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"WOLF CREEK" (2005) (Cassandra Magrath, John Jarratt) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme *Extreme Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor Moderate None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Moderate None Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Suspense/Horror: After agreeing to let a man tow them back to his remote Australian outpost to fix their car, a trio of young travelers discovers that he's a sadistic madman and must then do whatever they can to stay alive. PLOT: It's 1999 and British college friends Liz Hunter (CASSANDRA MAGRATH) and Kristy Earl (KESTIE MORASSI) are vacationing in Broome, Western Australia. Done with partying and sunning themselves along the coast, they hook up with local Aussie Ben Mitchell (NATHAN PHILLIPS) and drive inland to the remote and desolate Wolf Creek National Park where they hike into an enormous and ancient meteorite crater. The three are laidback and enjoy each other's company, but things take a turn for their worse when they return to their car only to find that it won't start. As night falls, they wonder what to do, but just then a car approaches. It's local hunter Mick Taylor (JOHN JARRATT) who diagnoses their problem and offers to fix their car. The three twenty-somethings are cautious, but since he looks like their best and only shot of getting back on the road, they agree. Mick then tows them back to his remote outpost, feeds them and then gets to work on their car. But when Liz wakes up the next morning, she finds herself bound and gagged in a shed. Managing to free herself, she then discovers, as Kristy already has, that Mick really is a sadistic madman. With Ben nowhere in sight, Liz manages to free Kristy, but from that point on, they must figure out how to outsmart Mick and avoid becoming his latest victims. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into sadistic horror/suspense flicks, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For strong gruesome violence, and for language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JOHN JARRATT plays a sadistic madman who at first offers to help the trio, but only so that he can then kidnap and torture them. He does just that, while also using profanity and smoking. NATHAN PHILLIPS plays a local Aussie who gets the car for their trip, uses profanity, smokes pot and must deal with Mick's actions. CASSANDRA MAGRATH plays an English college student who's touring Western Australia with Kristy and then hooks up with Ben to visit the crater. She uses profanity, smokes pot and may have casual sex after drinking a lot at a party. She must also contend with Mick kidnapping and torturing them. KESTIE MORASSI plays her friend and traveling companion who smokes pot and cigarettes, uses profanity and may also have casual sex on that same night of drinking. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated suspense/horror flick. Profanity consists of at least 30 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Sexually related dialogue is present, off-screen sex is implied, a young woman goes swimming in the ocean topless (any possible view of her breasts is from a distance and in low light levels), a kidnapper uses sexual behavior to further terrorize his victim and a partially dismembered corpse shows bare breasts. Violence consists of a sadist kidnapping, torturing and killing several people, often with rather bloody/gory results. Those scenes, various moments of peril and various disturbing visuals (of partially dismembered corpses) might be rather unsettling, suspenseful or downright scary to viewers, while the perpetrator and others have bad attitudes. Various characters smoke and/or drink (a lot of the latter at one party), while several characters smoke pot. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some bouncy camera work from time to time. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Various people, including the two young women, drink shots at a party. We then see them drinking beer, some of which is playfully thrown on a guy who removes his shirt and jumps into the pool, as do others. We see the girls and two guys they apparently met at a party asleep on the beach with various empty liquor bottles by them (sex is implied but never mentioned and nothing is seen). When the girls show up, Ben asks where the booze is, and one jokes that after last night they decided no more booze. Kristy and Liz share a joint in the car. Some miscellaneous men drink in a small outpost. One of the girls shares a joint with Ben. Mick has beer or liquor. We realize that Mick gave the three some sort of drug that knocked them out and allowed him to start his reign of terror. BLOOD/GORE Kristy comments on there being "poo" everywhere on their walk to the crater. We see the skull of an animal out by the crater. We see Ben's urine stream as he urinates with his back to the camera. After Mick belches, Ben and one of the girls do the same, followed by Ben farting, causing all to laugh. Liz