Monsters need some sense of mystery about them if they're going to get under your skin. Use them sparingly in a story and there's a good chance they'll be able to insinuate their way into your nightmares. Reveal too much about them or simply give them too much exposure and there's every possibility they become less terrifying.
In Greg McLean's 2005 home-grown horror film, Wolf Creek, the character of murderous bushman Mick Taylor (unforgettably portrayed by John Jarratt) was perfectly deployed – mostly jovial, maybe a little bit dopey, he became something truly horrific when his mask slipped to reveal the sadistic bastard lurking beneath the surface.
McLean's sequel, Wolf Creek 2, gives viewers more Mick, and the law of diminishing returns takes effect as a result. It's mainly due to the plotting, which was lean, mean and spare the first time around but comes across a bit threadbare in this second outing as Mick makes life bloody miserable for anyone who crosses his path; mainly nice-guy British tourist Paul (Ryan Corr, vividly displaying his character's fear and misery).
The filmmaker and star still deliver accomplished work – McLean knows how to gradually ramp up tension, effectively stage sequences of carnage and mayhem and make the best use of his remote, isolated locations, and Jarratt has a great handle on the unhinged fury that burns within Mick.
