Loved the first series and the first movie. But it's not even worth watching this tripe to see the ending. Note to filmmakers: If you keep making your scenes so visually dark NO ONE CAN SEE ANYTHING. Mick Taylor has well and truly worn out his welcome, same old same old, no plot, please Stan spend your money on better drama/ thriller/ anything for us to watch. This was a waste of money and oxygen.

"Wolf Creek" (2005) and "Wolf Creek 2" (2013) are among the most chilling and effective horror films out there. (They can be difficult for even seasoned fans of the genre to watch.) And last year's follow-up television series faithfully channeled so much of their mood, tone and atmosphere that it should have been just as effective. What a shame that its first season falls short due to tremendous problems with pacing and story structure. I'd rate it a 6 out of 10.The six-episode arc has the feel of the films. It was written, directed and produced by Greg McLean, as they were. Once again, the forbidding Australian outback is itself a central character, gorgeously captured and lovingly presented by the show's cinematography. I think it's been a long time since I saw a horror film or series so successfully project a mood. Also returning, of course, is John Jarrett in his perfect and perfectly frightening portrayal of the serial killer Mick Taylor.Lucy Fry's young American antihero, Eve, is the latest to face off against him, but there's a twist — after surviving the slaughter of her family, she resolves to find and kill him. Fry is just great in the role; Dustin Clare is well cast as the nice-guy cop who alternately pursues and tries to rescue her from danger. The rest of the cast is also roundly terrific. The soundtrack and scoring are beautifully atmospheric.Unfortunately, though, all of these elements appear within a plot that moves at a snail's pace. We actually don't see much of Mick for many episodes — the story focuses on Eve's haphazard, calamitous odyssey through rural Australia, encountering criminals, good Samaritans and just plain lunatics. McLean scripts a protagonist that is compelling and cool, and Fry is a good actress. But many of the events of her journey are only tangentially related to the story's central conflict, which is her duel with Mick. I get the sense that fans might tune in to see a horror film, but might be disappointed by a moody, loosely plotted travelogue through McLean's brutal fictional interpretation of the Australian outback.I wondered how the screenwriter here could make such a major miscalculation. Then I remembered that the "Wolf Creek" films, despite their brilliance, were also quite slow. They contained what seem like lots of supporting or ancillary material connected with Mick's victims, which were ultimately interspersed with the intense violence that made them terrifying movies (not to mention Jarratt's flawless portrayal of a violent sociopath).But those movies both had an hour-and-forty-minutes running time. These six episodes add up to four full hours. The slow pace of films was a forgivable flaw — it even came across as deliberate pacing. It's frustrating, though, for any on screen story lasting more time than that. I honestly think I would have enjoyed Season 1 much more if it had been edited down to half its length — into maybe three episodes or one feature film.Oh, well. This series is still remarkably well made, and I do think it will please many fans of the films. If you enjoyed those, I would recommend giving this series a shot.

I created an account here just to leave a review of this as I need to rant! Never have I watched a TV series that had the potential to be so brilliant, but is in actual fact utter rubbish. It's a perfect example of high production values and cool cinematography trying to shroud a total lack of substance. Plus it's monumental stereotyping of the citizens of the Australian outback is like nothing I have ever seen. Not to mention the fact that it portrays almost every male character as either rapist, thug, thief, or psycho (unless you are a policeman or a priest... and even then.... erm....) The main character has a total lack of depth, coupled with cringe- worthy levels of melodrama (EVEN when taking into account the horrific situation she has been thrown into) and either can't act or is extremely suppressed by awful direction (I'm sure either the actress or the director, or both, or SOMEONE, must have watched too many of those despicable films about melodramatic teenage vampires or something). The plot has so little meat on the bone and is largely implausible, and there is an endless onslaught of purely ridiculous and frustratingly stupid decisions by the main character. I know you are supposed to shout at the protagonists in slasher films for being dumb, and yes they are under pressure and the adrenaline and the blah blah blah, but SERIOUSLY! And not only that, she repeatedly makes the SAME mistakes to the point where I ended up being "on the side of the villain", who is the only well executed character in the entire series. Although there are some cool side characters, who needed far more screen time and development. The ridiculousness coupled with the lack of character depth/building (which makes you not give a s**t about them) honestly resulted in it being the first serial killer themed affair where I have actually wanted the killer to end up triumphing (apart from Hannibal Lecter, but we're pretty much supposed to want him to triumph) (and maybe some dodgy sequels to some classic originals, but that's par for the course). It is a well executed production, but the lifelessness of the plot and characters ruins it. I did watch the whole series as I did want to know what the outcome would be, although more because I had fun laughing at it with my girlfriend. They get 3 stars from me for good cinematography and production values, but for the entire duration of this series I just kept imagining the "ding" of the CinemaSins tally bell racking up and up to dizzy heights.

I was leery of watching this series but found it to be far better than both films. There is quite an arc from Episode 1 to Episode 6 and gives the young protagonist ample opportunity to shine as a kind-hearted, smart, yet tough deliverer of justice. There is something so satisfying, watching a character grow the way Eve does. Along the way in the narrative, she has to toughen up even more and grow up quickly to achieve her objective. And there's hardship and a lot of pain along the way. I appreciated that this is not merely a slice and dice horror series (the films are fine and offer an effective urban legend, but the overwhelming gore and terror wore me out), but something with nuance and back story. The episodes give you time to really care about the people involved in Eve's journey. And how refreshing there is a love story that transcends physical lust; more like two souls that found each other but ultimately couldn't be together. As to the acting, mostly quite good. Lucy Fry, who has the gravitas and strength of a young Robin Wright, excels as Eve, out to avenge her loss. She is ably supported by a number of characters, particularly Dustin Clare as Sullivan, the police officer compelled to help her at any cost, a kindly female truck driver, and an escaped prisoner who becomes an ally. John Jarratt does his usual believable, sinister performance as the game-playing butcher, Mick, the guy you never want to run into in a dark alley, the Outback or anywhere else.Great job.