Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I think I’m going to get a peek at WOLF CREEK next week, and I’m excited. I love real-world horror when it works, and it sounds like this one does...
And as far as this buzz-o-meter goes? All I’ll say is that the mountain air makes people giddy...
[BUZZ-O-METER]
Okay, before I start reviewing the movie, let me show you something that took me 6 1/2 hours to develop: the Sundance Buzz-o-meter (Special thanks to the Microsoft Notepad programming team!)
It shows you the buzz level (not on real-time, sorry about that!) for the Sundance movies that I keep hearing about.
BUZZ LEVEL
(1 - "What's the name of that movie, again?"
2 - "Who directed it, again?"
3 - "Oh, yeah. I heard about that one."
4 - "I heard it's good!"
5 - "The last time my grandmother went to the movies was when "Gone with the Wind" opened. And now she wants to check this one.")
Happy Endings – 4
Layer Cake – 3
The Matador – 2
Inside Deep Throat – 4
Dear Wendy – 3
Kung Fu Hustle – 2
MirrorMask – 4
Brick – 5
Grizzly Man – 3
9 Songs – 3
Old Boy – 5
What is It? – 3
The other ones get an auto 1 (haven't heard anyone mentioning them so far).
As you can see Old Boy is being pretty hyped, but that started way before Sundance, so it's not really news. "Brick" seems to be the film that is getting the most attention here in Park City, as of now.
"Grizzly Man" and "Inside Deep Throat" are the only documentaries I've heard about, and the latter is the only movie I've tried to watch but couldn't - the waiting list for the 150-seat Holliday Village had 70 people in it!
[ACTUAL REVIEW NOW]
Alright, couldn't watch "Grizzly Man" today, but saw "Wolf Creek" instead , by Greg Mclean.
This one won't win the World Dramatic Competition. Not that it is that bad, 'cause it isn't - in fact I'm giving Wolf Creek 3 out of 5 stars. But it's no more than terror by the numbers.
I should have noticed that when I read its synopsis...
From the official website, Sundance.org:
"...This story begins with three road-trippers heading into the Australian outback. After several days of driving (marked by roadkill, a near bar fight, and spooky tales of local UFO sightings), they finally arrive at Wolf Creek National Park and set up camp. The following morning, while preparing to leave, they realize their watches don't work and their car won't start. As panic sets in, they notice strange lights heading straight for them. This is where the real "fun" begins, and the trio must face one of the most frightening bogeymen in the history of film..."
Cliche alert #1 - "road trippers"
Cliche alert #2 - "their car won't start"
Cliche alert #3 - "frightening bogeymen"
Yeah, I wasn't paying much attention when I read this paragraph... Gotta admit it. Three red signs and I still went to see it.
But watching Wolf Creek was fun in the end. Though it is a series of cliches, the flick is not an American PG-13 movie, it is an unrated Australian. This means - the gory sequences look much more real than in "Friday 13th part 423 - Jason travels through time to kill George Washington" (or whatever the last Jason movie is called) or "Scream" or [insert generic-boogeyman-running-after-lost-people-movie here].
Another good thing about WC. One of the actresses in it is hotter than hell! I'm not sure about her name, since imdb.com won't say which girl plays her part. But the name is either Cassandra Magrath or Kestie Morassi. I should spend some time harassing this girl too, instead of my usual "targets", directors and producers for my script, "The Metal Vendetta", a story about... *SCREAMS, PAIN, SUFFERING... READER'S HEAD EXPLODES*
Anyway... The ONLY cliche Greg should have followed/respected, he didn't... None of the girls have their shirts wet or lost during the film :-(
Unk over.
Thanks, man. Intensity counts a lot in the horror genre for me, and as long as WOLF CREEK delivers the goods, I’ll be a happy man.
"Moriarty" out.
