News

While you wait for third franchise installment Wolf Creek Legacy, being released by Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting in 2026, Australian label Imprint Films has announced that they’re bringing Greg McLean’s original outback nightmare Wolf Creek to limited edition 4K Uhd.

Twenty years ago, director Greg McLean introduced the horror world to Mick Taylor, a terrifying outback serial killer who shot, cut and stabbed his way to horror icon status in the original Australian horror movie Wolf Creek. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Imprint Films are bringing Wolf Creek to the Imprint collection with the Unrated Cut on 4K Uhd with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, plus both the Unrated and Theatrical cuts on Blu-ray.

Only 1,500 copies are available, and they’re up for pre-order now. The limited edition Hardbox release is scheduled to begin shipping out to customers on September 24, 2025.

Here’s the full release breakdown:

Disc One: 4K...

Executives at New Line Cinema have been discussing the potential future of Snakes on a Plane. Now, it seems like the 2006 movie might be getting a sequel.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, New Line Cinema Cco Richard Brener discussed the future of multiple properties under the studio's umbrella, including the Samuel L. Jackson-led Snakes on a Plane. When asked about the possibility of a sequel, Brener said, "There have been conversations about those kinds of things or other things on a plane. But no current plans."

Directed by David R. Ellis from a script penned by John Heffernan and Sebastian Gutierrez, which itself was adapted from a story originally developed by David Dalessandro, Snakes on a Plane stars Samuel L. Jackson as FBI Agent Neville Flynn. The film's ensemble cast is rounded out with appearances from fan-favorites, including Lin Shaye as middle-aged flight attendant Grace and Kenan Thompson as bodyguard Troy.

In 2005, Greg McLean’s bleak horror film Wolf Creek made waves with its unflinching savagery and disturbing violence. The story follows friends Liz (Cassandra Magrath), Kristy (Kestie Morassi) and Ben (Nathan Phillips) as they backpack across the Australian outback. But when car trouble leaves them stranded near the titular landmark, the friends get surprising help from a local man named Mick (John Jarratt). Unfortunately, this handy helper turns out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He drugs the trusting travelers then traps them on his hellish compound in order to amuse himself with unthinkable torture and sadistic violence.

Adding to the terror is the film’s opening claims that this horrific story was based on actual events. In fact, McLean was inspired by the real life crimes of Bradley Murdoch and Ivan Milat. Both men preyed on backpackers traversing Australia, using the outback’s dangerous isolation to aid in their atrocities.

Snakes on Plane gave audiences exactly what they came for, it's all spoiled in the title. It also helped that A-list actor Samuel L. Jackson led the ensemble.

Snakes on a Plane streams on Peacock starting Mar. 1. This 2006 action-thriller was much-anticipated leading to release, thanks to viral marketing and media coverage. Interest peaked when Samuel L. Jackson jumped into the project; New Line Cinema initially doubted he was onboard and even confirmed with his agent. Jackson also proved pivotal to development; the film was titled Pacific Air Flight 121 at one point, but the actor insisted they keep Snakes on Plane as the official title, which is the only reason he joined the ensemble.

Related10 Best Samuel L. Jackson Characters, Ranked

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the greatest actors of all time, and he's played some of cinema's best characters.

"The title was what got my attention," Jackson told USA Today.

The team behind horror hit Terrifier 3 will be reviving a horror classic. Production company Cineverse has confirmed a new entry in the Wolf Creek film series.

Australian horror hit Wolf Creek broke new ground when it was released in 2005, as it was shot on a micro-budget of just $1 million almost exclusively on high-definition video. Picnic at Hanging Rock and Dark Age's John Jarratt gave a terrifying performance as a serial killer hunting in the Aussie outback. Wolf Creek's box office success led to a 2013 sequel and a TV spinoff.

Wolf Creek Returns After 20 Years

'Wolf Creek' TV Series Looks Just as Creepy as You'd Imagine

The spinoff of Greg McLean's 2005 horror film will premiere in October on American television.

According to Variety, Cineverse is now moving forward with a third film titled Wolf Creek: Legacy, where John Jarratt will reprise his role as killer Mick Taylor.

