Wolf Creek 2

Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), the Australian outback's most sadistic killer, is back! Nearly a decade ago now, the psychopath first struck fear into the idyllic Wolf Creek National Park. Now he's sharpening his knives again to kill unsuspecting backpackers. This time it hits the German backpackers Katarina (Shannon Ashlyn) and Rutger (Philippe Klaus), who camp on their tour through the real Australia stupidly directly in the hunting ground of Mick. And escape doesn't help against the serial killer. Even when surfer Paul (Ryan Corr) rushes to the aid of the desperate Katarina, the bloody nightmare is far from over.

The first part of Wolf Creek came to theaters at the height of the so-called torture porn films a la SAW and Hostel and also strictly followed the rules of this horror subgenre. Director Greg McLean took a long time to introduce the victims of the sadistic killer Mick Taylor. And just as much time was then spent on the torment he inflicts on them. This worked very well because of the deceptive idyll of the picturesque landscape and the wonderfully nasty acting of John Jarratt. But by now there have been too many films like this, so the audience's interest in more rampant torture has waned considerably. It's just not enough anymore to kick it up a notch in terms of brutality to make the same old formula still interesting. Greg McLean has realized that, too. And that's why he takes a slightly different approach in Wolf Creek 2 than he did in the first film, but without completely abandoning the successful concept.

This starts with the opening sequence, in which Mick himself becomes the victim of two bored cops. Of course, it doesn't take long for him to turn the tables on them, but it's interesting to see how McLean manages to make his merciless killer seem almost sympathetic in the face of unwarranted police harassment. When Mick's next potential victims are introduced after this very well done opening scene, it doesn't happen as rampantly as it did in the first installment. Rather, the viewer is introduced to the two German tourists only by means of a brief montage, and only a few minutes pass before their romantic trip takes a bloody turn.

Not relying on the tried-and-true torture scenes at this point, McLean first picks up the pace considerably and offers the viewer a fast-paced chase, in which a herd of kangaroos also plays a crucial role. It's brutal, absurd - but also extremely entertaining. It's only after this outback variation of Fast & Furious that surfer Paul heads to Mick's torture cellar. Of course, not too much should be revealed about the following scene at this point, only this much: here, too, McLean skillfully tries to vary already known things in a surprising way. And despite some allusions to the first part, Wolf Creek 2 never seems like a stale rehash of the original, even here.

Surely, it can now be argued that Mick Taylor, by being seen less often and speaking less in the first film, somehow seemed more menacing. This may be true in a way, but John Jarratt's play also prevents the psychopath from degenerating into a caricature in the sequel. With many successful moments of suspense, a good dose of action and great camera work, Wolf Creek 2 can be called a successful sequel, which can be warmly recommended to all fans of the original. The only downer: The uncut version has not made it through the FSK. For the theatrical and DVD/Blu-ray release in Germany, the film had to be shortened a bit. Some minor cuts are not noticeable, but there are two scenes where the cuts are already disturbingly obvious. And especially for horror fans, this is often reason enough to forgo a visit to the cinema or the purchase of a DVD - even if it's only a few seconds. For those who don't mind cuts too much, this is still very hefty fare that deserves a clear worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp