Wolf Creek (Greg McLean, 2005) ***

One of the more noteworthy horror films of the decade. It expands on typical slasher movie conventions, taking the cat-and-mouse conceit and giving the antagonist a vast, foreboding environment to roam around in. The setting is the Australian outback and our antagonist, a smart, unrelenting psychopath, is at one with the environment around him. He's portrayed in a way where he clearly belongs—certain shots like him looking into his sniper scope in the distance, or the final shot where his silhouette disappears into the bright yellow desert sunset are further evidence—whereas our protagonists do not. McLean frequently and effectively uses their disadvantage as a springboard for generating tension. In that regard, the film has an exploitation/grindhouse edge to it, but Wolf Creek never goes too over-the-top and never uses violence when not mandatory to the film's narrative flow.

To further establish a gravely, rough tone that's also shared by other grindhouse films, Wolf Creek makes clear from the very beginning that the potential enormity of nature is a major focus. Will Gibson's elaborate digital photography evokes the roughness of the film's narrow highway or dirt-covered terrain. Landscapes are also rendered in a deep focus that gives the sky and the ground the appearance of shooting out into infinity. Wolf Creek examines that infinity in a violent, menacing horror film context.