WOLF CREEK 2 Review

• Save

Mick Taylor, everyone’s favorite Aussie serial killer is back in the gory follow-up to Greg Mclean’s 2005 horror hit Wolf Creek.   While Wolf Creek 2 ramps up the action and violence to ridiculous levels, many of the scares from the original are replaced with a more satirical look at the genre, which certainly won’t work for some viewers.  It’s a vicious film that is unapologetic in its graphic imagery, but it still manages to be a fun, if not slightly mediocre, ride.

The film begins with the sadistic killer Mick Taylor, played wonderfully by John Jarratt, being pulled over and hassled by a bunch of bored cops with a chip on their shoulder.  Clearly they have no idea who they’re messing with.  This overly violent sequence sets the tone for Wolf Creek 2, which instead of focusing on the poor hapless victims stays with Mick as his reign of terror sweeps through the Outback.  This proves to be something of a double edged sword.  Mick Taylor is by far the most interesting part of the series, but keeping the perspective on him all but removes any elements that could prove to be frightening.  It’s similar to how Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses compared with The Devil’s Rejects.

Also like The Devil’s Rejects, there’s a lot more action involved in Wolf Creek this time around.  There’s plenty of chase sequences and a fair amount of explosions to keep action fans happy, one involving a stampede of Kangaroos set to The Lion Sleeps Tonight which is every bit as crazy as it sounds.  Everything is bigger, bolder, and badder than the first, except the actual horror.

Fortunately, the character of Mick Taylor makes up for much of the film’s generic plot.  He reminds me of an Australian version of Freddy Kruger, with his sadistic sense of humor and his total lack of compassion.  He loves f’ing with his victims and goes out of his way to devise creative methods in dispatching them.  From sniping them long range, to chopping them up with his Crocodile Dundee blade, to simply dropping an 18 wheeler on them, he gets the job done in very entertaining ways.

Wolf Creek 2 may be giving the slasher sub-genre a well-needed kick to the groin, but it’s just not enough to really revitalize it.  There are some fun action sequences and plenty of blood and guts to make gore-hounds happy and offend many, but the plot rarely moves past being exactly what the film itself it poking fun at.  It’s clear that Mclean is trying to go in a slightly different direction with this entry, but by the end it just feels like a sillier version of the same thing, which might not be bad if you loved the first one.