Wolf Creek series review

CONTAINS SPOILERS DUH

I was excited about this show. From the moment I first heard of the film for Wolf Creek, I was sold. I love the horror genre. I am Australian. The entire premise of a crazy bushman killing all over the northern end made me happy in weird ways. The first film was fantastic, the sequel was great, and then the tv series happened.

Wolf Creek 1 introduced us to Mick Taylor but not until after the first forty minutes. They spent the right amount of time setting up the tourists so we would care when they died, but the real hero is John Jarratt as Mick Taylor. That laugh is haunting, and he can give as good as he can take. Minus the crazy psychopathic urges, his portrayal of Mick reminds me of my father. They even prefer to drink the same rum, which I find hilarious. That offensive Aussie humour shines and John deserves more recognition for this role.

Wolf Creek 2 did what sequels are supposed to do. It expanded on the original mythos and created new scares. In 1, Mick was pretty two-dimensional, which is fine for a first film. Mick is a deranged killer type. In the sequel, Mick had evolved into a psycho. Our protagonist is tortured. He has long conversations with Mick so we start to see who this man is - and he is not a good person. He kills for fun, so we suspected but the exploration of understanding how Mick Taylor works is started here. For sequels, it was great.

The ending is twisted - poor British guy is dumped in the street and blamed for murder - but it also raised the question, where do we go from here? Mick Taylor is based on actual events to an extent. Every year, hundreds of people go missing throughout the Northern end of Australia. Mick is one possible answer to those disappearances. The idea of a bush serial killer has been seen in history with Ivan Millat. Mick as a character, draws on this history. Still, I did not want to see him die. I don't think any fan does. Mick deserves the loyal following seen with Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street.

Mick shares many character traits of the famous 80's and 90's slasher film antagonists. Seemingly impossible to kill - Mick gets stabbed and shot during the movies and series -, calm exterior in the face of life-threatening danger, and the ability to quickly catch the victims who are running as fast as they can. So when the Tv series was announced, I was cheering.

The problems with the tv series start to show up almost immediately. They drifted far from the original pacing of the films. The films have the protagonists being set up, great shots of the Australian outback and native wildlife. Some introductions with the locals, and then they meet Mick Taylor. What usually takes a solid 20 minutes, was streamlined into five.

We meet the family; they set up camp, and then Mick is there. He plays his intro as he usually does. Mick never comes across as a serial killer in the beginning. It helps build the tension because we know who this guy is and what he is capable of. Helpful local is his usual MO. In the series, he saves the youngest from a crocodile attack and so invited to dinner. The family is dead by the first commercial break. (well assumed commercial break. This is streamed tv after all)

Eve gets a bit more of a story. She had retreated to their caravan and listening to music so misses the carnage until Mick intrudes and she escapes outside. Shot in the back, Eve falls into the lake and Mick thinks the crocs got her. One less person to dismember and burn to ash. Of course, Eve lives and so the story of vengeance begins.

And we as an audience slowly start to hate Eve. She had so much promise as a character. Former athlete and with two police officers as parents, she knew how the game is played. She knows if she left it to the locals Mick would never be found. We are made aware early on that Eve has the stamina to go against Mick. We are supposed to support this girl who is about to go on a journey which will ultimately kill the only reason people watched film one and two.

Eve fails early on, but not until we have a hint of her being a little bad ass. Put in jail for carrying drugs - she hits a cop car when pulling out into the non-existent traffic and the cop finds a bag of marijuana hidden away - she is set against two locals in the cell next to hers. One falls asleep quickly, but Kane draws her into a conversation. Eve is a fish out of water, but resourceful. When Kane refuses to help her escape, she uses the sleeping guy as the boost she needed and gets out of the tiny window. Cheer one for Eve.

After her escape, she sees that Kane is let out on bail and picked up by his brother. She follows them, sneaks into the house and steals a bag of money. She is faster than two locals and gets a lucky break by hiding in a junkyard that is protected by a Samoan with a gun. So, using her smarts, athletic ability, and some dumb luck Eve is set up as a character that might be able to outwit a legend.

Her first downfall is in episode three. One of the guys who tries to rape her (this is a recurring theme that I will address later) catches up with Eve and attacks her. She tricks Johnny (I think that was his name) into thinking she will stop fighting and grabs her gun. YAY, we all say, because raping women is wrong. However after she accidentally shoots him in the leg, she drops the gun and runs to his side. Of course, Eve tries to help. Performing first aid, she then offers to drive him to the hospital.

The guy who just tried to rape her, Eve invites him into her car and will be alone with him for hours while getting to a hospital. What kind of thinking is this? Johnny, deciding she is a psycho, declines and Eve leaves alone. She doesn't get far before she stops and reflects on the things Johnny yelled at her. That she was sexy, her hair was long and pretty, why put your body on display if it isn't for sale. So Eve cries and cuts her hair into a short pixie style. Apparently the best way to deter men is to have a short hair cut. In fact, several times after this scene characters comment on how a girl should have long hair.

