Return To Wolf Creek, available now on iPad and iPhone, is an interactive horror iBook based on the 2005 Australian horror film Wolf Creek created by Sharp Agency in conjunction with Emu Creek Pictures. This app is perfect for fans of the original film (or fans of horror movies in general) and will help fill the void between the original film and the anticipation of the sequel, Wolf Creek 2, which is set for release in 2013. If you are not familiar with the story of Wolf Creek, let me give you a quick run down: Three backpackers (Two English women and one Australian male from Sydney) find themselves trapped in the Australian outback by a crazed psycho, Mick Taylor, after their car breaks down in Wolfe Creek. From there, it's a battle for survival.
The interactive iBook features never-before-seen deleted scenes, interviews, a 45-minute documentary, original storyboards and a handful of other interactive features like Mick's Drawer Of Screams where users can submit their best scream, trivia including a review of the original film by Australian author Rhiannon Elizabeth Irons (shameless self-promotion), links to the website and downloaded wallpapers. All of this is designed to keep fans occupied for numerous hours.
When users first open Return to Wolf Creek, they will see a room of random objects and a spotlight from a torch (flashlight for those international readers). The graphical interface looks fantastic. When you run your finger on the screen it controls the torch, where users can see all the interactive elements. Double tapping on an item opens it up for users to explore and the blood-spattered back button makes it easy to navigate to the main menu. It was a lot of fun exploring all the elements, and getting a sense of how long and difficult it was to film the original movie. The bonus trivia comes in handy, giving the users more insight to not only the film, but Australia in general. I only had the chance of playing with it for a couple of hours, and I felt like I had barely scratched the surface.
One thing I really did enjoy was watching the videos. While the documentary didn’t appear to be in high definition when compared to the deleted scenes and movie trailer, it was packed with a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes details that have never been revealed until now.
As briefly mentioned above, “Mick's Drawer of Screams” is an interesting idea. The plan is to have horror fans record their scream into their iPads. The screams are collected in a database that horror film makers and game developers have access to. Who knows, maybe your scream could end up in a video game or even featured in the background of a movie.
There is clearly a lot of detail and thought put into this app, but there were a couple of minor issues that I discovered. The app is 450 MB, so users will need plenty of extra space to download it. A little patience is also required to wait for it to download. The other issue was that some elements of the app require an internet connection such as the links to the website and the form for users to submit their best screams.
Overall, I highly recommend this app. You don't have to be a fan of the original movie, or horror movies for that matter, to get hours of enjoyment out of it. Return To Wolf Creek has a lot of interactive elements, facts and behind-the-scene details that are sure to please even the harshest critic. It's price of $2.99 (iPad) or $1.99 (iPhone) can't be beat considering you're getting a 45-minute documentary along with deleted scenes and a ton of bonus material.
So, only one question remains: Are you ready to go back to Wolf Creek?
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