Wolf Creek

"The thrill is in the hunt."

2005 1h 39m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

55%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 1,331🥫55%Rotten Tomatoes●56Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 83,865

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.

“The thrill is in the hunt.”

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Cast

John Jarratt
Mick Taylor
Cassandra Magrath
Liz Hunter
Kestie Morassi
Kristy Earl
Nathan Phillips
Ben Mitchell
Gordon Poole
Old Man
Guy O'Donnell
Car Salesman
Phil Stevenson
Mechanic
Geoff Revell
Petrol Attendant

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Greg McLean
Writers: Greg McLean
Languages: Swedish, English
Countries: Australia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $31M — a 30.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Swedish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Wolf Creek Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Greg McLean, shot by Will Gibson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Frank Tetaz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jason Ballantine shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Greg McLean directs. Will Gibson behind the camera. Frank Tetaz scores. Jason Ballantine cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia. Dialogue in Swedish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $31M — a 30.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 21 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Swedish, English.
5Part of the "Wolf Creek Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Greg McLean, shot by Will Gibson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Frank Tetaz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Jason Ballantine shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9John Jarratt and Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The thrill is in the hunt.".
11IMDB entry: tt0416315 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 9 themes, including "australia", "sadistic", "tourist", "backpacker".

The technical file

Cinematography: Will Gibson
Original score: Frank Tetaz
Editing: Jason Ballantine
Production design: Robert Webb
Costume design: Nicola Dunn
Makeup / hair: Jennifer Lamphee
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $30,894,796
Return: 3089% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Wolf Creek (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 55% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 56/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 83,865 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 wins & 27 nominations total

Part of

Wolf Creek Collection

Wolf Creek is a 2005 independent Australian horror film written, co-produced and directed by Greg McLean, and starring John Jarratt. The story revolves around three backpackers who find themselves held captive and subsequently hunted by a serial killer in the Australian outback. The film was ambiguously marketed as being "based on true events"; the plot bore elements similar to the real-life crimes of Ivan Milat and the 2001 murder of Peter Falconio. After the success of the first film, McLean announced John Jarratt to reprise his role of Mick Taylor. Filming took place in late 2012 and early 2013 in Australia, and the movie had its world premiere on 30 August 2013.

Also by

Greg McLean

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

OzDrDj2012-06-07
★ 9/10
Just when you thought it was safe to go hiking in the bushes again...along comes Mick Taylor. Kristy, Ben and Liz are three pals in their twenties who set out to hike through the scenic Wolf Creek National Park in the Australian Outback. The trouble begins when they get back only to find that their car won't start. The trio think they have a way out when they run into a local bushman named Mick Taylor. Wait until you get a load of what Mick has in store for them. Their troubles have just begun.
John Chard2019-10-23
★ 7/10
I could tell you - but then I'd have to kill you! Three young travellers are making their way across the Australian outback in search of Wolf Creek, a mystical site where a meteorite struck and created a crater. After achieving their mission they endure car trouble and fearing that they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, they are relieved when help comes in the form of big Mick. At first he's a likable sort of man, but then Mick starts to show signs of strangeness as the evening progresses, and then the travellers fall asleep... Directed and written by Greg McLean, this Australian film opens with the ominous warning that it is based on real events. Clearly intent on grabbing the viewer by the throat with its raw and real feel, it should be noted however that the film is actually an amalgamation of ideas drawn from real Oz killers like "Bradley John Murdoch" and "John Bunting". Casting aside the film's boast of real life credentials, the question hangs on if it's actually any good?. McLean has crafted a genuinely unsettling picture, one that upon theatrical release didn't in truth live up to the hyperbole that was so boisterously marketed back in 2005. Now that the furore has long since passed and the tag-lines running about "A new dawn in terror" and that the "Reality is here" have since faded away from memory, what is actually left to sample?. McLean's film builds up nicely by letting us get to know our three soon to be troubled protagonists. Then it's enter Mick Taylor from outback stage right, and here is a larger than life bogeyman and one of the modern eras better, and yes, scarier creations. Taylor, excellently portrayed by John Jarratt, debunks the myth of the chirpy Aussie bushman, becoming the polar opposite to "Crocodile Dundee" (given a mention in one particular uneasy exchange). Then the terror starts, grim violence and unnerving dialogue seamlessly blends together, all shot in a docu-style on Hi-Def DV. However, with this narrative trajectory, where the usual formula escape attempts begin to arise, comes the exasperation that so often blights the horror genre. One particular opportunity that lands at Liz Hunter's feet, an opportunity that any sane person in the world would have taken, beggars belief, but then I guess if common sense ruled there would be no post script at the end - which is a post script that blatantly wants us to believe that what we have just watched really happened... The last quarter is a touch rushed, and that's a shame since we have spent so much time in the company of the three actually likable and believable youths. It rather feels like a quick horror fix than the intended protracted line in terror that Mclean and co were going for. Nevertheless, it does actually work, and crucially it does frighten and hold the utmost attention. The performances are strong, dodgy British accents aside, with the girls (Cassandra Magrath & Kestie Morassi) in particular convincing as being truly terrified. While the piece is, surprisingly in context of the material, beautiful at times. Red sunsets and the crisp dusky desert come vividly out the screen thanks to Will Gibson's excellent photography. Wolf Creek will not and can't hold up on repeat viewings, but it is still an effective entry in the horror genre, and with Jarratt's Mick Taylor there is a character that's unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry. 7/10