Wolf Creek is a low budget horror import from Australia and it reminded me of nearly every genre flick I've ever seen, particularly the ones from the 70's (think Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes). This new thriller from writer/director Greg McLean made it's stateside debut at Sundance last Jan., and it generated some of the strongest buzz at the festival. Given my affection for all things horror, I wasn't about to miss it. Alas, as the movie ended, I felt nothing but profound disappointment. Here's another picture everyone was proclaiming to be the rebirth of horror (remember all the similar hoopla surrounding Eli Roth's Cabin Fever?), and, while Wolf Creek isn't without it's horrific moments, it comes up way short of classic status. In fact, after a recent second viewing, my disappointment only deepened.

Wolf Creek features a familiar set up. Three twenty-somethings (two girls and a guy-insert joke here) load up the car and set out on a road trip. They party along the way, and run into a serial killer in the final act. What sets this flick apart from other movies of this nature, is where it takes place. Wolf Creek is set in the Outback-- Australia's vast and legendary desert wilderness where just about anything can happen. Although it should be noted that while watching our three characters drive through the deserted landscape, it could just as easily have been Utah.

Our three main characters are Liz (Cassandra Magrath), Ben (Nathan Phillips) and Kristy (Kestie Morassi). Their destination is-SURPRISE!- legendary Wolf Creek, a scenic area in the middle of nowhere that also happens to be one of the biggest crater sites on Earth. After spending the afternoon in the heart of the crater, our three leads return to their car to find that-SURPRISE!-it won't start. Don't you hate it when that happens? Unsure as to how to handle the situation, they decide to spend the night in their vehicle. As Ben entertains himself by pretending his flashlight is a light saber, he and his gal pals are suddenly startled by approaching headlights from the distance. The oncoming vehicle stops, and from it emerges a friendly (or is he?) local who offers his assistance. Then, all hell breaks loose, as Liz, Ben, and Kristy fight to live through the most terrifying twenty-four hours of their lives.

Cassandra Magrath, Nathan Phillips, and Kestie Morassi aren't so much characters as they are random victims. They are simply put on screen and used as prey fodder for the real star of the show. As attractive as they are, we never really get the opportunity to know them or find out anything about who they are. John Jarratt certainly has a fine time - enjoying some devilishly gleeful moments as the mysterious Mick Taylor, a sort of bizarre mixture of Crocodile Dundee and Freddy Krueger.

Wolf Creek is reportedly based on true events, but I would use that term very loosely. Greg McLean clearly loves the genre, but he isn't interested in winking at horror films of the past. Once this picture enters it's final act, it's dead serious. It's brutal, ugly and unflinching and while this has prompted many critics to express their absolute disgust towards this movie, I disliked it for other reasons. The darker elements I respect, because this is, after all, a horror film. It isn't Teen Wolf. What I really disliked about Wolf Creek was the pacing.

For those of you who were among the many bitching about the first hour of King Kong, you'll want to steer clear of Wolf Creek. This movie has a very tedious pace, offering up very little in the way of character development. At least Kong offered up a stronger female lead in Naomi Watts, and furthermore, Jackson's epic spectacle, though deliberate, was ever building towards something. True, Wolf Creek by contrast is a low budget indie, still it's riddled with numerous horror film clichés and it's characters are unrelentingly dumb, invariably engaged in doing incredibly stupid things. All of which would have been fine had the movie built up some kind of momentum, unfortunatley, it never really does. Don't get me wrong, there are a few moments toward the end that will make audiences squirm in their seats (watch for flying fingers and a nauseating spinal torture), but overall, the film is just too bloody dull, and the violence on display is used merely for shock value. McLean is able to generate a few moments of unsettling terror, but as far as those great gasping jump in your seat scares - zilch.

As I watched Wolf Creek, I thought of two equally perverse but much stronger horror efforts from earlier this year. The terrifying French import High Tension - a movie that, despite a ludicrous, nonsensical twist in the final act, generates real horror (and tension) from beginning to end, and Rob Zombie's gloriously twisted Devil's Rejects, a loving homage to 70's horror that is both disturbing and strangely entertaining. Wolf Creek deserves it's props for playing it's cards straight across the table and having the nerve to deal up an incredibly bleak and sickening ending, unfortunately it seems to take him forever to shuffle the deck.