I'm a huge fan of the original Wolf Creek. Mick Taylor cemented himself as one of the best horror villains of all time. Yeah I said it. He doesn't wear a mask, he's not invincible, he doesn't have any superpowers; he doesn't need any of that. No, this guy is a hunter. A straight up Australian outback sharpshooter with weapons up the wazoo. Thing is, he hunts tourists. Any poor bastard wandering around the wide open plains of Australia better not cross paths with the guy because he'll kill them in the slowest, most degrading way possible. He thrives on fear and wants to squeeze as much life out of each one of his victims before letting them die. His smirk is chilling, his laugh is sinister. He's a sick sadistic psychopath, and he's absolutely captivating to watch.
The thing about Wolf Creek is that it focused on these three backpackers who were going to the Wolf Creek Crater or whatever but their car broke down, so some guy in a truck comes by and offers them a lift. Turns out this guy is Mick Taylor, and after a brilliantly tense campfire scene where they're all having a drink and a good laugh, he poisons them and proceeds to do vile things. What made it so terrifying is that we knew these characters. They had chemistry, you believed they were friends, you were on this adventure with them, so when the sh*t starts happening, it gets downright disturbing because you feel for these people.
In Wolf Creek 2, the focus is almost entirely on Mick Taylor. It's literally just a day in the life of Mick Taylor, which I don't have a problem with at all. But there really isn't a clear protagonist we can root for during a large portion of this movie. At first you think it's a German couple since we follow them around for the first act, until they set up a fire that catches Mick's attention. Then, the guy gets killed. And the girl runs and runs until she reaches the road, and this is where we're introduced to our "real" protagonist: Paul. He almost runs her over but quickly stops, lets the girl in his car and hauls ass out of there. But of course Mick catches up, things happen, and it ends up becoming a cat-and-mouse game between Mick and Paul.
Paul really is a good protagonist though. He's a British tourist who was just driving through the Australian wilderness until he finds the girl in the street, then things start heading south for the guy. Paul is a sympathetic character because he was genuinely just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even Mick reminds him that he wasn't his primary target, but Paul interfered with his hunting so now he's in the crosshairs. The psychological warfare between Paul and Mick near the end was riveting, and the actor who played Paul did a phenomenal job despite having such little character development to work with.
It's definitely a fun ride. There are some cheesy moments like Mick riding a horse with the sun going down behind him, but overall it has the same thick, brooding atmosphere as the original Wolf Creek. It's just told from a different perspective. It's the same type of extreme over-the-top sadistic horror as the original so if you don't like that stuff then steer clear. But if you did like the first one and want to see more of Mick Taylor, Wolf Creek 2 will give you exactly that.
The thing about Wolf Creek is that it focused on these three backpackers who were going to the Wolf Creek Crater or whatever but their car broke down, so some guy in a truck comes by and offers them a lift. Turns out this guy is Mick Taylor, and after a brilliantly tense campfire scene where they're all having a drink and a good laugh, he poisons them and proceeds to do vile things. What made it so terrifying is that we knew these characters. They had chemistry, you believed they were friends, you were on this adventure with them, so when the sh*t starts happening, it gets downright disturbing because you feel for these people.
In Wolf Creek 2, the focus is almost entirely on Mick Taylor. It's literally just a day in the life of Mick Taylor, which I don't have a problem with at all. But there really isn't a clear protagonist we can root for during a large portion of this movie. At first you think it's a German couple since we follow them around for the first act, until they set up a fire that catches Mick's attention. Then, the guy gets killed. And the girl runs and runs until she reaches the road, and this is where we're introduced to our "real" protagonist: Paul. He almost runs her over but quickly stops, lets the girl in his car and hauls ass out of there. But of course Mick catches up, things happen, and it ends up becoming a cat-and-mouse game between Mick and Paul.
Paul really is a good protagonist though. He's a British tourist who was just driving through the Australian wilderness until he finds the girl in the street, then things start heading south for the guy. Paul is a sympathetic character because he was genuinely just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even Mick reminds him that he wasn't his primary target, but Paul interfered with his hunting so now he's in the crosshairs. The psychological warfare between Paul and Mick near the end was riveting, and the actor who played Paul did a phenomenal job despite having such little character development to work with.
It's definitely a fun ride. There are some cheesy moments like Mick riding a horse with the sun going down behind him, but overall it has the same thick, brooding atmosphere as the original Wolf Creek. It's just told from a different perspective. It's the same type of extreme over-the-top sadistic horror as the original so if you don't like that stuff then steer clear. But if you did like the first one and want to see more of Mick Taylor, Wolf Creek 2 will give you exactly that.