finds clothing or similar material on the ground that may have blood on it (but it's at night and it's hard to tell what we're seeing). Kristy is bloody (face and clothing) from whatever Mick has done to her. We briefly see a shot of a partially dismembered and bloody figure hanging on a wall. We then see another, slightly longer view that shows a headless and apparently nude corpse (we see bare and bloody breasts). Mick has some blood on his neck and hand after being shot by Liz. Liz is bloody from being stabbed in the side or back, and has blood in her mouth from that. As she raises her hand to protect herself, Mick slices his large knife and cuts off some of her fingers that we then see hit the floor. Kristy has various bloody cuts and wounds on her (her clothing is bloody as well). As an older man goes to help Kristy, he hears a sound and then sees a hole in his thermos (from a gunshot). We then hear another shot and blood splatters onto his car window and he goes down onto the road. He's bloody (especially his head) and we see some of his blood run down that window. Kristy is even bloodier after a bad car crash. We see that Ben has been crucified onto a wall with nails or pins sticking out from his very bloody wrists. He tries to pull his arm off that nail/pin (seen in close-up), but it causes him pain and we see more blood, but he eventually succeeds. We see a body hanging on a wall that's missing the lower half (we see bloody bits hanging down, etc.). We see dried blood on the side of Ben's head. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Mick has extreme bad attitudes for his actions. Some lecherous older men make lascivious comments under their breath about Kristy and Liz. When Ben enters the small outpost, one of the men asks him if Kristy and Liz are interested in a "little bit of a gang bang." Ben acts defensive, but backs down when the man acts menacingly, and Ben and the girls then leave. Ben somewhat playfully makes fun of Mick, but one of the girls calls him on that. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Others may find it less that way. Some lecherous older men make lascivious comments under their breath about Kristy and Liz. When Ben enters the small outpost, one of the men asks him if Kristy and Liz are interested in a "little bit of a gang bang." Ben acts defensive, but backs down when the man acts menacingly, and Ben and the girls then leave. The threesome discovers that their car won't start due to what seems like a dead battery. After it gets dark, they then see lights approaching them and aren't sure what to think or do. They then meet Mick who initially seems nice enough, but they get a bit concerned as he's towing them back to his place to fix their car (due to how long it's taking and them no longer knowing where they are). Mick's talk about being a hunter and killing animals goes a little far in unnerving the group (such as knifing a pig and talk of a decapitated animal with blood squirting out), especially when he suddenly just silently stares at Ben in a menacing fashion. He also makes half-joking comments that are intended (on his and the film's part) as part menacing. Liz wakes up to find herself bound and gagged in a shed of some sort. The day passes and she then finds a shard of glass and eventually cuts herself free, only to find that her companions are missing. Liz then hears screaming from Kristy and sees some movement from within another shed. Liz then peaks through the window where she sees Kristy bound, gagged and bloody, with Mick loading bullets into a rifle magazine. He then aims and fires at her, but purposefully misses, causing her to scream even more. It's somewhat implied that Mick has raped Kristy who's tied up. He tauntingly tells her, "I always wear a rubber with you c*nts," adding that he never knows where they've been. Mick then holds his clothed crotch as he approaches her and then kisses or bites on her neck (on the opposite side of the camera and somewhat in silhouette, so we don't see the actual contact), causing her to scream even more. We briefly see a shot of a partially dismembered and bloody figure hanging on a wall. We then see another, slightly longer view that shows a headless and apparently nude corpse (we see bare and bloody breasts). Mick grabs a knife and approaches Kristy, but only cuts her free from her binding. He then grabs her by the hair and holds her head to his clothed crotch. Liz holds a gun on Mick who acts menacingly toward her, but she fires, he grabs his neck, and then falls to the floor motionless. She tries to shoot him again, but can't get the rifle to fire and thus hits him on the back several times with the rifle. She and Kristy then escape, only to find that Mick's truck keys are missing. Liz then returns to the shed and cautiously reaches out for Nick's pockets, eventually finding the keys. She then returns to the truck, but Mick then shows up in the door and fires two shotgun blasts that blow out the truck's window. Liz manages to start the truck and then drives toward him, smashing down the metal