"You're screwin' it all up! You have to get your head in the game." Samuel Goldwyn Films has revealed an official US trailer for an indie sports drama from Australia titled Kid Snow, which is the same name of the boxer in the film. This originally premiered at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival last year and will be released in the US this February. A washed-up Irish boxer named Kid Snow is faced with a chance to redeem himself when he is offered a rematch against the man he fought a decade prior - a chance to turn the page on the tragedy that changed his life. When he meets single mother Sunny, he is forced to think of a future beyond boxing. The movie stars Billy Howle as Kid Snow, Phoebe Tonkin as Sunny, Tom Bateman, Hunter Page-Lochard, Mark Coles Smith, Nathan Phillips, Shaka Cook, Jack Latorre, & Robert Taylor. Reviews are mixed on it,...

Beneath the idyllic surface of Australia’s Sunshine Coast, a sinister tale of lies, lust, and revenge unfolds in The 13th Summer, a tense new psychological thriller from director Tam Sainsbury (Perfect Messy Holiday). Set to make its UK digital debut on 9 September 2024, this gripping drama is brought to audiences by Reel 2 Reel Films.

The 13th Summer centres on Ben (Nathan Phillips – Snakes on a Plane) and Vee (Hannah Levien – Brand New Cherry Flavour), a couple whose marriage is on the verge of collapse. In a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, they travel to a secluded beach house for their annual holiday with their best friends, Kate (Bec Hewitt – Home and Away) and Patrick (Jeremy Stanford – Relic). But things take a strange turn when Kate and Patrick never arrive. Instead, Ben and Vee find Alex (Ben Turland – Neighbours), a mysterious British backpacker who is inexplicably staying at the house in their absence.

Its been more than 10 years since John Jarratt walked off into the Australian outback in Wolf Creek 2 as serial killer Mick Taylor, but the deranged psychopath is getting ready for a big return in 2025 with the sequel Wolf Creek: Legacy. First released in 2005, Wolf Creek has gone on to be regarded as one of the best Australian horror films of all-time, and for elevating the sub-genre known as torture porn to new heights with its rich character development and stunning cinematography. Directed by Greg McLean, its 2013 sequel was met with equal praise, with The Sydney Morning Herald calling it at the time "the greatest Aussie flick ever made."

Per Deadline, McLean will return to produce Wolf Creek: Legacy which is set to once again feature Jarratt in the lead with directorial duties this time falling to Sean Lahiff, who served as editor on Wolf Creek 2, and the short-lived...

Australia's most prolific horror movie returns, as a new Wolf Creek sequel is in development. Inspired by real-life cases of backpackers losing their lives at the hands of sadistic killers, the 2005 feature saw three backpackers become the prey of Taylor and being subject to grisly torture. While its excessive, unrelenting violence left critics divided on whether it was exploitative or provocative, the Australian horror movie did earn back its budget and spark a wider franchise with a sequel and a TV series.

Nineteen years after audiences were first introduced to Mick Taylor, Deadline reports that a new Wolf Creek sequel is in development, with filming set to begin in 2025. Original star John Jarratt is set to return as the outback-based serial killer Mick Taylor. Creator Greg Mclean will act as producer and Wolf Creek 2 director Sean Lahiff will direct, while fellow horror alumni Jeremy Bolt and Kristian Moliere of...

Bloody Disgusting has teamed up with Lionsgate to release seven modern horror favorites on Blu-ray + Digital in limited edition SteelBook packaging, available exclusively at Walmart today.

The line includes Wolf Creek, Hannibal Rising, I Spit on Your Grave, You’re Next, Sinister, Texas Chainsaw, and Leatherface.

Priced at $22.96, each title features brand new artwork by Bond.

Wolf Creek is written and directed by Greg McLean. John Jarratt, Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, and Kestie Morassi star.

In the 2005 film, a trio of stranded backpackers in remote Australia fall prey to a psychopathic local, who takes them captive and tortures them.