Her next big moment is much like her moment with Johnny. Kane is back. He and his brother have been driving around looking for Eve and finally he comes upon her. BTW, Eve's mostly dingoe dog companion is the worst guard dog ever. Johnny tries to rape her - no response from the dog. Kane tries to rape her - no response from the dog. Why does Eve even have a dog? After Kane attempts to assault her, Eve shoots him and he dies.

But not before she can run to his side, apologise to him, and they have this sweet moment where Kane asks her for her name. It's oddly romantic even though this guy has been trying to kill her. Eve leaves him out in the desert, with some flowers on his chest. The gang Kane was part of swears their vengeance against Eve. First, she steals thousands of dollars, and then she kills Kane. I get why they are mad.

There is one point when she comes along Mick's abandoned fire site, and he has left a rabbit's head on a stick. For reasons entirely lost to us, Eve uses the rabbit blood to smear lines under her eyes. I suppose this is a visual way to show her preparation for war, but it is not very effective.

After such a big build up, the first few interactions with Eve showing her as intelligent and athletic, we quickly discover that she is anything but. When she ultimately comes up against Mick Taylor, we have no faith as a hero. I expected her to die. There have been no redeeming moments for Eve leading up to the final episode, and then when she manages to stick a fire poker in his chest and set the place on fire we are expected to believe that?

So sick of talking about why Eve does not deserve the role she was given in this series. Moving on to the other things that bothered me about the series.

Apparently, every male in the northern territory just wants to rape you. Eve gets attacked three times, but every time she walks into a room every male eye is on her, and the director wasted time making sure we know that all these guys are thinking about raping her. The only male characters who don't are the police, a priest and the elder Aboriginal. Although Sullivan, the police officer she first meets and Eve blows off quickly as being useless, ends up falling for her, he doesn't act sexually aggressive towards her. The comments made by the writing staff is easily seen. If you are a woman, every man is out to rape you, unless he is a man of authority.

Mick doesn't attempt to rape her either, but his violence never seems to be sexually motivated. He wants to cut your fingers off, not fondle your body. It is something about Mick that I always appreciated. Far too often, women are seen as sexual victims. Slasher horror reminds us that violence is more than sex. The penetration of a blade is enough metaphor for us.

Finally, my complaint against the series is coming to an end. But this is maybe the most vital. The original movies focus on Mick's brutality. We have flashes of that in the show. He kills Eve's family; he guts a kangaroo, he appears with several different prisoners tied up in his shack. The allusion of violence is supposed to be stronger in the show then seeing it. Which is a downfall in my opinion. At one point he kidnaps the woman who runs the Madonna Cafe. We see them interact in the cafe, and then we see her tied up and Mick intimidating her even though she is unconscious. That middle is missing and it makes Mick less terrifying.

The series isn't a total loss. I am not sure if people are aware but two books have been released as prequels to the Wolf Creek movies. They explore how Mick was raised, and his time during the Vietnam War. His childhood is briefly explored in the show. These details are the details that you can adequately explore in tv where you can not in movies. It can slow down the pacing. I didn't quite buy the idea that Mick keeps a scrapbook of his past. The articles written about the disappearance of his sister have all been saved but it was a decent visual used to progress the plot.

I also enjoyed how the story lines interact. Eve steals from bikers, who are hunting her down., Eve helps an escaped prisoner, who is looking for his revenge. The prisoner is looking for the bikie guy. In a big showdown against the gang in a graveyard, the prisoner shows up and shoots off the gang members fingers. That was an interesting intersection of stories and efficiently done as well.

Australia looked amazing, as it often does when you have the right camera to catch it. The writing has some problems, and there is an issue with pacing. The gap between episode four and five was the most jarring. Suddenly Eve is working in a lingerie pub, and her roommate knows Mick is stalking her. Judging by the prisoners wounds, not much time has passed between episode four and five, but a lot of character development has. Mostly, what did this friend do to have Eve feel like she could confess to her some of the truth?

Is Mick dead? I don't think so. The end of the series showed Mick unconscious and pinned to the wall by a fire poker, and the broken spear/javelin. When Eve re-entered the house, the two halves of the javelin are gone, but the poker remains. There is no sign of Mick's body. It takes a lot to burn a body down to nothing. Considering the wall is still standing, and there doesn't seem to be much damage I can't believe that fire was intense enough to burn his bones to ash.

I guess we have to wait and see.

What I think Season two should be about? Copycat killer. Eve stays in Australia and hears of a brutal murder similar to her parents. Freaking out, she goes to investigate. Finds it isn't Mick, it's some wannabe guy. But Mick gets to him first. There is an art to his crazy which I think Mick wants to find in someone else. A couple of times he has tried to tempt survivors into freedom through following his orders. Mick attempts to turn Eve against Sullivan in the series. In the books, he teams up with his lieutenant. So it isn't unheard of.

I give the series a six out of ten. Eve was not worthy of going against Mick in the manner that she was. Did Mick meet his match, nope, I no don't think Eve even came close to matching him.

#review #wolfcreek #wolfcreekseries #stan #johnjarratt #australiantv #australia