`Wolf Creek'

Happy Horrordays from Down Under!

"Wolf Creek" is another pitiless serial-killer thriller, three college kids hunted down by a remorseless redneck.

But this "Deliverance" - "based on true events" - takes place in Australia. You can tell, because of the vast desert panoramas, the kangaroos, and actors who make lots of "'Crocodile' Dundee" jokes and say "Fair dinkum!" a few times.

Two British "Sheilas" (girls), played by Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi, take a round-Australia road trip with a new pal, Ben (Nathan Phillips), in a beat-up station wagon they've just bought.

They're drinking the drinks and seeing the sights. After hitting Hall's Creek and Emu Creek, they stop in Wolf Creek, where they're soon up You-Know-What Creek without a paddle.

It's a meteor crater park. It's a three-hour hike to get to it. And when they get back to the car, their watches have stopped and the wagon won't start.

No worries. Old Mick (John Jarratt), an outbacker with a tow cable, will fix'er right up.

Except he doesn't. They're all suspicious, but at the guy's mercy. Soon, the three would-be victims, blameless, separated and in shock, are on their own, trying to escape this trigger-happy thug's clutches.

But of course we pause, with one victim, to look at the bulletin board covered with drivers licenses of earlier victims, and watch their camcorders to see the lives that were "Blair Witch"ed away by this run-of-the-mill murderer. Not that every second counts when you're being chased by a mass murderer, you see.

One way these "Jeepers Creepers"/"Duel"/"High Tension" variations work is to put us into the shoes, or bare feet, of the victims. What would we do if tied up with twist ties with a friend about to be skewered by a creep with a knife and a high powered rifle? How quickly would we get over the shock? And once we've collected our wits, how much could we endure to survive?

"Wolf Creek," written and directed by Greg McLean, entertains when it allows us into the story that way, second-guessing the victims, plotting ways to outsmart the killer. He doesn't go overboard in making the various killings show pieces, though they are excruciating to watch.

Of late, these movies haven't had the heart to give us, or their characters, hope. Killers don't need motivation anymore, just opportunity. And despite game efforts to throw us off the scene, to surprise us into who will live and tell the tale, there aren't any surprises.

So don't get attached to anyone. In "Wolf Creek," they'll last about as long as the gift wrap you saw under the Christmas tree this morning.

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WOLF CREEK

2 stars (out of 5)

Cast: John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips.

Director: Greg McLean.

Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes.

Industry rating: R for strong gruesome violence, and for language.

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(c) 2005, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.). Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.