Wolf Creek special features:

Unrated Cut of the Film Audio Commentary by Director Greg McLean, Executive Producer Matt Hearn, and Actors Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi The Making Of Wolf Creek Deleted Scene Theatrical Trailer

Hannibal Rising is directed by Peter Webber and written by Thomas Harris, based on his own novel.

These Final Hours follows James (Nathan Phillips) as he tries to get to a party before the world ends. But, his journey becomes more complicated when he finds Rose (Angourie Rice), a young girl who has lost her father. What makes These Final Hours so terrifying is the manic perspective of society we get as an asteroids shockwave moves towards Australia, eventually proving that giving in to hedonism does not provide an escape from reality.

The episode of Wtf Really Happened to This Horror Movie covering Wolf Creek was Written and Narrated by Andrew Hatfield, Edited by Mike Conway, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

One of the biggest and some would say overused tropes in horror movies is the killer stalking people in an outdoor setting. The main series for this is, of course, the Friday the 13th series but we have nearly countless other examples to pull from. Sometimes, like today’s entry, or The Burning, these stories and movies can be based on true events and make it even more frightening. Unlike The Burning, which is based on an urban legend with the true story being far from fact, Wolf Creek (watch it Here) had an original script that was tweaked to be based on the real life killers Ivan Milat and Bradley John Murdoch...

Star: Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Clayton Watson, Nathan Phillips, Jake Ryan, Martin Dingle Wall | Written and Directed by Blair Moore

Chess is ruthless: you’ve got to be prepared to kill people – Nigel Short

That quote opens the new Aussie thriller Kane, the camera focusing on Abe playing a game. In voiceover Abe’s driver, Benny tells us a few things. Abe is an old-school gangster, all about loyalty and honour. He also has dissociative identity disorder more commonly known as multiple personalities, and as he’ll mention shortly, he’s off his meds. He also tells us that Abe’s opponent is Frankie, a former member of his outfit who is now his rival for control of the city’s underworld. A rivalry that has turned bloody

From here writer/director Blair Moore (Canadian Psycho) lets Benny tell the story of the past twenty-four hours in flashback as he’s being interrogated by the police,...

Similar to France’s New Extremity, Australia experienced its own significant genre resurgence in the 2000s. Most agree the Land Down Under’s golden days of filmmaking began in the ’70s and then drew to a close around the late ‘80s. This period, better known as the Australian New Wave, soared to new heights after the government issued substantial support for the arts. After a steep decline in the ‘90s, though, homegrown horror made a slow but noticeable comeback in the early 21st century. And no other movie from that era is more responsible for bringing Australia back into the conversation than 2005’s bleak and stylish Wolf Creek.

It wouldn’t be a mid-2000s horror movie without the practically mandatory and hyperbolic “based on true events” promotion. In this case, though, Wolf Creek is indeed inspired by a ripped-from-the-headlines true crime. Several, in fact. Ivan Milat, who died in...

"Something happened, and he came back as a different person." Saban Films has revealed an official trailer for a crime thriller titled Kane from Australia, opening in the US soon this fall. Haven't heard much about this one, yet another mediocre crime thriller getting thrown into the "content" pile this year. Benny works for old school crime boss Abe, though Abe has multiple personalities and is in a gang war with the notorious Frankie. Kane is the deadliest of Abe's personalities, and the next 24 hours will be a killer. Today is a good day to die. "Kane is a gripping dark thriller that explores the blurred lines of loyalty and identity." The split personalities twist in this is so uninteresting, doesn't seem they know what to do with it. Kane stars Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Jake Ryan, Clayton Watson, Nathan Phillips, Tammin Sursok, Holly Brisley, and Peter O'Hanlon as Big Stan.

Snakes on a Plane nearly had a different title until Samuel L. Jackson fought the studio, highlighting his role in preserving the iconic name. The movie's absurd plot and viral nature relied heavily on its title, which informed audiences of what to expect and generated online traction. The movie's different title could have resulted in a disappointing performance, as the name "Snakes on a Plane" was what got fans excited early on and contributed to its cult classic status.

