DVD Review: Wolf Creek 2

Although it has been a good few years since I saw it at the cinema, Wolf Creek is one of those films that hangs with you for quite a while.

Grim, downbeat and pretty nasty in places, the 2005 Aussie hit was a real gut-punch of a movie.

Which is why I’m a bit confused about what to think of Wolf Creek 2, a delayed follow-up that throws us back into the gruesome antics of outback killer Mick Taylor.

For, rather than elect for a dark, seriously-delivered film that shocks with outbursts of violence, director Greg McLean has gone for an over-the-top, comedic effort that plonks John Jarratt’s Taylor front and centre.

Of course, this is something that horror fans have seen many, many times before, where a film that has the killer as the secondary character suddenly decides to shunt him into the starring role for sequels – think Nightmare On Elm Street and Candyman.

But all this really does is dilute the effect, with Taylor hopping around spouting one-liners and indulging in a host of gory sight-gags.

Don’t get me wrong, it is all still very entertaining, but it’s a real shift in tone from the previous outing.

Plot-wise it is pretty much as you were, with Taylor stalking and slicing a host of back-packing fodder, namely German couple Katerina and Rutger (Shannon Ashlyn and Philippe Klaus) and some poor British sap who decides to help (played by Ryan Corr).

Anybody who gets in the way, whether they be traffic police or kindly old folk, are also for the chop, before the film heads to Taylor’s underground torture chamber for its climax.

Performances wise everything is fine – Jarratt seems to be having real fun playing the outlandish Taylor, while Klaus and Ashlyn make a decent couple – Ashlyn in particular pulling off a solid German accent.

Corr is ok as the final stalkee, although some of the decision-making on the part of his character leaves a bit to be desired.

The film is particularly gory if you like that kind of thing (like us), with hacked off heads, bashed in fingers and a few shotgun blasts the tip of the iceberg effects wise.

But you’ll be grinning and grimacing at the same time, as each graphic scene is usually accompanied by some pithy pay-off.

McLean keeps things rattling along pace-wise, and special mention must also go to the cinematography, which squeezes the last amount of impact out of the stunning Australian locations.

I’m happy to give Wolf Creek 2 a thumbs-up overall, but it is a slightly nervous thumbs-up.