Thursday, August 13, 2009

Wolf Creek (2005)

A couple days ago I found the Netflix Queue Randomizer, shuffled my movies around a few times, and closed the page. The deal I struck with myself was to stay away from my Netflix queue now that it was randomized. This way I could finally be surprised with each shipment notification--I was getting tired of knowing exactly what was next up. Thankfully the randomizer placed Wolf Creek near the top. This is a movie I vaguely remember hearing inklings about somewhere, but never really looked into. I have never read a single review, synopsis, or seen any trailers. At the time of pressing PLAY last night, all I knew was that it was critically acclaimed at Sundance and made in Australia.

Cat out of the bag: I loved this movie! The cinematography, and thus atmosphere and mood, was outstanding. At some points I lost interest in the storyline in favor of eeewww-ing and aaahhh-ing at some of the shots. On top of superb visuals, add solid acting and an extremely creepy antagonist--seriously, this guy kept me nervous and on edge the whole time!

I still haven't read any other reviews, but I have a feeling this is one of those movies you either hate or love. Sure, it didn't give anything new to the "breakdown" or "survival" genres, but its atmosphere set a new standard. And sure, the movie takes a long time to get past its setup, but I thoroughly enjoyed the realistic feel that gave the movie. Quite a feat given how ADD I am.

I'm curious to see what others are saying, so I'm off now to search the Web! If you haven't seen Wolf Creek, it's well worth it.

7 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed the movie. I saw it a few years ago. My favorite aspect of the movie is how long it takes to get started because it kept me on edge, waiting for something to go wrong, guessing at what was going to happen. I had no idea what it was about before I saw it: werewolves, serial killer, aliens??? So that was a fun experience. If I had seen it later on, after hearing more about the movie, then I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the long setup as much.

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  2. Becky - Glad you pointed that out. I, too, didn't know anything about it before watching, and I think that is they way its intended to be viewed. I'm currently busting at the seams trying to keep my mouth shut so as not to ruin it for anyone! But I will say that, since I didn't now anything about it, I felt the bewilderment and fear that the protagonists felt; the feeling sort of reminded me of 13 Tzameti.

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  3. I saw it and didn't like it because usually dont like futile endings. But for some reason about a year later I was thinking about the movie replaying it in my head and was like "well shit that movie was pretty damn good". Also I am off the randomize my netflix que! I had no idea. I usually just go down the list and type in random numbers fast... :D

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  4. No Name - Yeah, I love this quick and easy randomizer! Funny how that happens sometimes: you begin liking a movie down the road. In fact, I've actually started rethinking my original opinion of Calvaire.

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  5. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. This is one of my favorite new movies, and I am so glad you didnt have any prior knowledge of it going into it! The slow but steady build and realistic characters / setting made for an awesome and deathly terrifying little film

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  6. This one was lacking for me. They should really stop with the "its based on a true story" motif.

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  7. Jaded - I turned a blind eye upon the "true story" bit. This tactic has never affected me in any way.

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