Snakes on a Plane nearly had a different title until Samuel L. Jackson fought the studio. The movie, directed by David R. Ellis, premiered back in 2006 and follows Neville Flynn (Jackson), an FBI agent tasked with escorting a murder witness from Hawaii to California, who is forced into action when venomous snakes get released on their passenger flight. Along with Jackson, the movie starred Nathan Phillips, Julianna Margulies, Rachel Blanchard, Flex Alexander,...

A federal judge has granted summary judgment to ABC, CBS, The New York Times, Gannett and Rolling Stone, rejecting libel claims by former high school student Nick Sandmann over an incident at the Lincoln Memorial that went viral in 2019.

In a video, Sandmann, in Washington with other Covington Catholic High School students for the March for Life rally, was shown face to face with a Native American activist, Nathan Phillips, who was at the Lincoln Memorial for the Indigenous People’s March. Social media users quickly pounced on the clips, with many concluding that it showed Sandmann trying to intimidate Phillips.

Sandmann sued a number of outlets for defamation, including reporting, citing Phillips’ account, that the student was blocking him.

U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman wrote that the media outlets, in reporting on the incident, “were covering a matter of great public interest, and they reported Phillips’s first-person view of what he experienced.

French sales agency Elle Driver is giving a Cannes Market launch to “Kid Snow,” a West Australian-produced tale of redemption set in the 1970s world of tent boxing. Production starts on Monday in Australia’s Goldfields-Esperance region, making it the first feature film to kick off production in the state since its border re-opened.

Boxing tents toured Australia’s small towns from the early 1900s until the 1970s, and were venues where professional fighters faced off against local challengers. The troupes criss-crossed the outback, boasted a carnival-like atmosphere and were places where Indigenous fighters could become heroes.

Penned by writers John Brumpton and Stephen Cleary, the story involves a washed-up Irish boxer named Kid Snow who is finally given a chance to redeem himself when he is offered a rematch against the man he fought a decade prior, on a night that changed his life forever. When Kid Snow meets single mother Sunny,...

Stars: Will Patton, Adan Canto, Jonathan Sadowski, Alicia Sanz, Chinaza Uche, Zach Avery, Jesse Latourette, William Mark McCullough, Alpha Trivette, Tom Proctor, Nathan Phillips | Written by Stefan Jaworski, Eric Scherbarth | Directed by Bradley Parker

The Devil Below is visual effects expert Bradley Parker’s second film as a director, his first was Chernobyl Diaries back in 2012. This time he takes us to Shookum Hills, the film’s original title, an abandoned town in Appalachia where inhabitants vanished and the coal mines have been burning for decades. Is it a hill country Silent Hill, or something more sinister?

Paul and his son work for the Shookum Hills Mining Company. As they’re leaving the ground opens up and something grabs the boy and drags him down. Injured, Paul can only lay there helplessly and listen to his screams. In the present day Ariana is making final preparations for her trip. She...

Stars: Nathan Phillips, Alyssa Sutherland, Robert Taylor, Christopher Kirby, Alex Cooke, Mark Diaco, John Lloyd Fillingham, Troy Larkin, Vivienne Perry, Ruby Isobel Hall, Steve Young, Jacinta Stapleton, Mackenzie Stephens | Written by Justin Dix, Jordan Prosser | Directed by Justin Dix

Horror at its best gets under your skin and stays with you for some time, making you think over what you’ve seen. Some horror though just wants to be fun and provide some blood-soaked entertainment. Blood Vessel is one of the fun ones, for those with a taste for vampires. When a life raft adrift in the North Atlantic find an abandoned German minesweeper, the people on the raft believe they are saved. It’s not long though before the seemingly abandoned boat reveals it’s blood soaked secrets.

In terms of storyline don’t expect any brilliant twists or meaningful revelations with Blood Vessel, that isn’t what this movie is.