shed door or wall, apparently onto Mick. They then drive away in a hurry. As they race down the road at night while fleeing Mick's place, the girls see headlights following them. They then screech to a halt and we see that they nearly drove off a cliff. With the headlights getting closer, the girls push the truck off the cliff (it tumbles and crashes down to the bottom). With Mick getting closer, they then climb down the nearly vertical cliff and then hide there as Mick walks up and stands above them. They try to remain quiet, but one accidentally dislodges a few rocks that draw Mick's attention, but he then makes his way down toward the bottom to investigate the truck crash. Liz returns to Mick's place to find a vehicle and slowly makes her way through a dimly lit garage, trying to find the vehicle that goes with the keys she has. She finally gets in one, but we then suddenly see Mick in the backseat and he stabs her in the side or through the seat with a large knife (we don't see the impact). She stumbles out, bloodied (including from her mouth) and then tries to defend herself by raising her arm when he swings his knife at her. But the blade hits her hands and severs several fingers (that we see hit the floor). As he grabs her, she whacks at him, causing him to punch her in the head before stabbing her in her spine (we don't see the insertion, but hear the squishy sounds of the insertion and cutting), paralyzing her (Mick calls this "head on a stick"). Liz finds other campers' belongings as well as videotapes that show this isn't the first time Mick has abducted others. As an older man goes to help Kristy, he hears a sound and then sees a hole in his thermos (from a gunshot). We then hear another shot and blood splatters onto his car window and he goes down onto the road. He's bloody (especially his head) and we see some of his blood run down that window. We then see Mick aiming at Kristy with his hunting rifle, but he doesn't fire as Kristy panics and tries to get the car started. She eventually does, as he sits and revs his engine before taking off after her. He eventually catches and pulls up alongside her, but ends up off the road as she continues driving. He then gets out, aims his rifle and shoots at her tire, causing her to go off the road and crash, turning over once. Mick pulls up, approaches and shoots a woman in the back as she tries to crawl away. He then walks up and shoots her again, but we don't see the impact as she's below the camera shot (but it's implied he's killed her). We see that Ben has been crucified onto a wall with nails or pins sticking out from his very bloody wrists. He tries to pull his arm off that nail/pin (seen in close-up), but it causes him pain and we see more blood, but he eventually succeeds. A barking and menacing dog is in a cage near Ben. We see a body hanging on a wall that's missing the lower half (we see bloody bits hanging down, etc.). GUNS/WEAPONS Rifle/Shotgun/Knife: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. We see what look like bullet holes in a street sign. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Due to the accents and some slang, some colorful language may have been missed. That said, we heard the following phrases: "F*ck off," "F*ck it" (or "F*ck-head"), "Oh f*ck," "This is f*cked," "You f*cking loser," "For f*ck's sake," "F*cking move," "Bullsh*t," "Scared the sh*t out of me," "Don't go d*cking her around," "Piss off," "Freaking out," "Morons," "(You) Bitch," "What the (bloody) hell?" "Bloody," "Pissing," "Sheilas" (women), "Blokes" (men), "Pisser," "It's a bloke thing," "Bit of a bugger," "You stupid bastard," "Don't freak out," "Weak as piss" and "Little bugger." It's possible troubled kids might be enticed to kidnap and torture others as occurs here. Ben has various tattoos on his body. A miscellaneous man has tattoos. After Mick belches, Ben and one of the girls do the same, followed by Mick farting, causing all to laugh. To create a distraction, Liz pours something in their disabled car, sets it on fire and causes something else to explode. Mick has tattoos. JUMP SCENES Mick suddenly appears in the backseat of a car. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY Due to the accents and some slang, some profanity may have been missed. That said, we heard the following: At least 30 "f" words, 17 "s" words, 2 slang terms using female genitals ("c*nts"), 2 using male ones ("d*cking"), 2 for breasts ("t*ts"), 4 hells, 2 asses (1 used with "hole"), 2 uses each of "Jesus" and "My God" and 1 use each of "Jesus Christ" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY Due to the accents and some slang, some sexually related dialogue may have been missed. That said, we heard the following: A used car dealer says something to Ben about them (presumably girls) getting easy and that they loosen up when they travel. A guy removes his shirt and jumps into the pool after beer is thrown onto him. We see some miscellaneous cleavage at a party. We see the girls and two guys they apparently met at a party asleep on the beach with