, offering a tow to safety. But as the sun comes up the next morning, it becomes shockingly apparent that Mick has no intention of fixing their car or letting them leave the Outback...ever again. As Liz, Kristy and Ben search for any conceivable way out, "Wolf Creek" plunges towards an unforgettable climax.
This is Teresa Palmer's first film credit. It is an Australian horror film which gained a lot of mainstream notoriety due to it's wide acclaim. She plays one of the people seen at the pool party. Teresa is really only an extra shown for a few seconds.
Filmed in Australia.
No scenes were written for cloudy or wet weather, neither was it a directorial decision to have such scenes. The film's shooting schedule was simply so tight that the crew had to film at all times, regardless of conditions.
The crater in the film is really in Western Australia, but it is spelled "Wolfe Creek" in reality.
Unbeknown to the crew the abandoned mine where they chose to film had actually been the site of the real life murder of a woman. The filming prompted a protest from locals who erroneously thought the film was about those events.
There had been no rainfall in the area of the set for ten years. It started raining as soon as the crew arrived, causing script changes and altering the setting for the entire movie.
According to stars Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi the scenes shot on the beach early in the film may look warm on screen, but were actually quite cold.
A number of scenes in the film were improvised on location. Among them were the scene between Ben and the mechanic checking out the car, the party scenes, the bit where Ben plays with the flashlight after being stranded, and the camp fire belching contest scene. In addition much of Mick Taylor's colorful dialog was improvised by John Jarratt.
According to director Greg Mclean the party scenes lasted for half an hour before being cut for the film.
The first week of the production was dedicated entirely to shooting the opening traveling footage, all of which was shot on a single stretch of highway.
A very eerie coincidence occurred for the second unit crew sent out to get footage of the Wolf Creek Crater. Since the location was many hours from any town the small crew decided to camp out in their car at the site after shooting. During the night a mysterious stranger showed up in a truck to investigate. The stranger indeed looked very much like the character of Mick Taylor, right down to the rustic truck. The stranger left, but the crew was so spooked that they drove an hour down the road before finally stopping to camp for the night.
The lightning during the scene where Liz, Ben, and Kristy see Mick's truck approach was real as a thunderstorm was blowing into the location.
John Jarratt is a method actor and spent weeks living in the Australian dessert preparing for the role of Mick Taylor. In addition he also avoided bathing before shooting so he would have a much more rugged appearance.
Cassandra Magrath said that John Jarratt's sinister laugh gave her nightmares.
Teresa has no lines of dialogue.
None available at this time.
Wolf Creek, in my opinion, is a fantastic horror film that is not only effective in it's desire to please hardcore horror fans like myself, but could still appeal and be liked by those who might be quick to judge and pass on it. It succeeds as one of the better films in the sub genre of the "We're Lost" that are popping out like crazy over the last few years. If you liked The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn or Hostel you will likely highly enjoy the film. It's filmed in a very cool style. The stark, isolated landscapes of the Outback are chilling and you really feel as if your totally alone at times.
The film is very brutal and not for the faint of heart. All the more grueling is the fact that the characters don't do many stupid, cliched things but genuinely seem to try to survive. I also like that you get to follow the characters a bit before madness ensues. The villian is one of the coolest and is played great by John Jarratt. In fact, all of the main cast do wonderful jobs. - Mycah
Warning: include() [function.include]: Unable to access /home/teresapa/public_html/pagefooter.php in /mounted-storage/home14c/sub004/sc13977-GHQI/fuzion-family.net/teresapa/projects/film/2005_wolfcreek.php on line 154
Warning: include(/home/teresapa/public_html/pagefooter.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /mounted-storage/home14c/sub004/sc13977-GHQI/fuzion-family.net/teresapa/projects/film/2005_wolfcreek.php on line 154
Warning: include() [function.include]: Unable to access /home/teresapa/public_html/pagefooter.php in /mounted-storage/home14c/sub004/sc13977-GHQI/fuzion-family.net/teresapa/projects/film/2005_wolfcreek.php on line 154
Warning: include(/home/teresapa/public_html/pagefooter.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /mounted-storage/home14c/sub004/sc13977-GHQI/fuzion-family.net/teresapa/projects/film/2005_wolfcreek.php on line 154
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/home/teresapa/public_html/pagefooter.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php5/') in /mounted-storage/home14c/sub004/sc13977-GHQI/fuzion-family.net/teresapa/projects/film/2005_wolfcreek.php on line 154