"I've been killing monsters for years - a few more won't hurt." Shudder has released a new trailer for the Australian horror thriller titled Blood Vessel, which already opened Down Under during the summer. We featured a first trailer back in June, but the film is now available to watch streaming on Shudder in the US. Somewhere in the North Atlantic, late 1945 - survivors of a torpedoed Allied ship are adrift at sea in a life raft when they spot an abandoned German boat. They board, and soon discover they're not alone. Everyone on the ship is dead, but something else still lives. The Nazis found vampires. Yeah, this looks creepy and bloody as hell. This stars Alyssa Sutherland, Robert Taylor, Nathan Phillips, Christopher Kirby, John Lloyd Fillingham, Alex Cooke, and Mark Diaco. It's finally time to meet this freaky old vampire. Here's the official US trailer for Justin Dix's Blood Vessel,...

A life-raft lost at sea encounters an abandoned Nazi vessel. Boarding the ship, they find a far more daunting enemy. Blood Vessel stars Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings), Robert Taylor (The Matrix), Nathan Phillips (Snakes On A Plane), Christopher Kirby (Daybreakers), John Lloyd Fillingham (Hunters), and Alex Cooke (Preacher).

The post Blood Vessel moves to Shudder Nov. 5 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

From classics like Salem's Lot and Black Sabbath to new releases like Blood Vessel and Porno, Shudder's November releases have a little bit for every type of horror fan:

Blood Vessel — November 5

Somewhere in the North Atlantic, late 1945, a life raft adrift at sea, and in it, the survivors of a torpedoed hospital ship. With no food, water, or shelter, all seems lost until a seemingly abandoned German minesweeper drifts ominously towards them, giving them one last chance at survival—if they can survive the bloodthirsty monsters on board. Starring Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek), Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings), Robert Taylor (Longmire), directed by Justin Dix (Crawlspace). A Shudder Exclusive. (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

Lingering — November 12 (a.k.a. Hotel Lake)

Seeking support as the guardian of her younger brother, Yoo-mi returns to a small hotel run by a family friend. As bizarre incidents creep up in her mother’s old room,...

All eyes will be on First Lady Melania Trump as she headlines Night 2 of the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Four years ago, the wife of then-candidate Donald Trump closed out Night 1 of the Rnc with remarks that were partly cribbed from the speech that Michelle Obama delivered at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The following day, Tony Award winner Laura Benanti went viral when she made her first appearance as Melania on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and offered a written apology with even more borrowed lines.

More from TVLineRNC Night 1: Speeches by Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle and Nikki...

Covington High School student Nicholas Sandmann’s lawyer says that CNN’s Brian Stelter and others committed a “breach of confidentiality agreement” when they tweeted about the defamation cases against their media organizations that were settled for undisclosed sums.

Attorney Lin Wood represented Sandmann in two defamation cases against CNN and The Washinton Post over their reporting of Sandmann’s encounter with a Native American tribal elder on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in January 2019. CNN settled the case in January, while the Post settled last week, but details of the cases were made available to TheWrap. Wood went after CNN’s “Reliable Sources” host after he retweeted a post from attorney Mark S. Zaid.

Zaid was replying to a tweet that has since been deleted, so its contents were not immediately clear. But Zaid’s unfavorable view of Sandmann’s lawsuits were evident without the source material. He wrote,...

Nick Sandmann, the high school student at the center of a video at the Lincoln Memorial that went viral last year, said he has settled a defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post over its coverage.

Sandmann tweeted on Friday, “On 2/19/19, I filed $250M defamation lawsuit against Washington Post. Today, I turned 18 & WaPo settled my lawsuit. Thanks to @ToddMcMurtry & @LLinWood for their advocacy. Thanks to my family & millions of you who have stood your ground by supporting me. I still have more to do.”

On 2/19/19, I filed $250M defamation lawsuit against Washington Post. Today, I turned 18 & WaPo settled my lawsuit. Thanks to @ToddMcMurtry & @LLinWood for their advocacy. Thanks to my family & millions of you who have stood your ground by supporting me. I still have more to do.

— Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) July 24, 2020

In a video that went viral on Twitter last year, Sandmann and other Covington High School students, who were in D.