various empty liquor bottles by them (sex is implied but never mentioned and nothing is seen). Waking up on the beach in the early morning, Liz removes her shirt and rushes off into the surf. We see her bare back as she's only in her panties, while various long distance shots of her in the surf might show her bare chest, but no details are seen. After telling Ben that Liz likes him, Kristy tells him that after they find some freakishly hot guy for her, they'll all go crazy together all night. Some lecherous older men make lascivious comments under their breath about Kristy and Liz. When Ben enters the small outpost, one of the men asks him if Kristy and Liz are interested in a "little bit of a gang bang." Ben acts defensive, but backs down when the man acts menacingly, and Ben and the girls then leave. Kristy wears a very tight top that shows off the shape of her ample bust. Ben and Liz briefly, and slightly passionately kiss, but laugh about doing so in a somewhat shy/awkward fashion. It's somewhat implied that Mick has raped Kristy who's tied up. He tauntingly tells her, "I always wear a rubber with you c*nts," adding that he never knows where they've been. Mick then holds his clothed crotch as he approaches her and then kisses or bites on her neck (on the opposite side of the camera and somewhat in silhouette, so we don't see the actual contact), causing her to scream even more. We briefly see a shot of a partially dismembered and bloody figure hanging on a wall. We then see another, slightly longer view that shows a headless and apparently nude corpse (we see bare and bloody breasts) and comments are made about "t*ts." Mick grabs a knife and approaches Kristy, but only cuts her free from her binding. He then grabs her by the hair and holds her head to his clothed crotch. SMOKING Beyond the pot smoking, Kristy and Mick each smoke several times, while some miscellaneous characters also smoke. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Driving across the country and having emergency plans and/or people with knowledge about your location, itinerary, etc. Serial killers. Accepting help from strangers. Drug use. What sort of people who enjoy these types of movies. VIOLENCE Kristy is bloody (face and clothing) from whatever Mick has done to her and it's somewhat implied that he has raped her (we only see her tied up -- standing). To create a distraction, Liz pours something in their disabled car, sets it on fire and causes something else to explode. We see views of dead and partially dismembered bodies (the results of unseen, previous violence). Mick grabs a knife and approaches Kristy, but only cuts her free from her binding. He then grabs her by the hair and holds her head to his clothed crotch. Liz holds a gun on Mick who acts menacingly toward her, but she fires, he grabs his neck, and then falls to the floor motionless. She tries to shoot him again, but can't get the rifle to fire and thus hits him on the back several times with the rifle. Moments later, she and Kristy are in his truck, but Mick then shows up in the door and fires two shotgun blasts that blow out the truck's window. Liz manages to start the truck and then drives toward him, smashing down the metal shed door or wall, apparently onto Mick. The girls push a truck off a cliff (it tumbles and crashes down to the bottom) as a hopeful decoy. Mack stabs a woman in the side or through the car seat with a large knife (we don't see the impact). She stumbles out, bloodied (including from her mouth) and then tries to defend herself by raising her arm when he swings his knife at her. But the blade hits her hands and severs several fingers (that we see hit the floor). As he grabs her, she whacks at him, causing him to punch her in the head before stabbing her in her spine (we don't see the insertion, but hear the squishy sounds of the insertion and cutting), paralyzing her (Mick calls this "head on a stick"). As an older man goes to help Kristy, he hears a sound and then sees a hole in his thermos (from a gunshot). We then hear another shot and blood splatters onto his car window and he goes down onto the road. He's bloody (especially his head) and we see some of his blood run down that window. Mick gets out of his vehicle, aims his rifle and shoots at a woman's tire, causing her to go off the road and crash, turning over once (she's injured from that). Mick pulls up, approaches and shoots a woman in the back as she tries to crawl away. He then walks up and shoots her again, but we don't see the impact as she's below the camera shot (but it's implied he's killed her). Mick puts a body into a car trunk that appears to already hold another body. A moment later, we see that car fully engulfed in flames. We see that Ben has been crucified onto a wall with nails or pins sticking out from his very bloody wrists. He tries to pull his arm off that nail/pin (seen in close-up), but it causes him pain and we see more blood, but he eventually succeeds. Reviewed December 9, 2005 / Posted December 25, 2005

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