Wolf Creek - S01E06 Wolf Creek (2016)

Review

Jesus, the sole survivor from the original Wolf Creek movie, is doing his best to keep the Roo population down in the outback and to drink himself into an early death. Unfortunately Eve arrives at his outback domicile and uses some underhand methods to discover where the location of the crater Jesus has been drawing is. She is soon heading to the Wolf Creek crater in order to get some payback from Mick and to hopefully rescue Sullivan who has fallen into the outback psycho's clutches.

We learn something of what lead Mick to his current occupation and further find Casa del Taylor is every bit as wretched as the Sawyer house in rural Texas. A final confrontation is going down between Eve and Mick which is going to be pretty much teeth bared at five yards.

Mortecai dialling in for the final episode of season one of Wolf Creek and what an episode we got sports fans, this one is dripping, and it's directed by Aussie wild thing Greg McLean himself. If you don't like torture porn then this isn't the episode you are going to get down with, similarly if revenge flicks don't drive your boat then you may want to skip the final episode as Eve goes after her man, in both senses of the word.

The Season ends with the showdown we have all been waiting for

McLean gets his episode underway with a solid enough opening sequence that is aware of not overly wasting screen time but is necessary to get Eve where she needs to be, Mick's lair. Welcome to Jesus', Ben Mitchell, dilapidated shack where he hunts and subsequently chops up Kangaroo and is addicted to alcohol in extreme serious fashion. Naturally Eve needs to know where the crater is that Jesus has been drawing almost non-stop since the Police released him and determined he wasn't a suspect in the disappearance of his two traveling companions, this is supposition folks but close enough for Government work. One problem I had with the whole Jesus thing is, he is heavily traumatised by his time under Mick's gentle ministrations so why exactly would he decided to spend his time living in the exact same area that Mick uses for a hunting ground?

Eve threatens Jesus' alcohol supply to learn the crater is called Wolf Creek, because hey who wants to waste time reading maps and such, and is soon en route to the Park. Naturally, because Mick isn't a psycho or anything Eve arms herself with a woomera and spear rather than big ass guns to take him down. I'm going to give McLean a pass mark here as Eve was seen previously learning how to use the Koori weapon from a random old dude that mentions her demons which sort of gets pick up by McLean in this episode and used to good effect. The first act of the episode then is Eve discovering Mick's whereabouts and in a move that will have Wolf Creek franchise fans scratching their heads in confusion the house and outbuildings he now occupies rather than the disused mine that features heavily in previous Mick encounters. I'm not going to call this a plot hole, as guess in Mick's line of work you would need to change bases on a fairly regular schedule.

During the second act Eve begins to piece together some background on Mick, including an abusive father, the death of Mick's sister, and an on the surface sinister travelling salesman. Yes used the male term there Femnazis as we are talking back in the day and the salesperson is indeed a guy. Being brutally honest here, one of my criticisms of Rob Zombie's Halloween was the Director's demystification of the character of Michael and the lazy ass explanation for the character becoming one of horror's foremost psychopaths. In short Zombie did not understand the character, how he worked, and ultimately why he is frightening to even modern audiences. The same dance is going down here, shoot from the hip pseudo psychology that takes the elemental force that is Mick away; washing the character and spin drying him to just another psycho we have seen before. The middle act of the episode is the worse sequence of the first season, never ever explain your mythical antagonist, leave their motivations dimly seen and simply make them terrifying.

In the final act we have what we have been waiting for all season, Eve going mano mano with Mick in a winner takes the decaying ashes free for all. You might think a slight gal like Eve is going to be no match for a big guy like Mick, but she gives more than she takes using her native weapons to good effect, and I have to add there's an assist from Sullivan. If I had one criticism of the final battle it would be that it is slightly too dark in places, as in I couldn't make out what was happening. In the final analysis however the battle royale certain did live up to the pre-season hype. Is this the end for Mick, well no there's another season, and director McLean does return the psycho to the mythical status he formally had as the outback Myers. Eve might be walking away from the battleground to go back to the world but Mick is still traveling the Outback in search of his next victim. Now for this little black duck that's a satisfying way to leave things in a horror show.

Quick question for the horror aficionados reading, did McLean do a shout out to John Carpenter's original Halloween when Mick first appears behind Eve in the crumbling Taylor farmhouse? Seemed that way to me at least, talk about a money shoot, I was almost screaming at Eve to turn around. Just have to admit here that yes I was emotionally invested.

After her epic battle with Mick, Eve simply burns it all down, yes folks Casa del Taylor goes up in flames as Eve comes to terms with her sojourn Downunder and decides to move on with her life. She may not have completely revenged her family but a girl's only got so much to give. McLean isn't across the emotions in this part of the episode, but given the time constraints he at least takes the time to cover all bases. Eve's story comes to an end with this episode, so guess on to a new central character next season, and I have to say I did enjoy our time in her company with McLean having rounded out the story arc solidly.

Throughout the six episodes that comprise season one Lucy Fry (Eve), John Jarrett (Mick), and Dustin Clare (Sullivan) have smashed their respective characters making us all believers in the process. I can't pick a weak link in either the main characters or any of the minor characters. Besides some obvious Downunder tropes that seem to be present in about every movie set in the Australian outback, we do get to spend some time with some eccentric characters who add a little something to the mix. Whoever cast this Aussie psycho romp knew what they were about and matched some good character actors to the requirements.

Phew finally season one of Wolf Creek the television series is nailed shut and I can finally get on with my life after three years of travelling the Aussie Outback searching for Mick. I had a hell of a good time, think I highlighted the odd occasion where things were perhaps not as strong as they should have been, and I hope pointed out the strengths of the season. This episode was a pretty rocking conclusion to all that had gone before it and I've really got no choice but to recommend the episode and indeed the whole first season to readers. If you dug the two full length movies that proceeded this first season then roll on up the waters fine, if you have never explored Mick's world then this is a good starting place. While I'm not going to rush into season two straight away, and I have my fingers crossed there will be a third season, I'm definitely going to spend some time with it before the year is out. Greg McLean does it again, the dude just keeps rocking the genre.