Set during the horrors of World War II, a group of survivors on a life raft discover a new kind of horror when they board a ship infested with vampires in the new movie Blood Vessel. With the film coming out on July 21st from The Horror Collective, we've been provided with an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip that shows the makeup effects process to create the chilling lead vampire, The Patriarch (Troy Larkin).

You can watch the exclusive clip below, and we also have additional details and the previously released trailer for Blood Vessel.

From the Press Release: [Los Angeles, CA] A behind-the-scenes clip from the upcoming WWII creature-feature Blood Vessel, which genre distributor The Horror Collective is releasing, has been posted by DailyDead.com. The clip delves into the creation of the lead vampire, played by Troy Larkin (Wolf). The film will be released on July 21st.

Synopsis: A life-raft lost at sea encounters an abandoned Nazi vessel.

Blood Vessel is a film from Australia. Shot in Melbourne, Williamstown and other locations, the film has been described as a period piece, by the Horror Collective. And, the Horror Collective will ship Blood Vessel to North American audiences this July. Developed by Justin Dix (100 Bloody Acres), the film stars: Alyssa Sutherland ("Vikings"), Nathan Phillips (Snakes on a Plane) Christopher Kirby (Daybreakers), Robert Taylor and many others. A U.S. trailer and poster are here. The Horror Collective's Jonathan Barkan talked about the film, recently. He said of the film and its story: "I love period horror films as much as I love vampires." There will be both vampires and World War II vessels in Dix's latest. The Horror Collective has set July 21st as the film's release date. In July, Blood Vessel will show on DVD and Digital platforms, across North America. Fans of vampires or of World War...

"Whatever happened on this ship wasn't gremlins... something far more real." Umbrella Entertainment in Australia has unveiled an official trailer for an indie horror thriller titled Blood Vessel, made by Australian SFX veteran Justin Dix. This premiered at a handful of horror film festivals last year, and it's being set for release sometime later this year. Set in 1945, the film opens with the survivors of a torpedoed hospital ship adrift on a life raft. They encounter an abandoned German minesweeper but then discover a "supernatural reckoning older and deadlier even than the war they thought they were escaping." Which is a longer way of saying: vampires. The Nazis found vampires. Yeah, this looks creepy and bloody as hell. Starring Alyssa Sutherland, Robert Taylor, Nathan Phillips, Christopher Kirby, John Lloyd Fillingham, Alex Cooke, and Mark Diaco. This is a very dark and messy trailer, but this looks extra gnarly and super scary.

Need a new vampire movie to sink your teeth into? We've got an exclusive trailer debut for Blood Vessel, the latest release from The Horror Collective, which stages a WWII creature-feature aboard the high seas. Following a group of survivors aboard a life raft, Blood Vessel pits them up against seafaring vampires hiding on an abandoned Nazi ship and promises an action-packed, bloody fight for survival. Directed by award-winning effects artist Justin Dix from a script he co-wrote with Jordan Prosser, Blood Vessel stars Alyssa Sutherland, Robert Taylor, Nathan Phillips, Christopher Kirby, John Lloyd Fillingham, …...

Nathan Phillips and Eddie Griffin are toplining Redline, an auto thriller being directed by stunt coordinator-turned-director Andy Cheng. Daniel Sadek is producing via his Chicago Pictures banner. The film also stars Nadia Bjorlin (Days of Our Lives) and will feature a cameo from Wyclef Jean, who is scoring the movie. Not only is Sadek, a real estate investor-turned-producer, financing the pic to the tune of $26 million, but he also is using his personal car collection for the car sequences. Sadek is putting his Phantom, Lamborghini Murcielago, Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari F430, Ferrari Scaglietti and two McLarens, among others, in the movie and will destroy one of his two $200,000 Porsche Carrera GTs in one sequence.

PARK CITY -- Wolf Creek could be the scariest film at Sundance this year--and the bloodiest. An auspicious debut from first time Aussie writer/director Greg McLean, film combines the style of cheesy horror films and the flair of classic thrillers. Picked up by Dimension before the start of the fest, pic should turn into a major genre hit for the distrib, with even some crossover from the film savvy indie crowd.

