Overrated

not as good as all the hype

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This obvious Wolf Creekish sort of film is definitely no Wolf Creek. It's mostly a flat drama, where it's last ten minutes actually intensifies, but this plot point should of been somewhere near the middle. An American guy, meets an English couple while backpacking, where slowly we begin to an unravel a darker side to their new found friend, who develops an obsession on the English girl. One incident at a party, he crosses paths with a girl he scr...d over, justifying himself to his friends that he doesn't know this girl. And with this new English girl, we know all too well, that "Three's Company" scenerio, especially when the odd man out, Taylor, is a nutter, and has nasty plans to annihilate his competition. Disappointing as this film was, and that's putting it mildly, Taylor was played with the right blend of psychotic calm and menace, by an unknown in a film that didn't return the compliment. To future scriptwriters out there who pen their first pic, watch and learn from this about poor story development or the lack of it.

A young British couple are travelling through the outback, hitching a ride with a mysterious, charismatic American who becomes increasingly suspect. After this music montages(the first choice doesn't even seem to fit) its way through most of the first third, you might be led to believe that it's picking up. You would be sorely mistaken. It never actually goes anywhere, in spite of genuine potential, and the very last portion of this just gives up on being convincing(especially as far as the actions and logic goes, and it was already on shaky ground). This is a road movie, psychological horror exploitation flick set in Australia, and as such, it is decent. The filming and editing are skillful enough(it even creates mood several times) and there is one or two bits that are downright good. Characters are pretty bland, undeveloped and not entirely credible. Alex, the boyfriend with a secret he doesn't want her to discover, is the best in the latter regard. Their behaviour and poor decision-making abilities keep the paperthin, predictable plot just barely going, until the seemingly ceaseless 80 minutes finally come to a close. Acting isn't bad. This is mostly focused on the three leads, albeit they're not isolated(I expected this to have them stranded and that be a cause of conflict, and it went stupider than that) for more than maybe half of this combined. One has to wonder why they don't simply get out of the situation since that's clearly the smarter option. They have cell phones, too. Operating ones. Yet we're just expected to accept this at face value. For an interesting psycho(whose attraction may not be towards Sophie... not that it actually pays off to notice that) and potentially visually compelling setting(not photographed in any kind of engaging way) and other things I've mentioned, this doesn't actually end up offering anything worth it in return for your investment of time and attention. There is a bit of disturbing content, a little gory/bloody violence and sexuality and momentary nudity in this. The DVD comes with a reasonable and informational enough 29 and a half minute featurette and 8 minutes of deleted(or rather, extended, not to mention padded, no-wonder-these-were-cut) scenes. I recommend this to people who enjoy this kind of thing. 4/10

This is the kind of film and director I would love to work in and with... A plus casting for the "villain" especially....and some of the best direction in this type of movie that I have ever seen.....The director used none of the "thriller" music and/or fancy editing cuts to make his point. Just brilliant character direction. I could not stop thinking about it. It's amazing that movies like this will hardly get noticed as it deserves, while "blockbusters" like "Legend" or the "Bank Job", or many other movies that are only popular because Hollywood hyped them to no end, will have an audience of millions. When are people gonna learn that the best movies are not made by the big studios, but by independent filmmakers who are pretty much the only ones who still make film for the story, and for their passion for the creative process...

I didn't know what to expect from this movie, and knew very little about it; only that it was a thriller, and a bit of the storyline. Now that I've seen it, I have to say I'm very positively impressed.The movie follows Brits Alex and Sophie on a road trip around Australia. They've both agreed to meet in Australia, and, before they do so, Alex has met Taylor, a mysterious American who offers to drive him around. The movie has a very fitting introduction about how the two boys meet in a fun atmosphere, which gradually becomes gloomier and full of menace as we find out about Taylor's dark side.It's plain to see that the story isn't original at all, but it is very well and efficiently told. As other commenters have pointed out, one of the movie's great points is that Taylor's psychotic personality is revealed subtly and slowly, which makes him all the more believable. Also, while not original, the movie isn't all that predictable and the suspense is very well carried along. The acting is also very good; I especially liked Amelia Warner as Sophie. I also found it remarkable that the settings -it's located in some of Australia's deserts, of extreme and solitary beauty- and the fact that it's almost exclusively based on three characters come together admirably to produce a feeling of isolation, claustrophobia and paranoia.The only real weak point about the movie is the lack of character development; I was left wanting to know more about them. This, however, didn't stop me from enjoying it. It's a nice little surprise that I recommend to all thriller lovers.