The same night I rented Saw II, I also got Wolf Creek (official site here). Blockbuster had the unrated version which is what I got. I don't even know if they had any other version but it wouldn't have mattered as I would've gotten the unrated one either way. I liked this one much better than Saw II. It wasn't particularly gory I didn't think. More so than in most movies the first third of the movie stood in contrast to the horror that followed it. There was some character development and some events that allowed you to become familiar with the general surroundings. In this movie the location (the Australian outback) played as important a role in the movie as any character. The vast open spaces created an atmosphere of isolation. As I watched the movie develop I knew it was only the setup and that things would inevitably take a turn for the worse. It was a longer setup than probably most movies of this variety. You almost get into a comfortable spot before things turn bad, but when they do, they really do. It's a horror movie and it was pretty horrific. Again, as a whole it wasn't particularly gory I didn't think. The most intense part I thought was when this girl got her fingers cut off. Still I backed it up and watched it a few times. I thought it was a scene that needed some extra attention and a few extra viewings to fully appreciate the gravity of her situation. It wasn't especially graphic the way the showed it. They didn't show it at all really. She was knocked down on the ground and on her back when the guy pulls out a knife (like first photo below). She had her hand up to defend herself I guess and then the next thing you see is some fingers hitting the ground. Then of course there was the aftermath (second photo). She reacted like someone who just had some fingers violently cut off. If that's not horrific I don't know what is. I sat in the comfort of my living room imagining what that would be like to be in her situation. Her life was still very much at stake but yet losing fingers is pretty shocking. How does a person get past that moment where you see your fingers tumbling to the ground, then get up off the ground, get your legs moving and get away from whoever cut them off? Do you pick up your fingers or just run for your life without them?
The terrifying part of the movie wasn't so much blood/guts visuals as it was the surroundings and the events happening to the characters...discovering where they were, who they were with and what he was capable of. The sounds of screams and pleading from that girl being tortured in the shed was amazing. It sounded like such real, genuine and almost unimaginable terror. To watch such movies puts me in an uncomfortable space in my own mind. It's not for everyone I suppose but I like to have that type of experience once in a while...only while sitting "comfortably" in my living room of course. I give Wolf Creek 3-1/2 stars.
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