Based on two unsolved crimes in the Outback, Wolf Creek turns the image of the heroic Bushman like Crocodile Dundee on its ear and creates a staggeringly evil Australian boogie man. It's a story bound to give even the most seasoned thrill seeker nightmares.

Following the model of Alien, the film takes its time with not much happening for the first forty-five minutes. Mclean is careful to build sympathy for his characters before all hell breaks loose. Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) are typical British girls on holiday in Australia looking for a good time. When they meet up with up with Aussie native Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips), they set out by car to explore the remote meteor sites at Wolf Creek. Along the way, we get to see them as flawed, vulnerable kids, so that when they get in trouble we care about them.

Mclean is constantly confounding expectations and violating rules for the well-written screenplay. Initially film seems to be heading in the direction of UFO's since the region is famous for sightings, then Ben gives the girls the chills around the campfire with eyewitness accounts of flying saucers.

But when their car conks out in the middle of nowhere and their watches stop working at the same moment (a major plot point for which there is no explanation), help arrives in the form of backwoods giant Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). Despite some ominous signs, they allow him to tow the car back to his place, an abandoned mining camp, where he starts to work on the repairs. Next thing we know, Liz wakes up bound and gagged in a room that makes a dungeon look appealing. Any doubt about Mick's intentions are gone, and the rest of the film is a sadistic cat and mouse game in which he seeks and destroys his prey in the most vicious and gory fashion. Mclean is purposely pushing things for effect but one wonders what is the line between terror and torture?

Whatever it is, it's stylishly done. Mclean manipulates nature so that it starts out as a positive force and then cloud formations and even flies buzzing gradually take on an ominous tone, heightened by Francois Tetaz's creepy score. Shot with great panache by Jason Ballantine on HD, color grading and blow up make the film look more like Halloween than the overly polished recent remake of Dawn of the Dead.

But the real attraction here is Mick, who is sure to enter the annals of great slasher film villains. With his icy stare, scratchy beard and cackling laugh, this a monster without an ounce of human compassion, and judging by the collection of crucified bodies on his walls, he's made quite a career of duping unsuspecting tourists. Whatever social commentary Mclean throws in about the nature of pure evil and the need to track down these people, the real reason for Wolf Creek to exist is the fun of scaring the hell out of people. Mission accomplished.

WOLF CREEK

Dimension Films

The True Crime Channel

Credits:

Director: Greg Mclean

Writer: Mclean

Producers: Mclean, David Lightfoot

Executive producer: Gary Hamilton, Simon Hewitt, Martin Fabinyi, George Adams, Michael Gudinski

Director of photography: Will Gibson

Production designer: Robert Webb

Music: Francois Tetaz

Co-producer: Matt Hearn

Costume designer: Nicola Dunn

Editor: Jason Ballantine.

Cast:

Mick Taylor: John Jarratt

Ben Mitchell: Nathan Phillips

Liz Hunter: Cassandra Magrath

Kristy Earl: Kestie Morassi

Old Man: Gordon Poole

No

MPAA rating

Running time -- 98 minutes...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The race-relations drama Australian Rules, which screened at Sundance earlier this year, leads the nominations list for the Australian Film Critics Circle Awards with eight, including a nom for best film. The winners will be announced at an Oct. 31 ceremony in Sydney. Other titles featured prominently in the AFC choices are fellow best film nominees Walking on Water and The Tracker (seven nominations each) and Rabbit-Proof Fence (six nominations). In the best actress category, Toni Collette (Dirty Deeds) is up against Danielle Hall (Beneath Clouds), Everlyn Sampi (Rabbit-Proof Fence) and Maria Theodorakis (Walking on Water), while the best actor contenders are Vince Colosimo (Walking on Water), David Gulpilil (The Tracker), Guy Pearce (The Hard Word) and Nathan Phillips (Australian Rules). Nominated for best director are Tony Ayres (Walking on Water), Rolf de Heer (The Tracker), Phillip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence) and Ivan Sen (Beneath Clouds). More than 50 critics are eligible to vote for the awards, which have become the curtain-raiser of Australia's awards season.