![\"John](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/John_Jarratt_Wolf_Creek_2_Main.jpg\")
It\u2019s been nearly ten years since we\u2019ve seen Mick Taylor mutilate unsuspecting victims in \u201cWolf Creek,\u201d but now he\u2019s back and eager to torment a new crop of tourists.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s been nearly ten years since we\u2019ve seen Mick Taylor mutilate unsuspecting victims in \u201cWolf Creek,\u201d but now he\u2019s back and eager to torment a new crop of tourists.<\/p>\n
This time around the narrative centers on Paul Hammersmith (Ryan Corr). While driving down a highway in South Australia, he unknowingly attempts to help one of Mick\u2019s many victims and, as one might expect, Mick doesn\u2019t appreciate it so makes Paul his next target. Paul\u2019s a bright guy with a lot of resolve, but that might not be enough to outrun Mick and his enormous arsenal right in his own backyard.<\/p>\n
With \u201cWolf Creek 2<\/strong>\u201d making its US theatrical debut today, ShockYa had the pleasure of talking head-butting, spine-cutting and loads more with Mick Taylor himself, John Jarratt<\/strong>. Check out what Jarratt told us about getting \u201cWolf Creek 2\u201d off the ground, the indelible impression he made on one fan, how much of the narrative really is \u201cinspired by true events,\u201d and more in the interview below.<\/p>\n What was it like from your perspective making the \u201cWolf Creek\u201d sequel happen? The first film did well, but \u201cWolf Creek 2\u201d is first arriving nearly ten years later. Had there been talk of making another all along?<\/B><\/FONT> How was it locking financing and then going into this with a bigger budget? I don\u2019t know how accurate what I\u2019ve read on the Internet is, but $1 million to $7 million is a nice step up, and quite the accomplishment.<\/B><\/FONT> How about getting back into character? It\u2019s been a while so did you have to do anything specific to get yourself back into that mindset?<\/B><\/FONT> Are you cool with that? Is it still exciting having people come up to you or have you had enough?<\/B><\/FONT> What\u2019s the craziest fan interaction you\u2019ve ever had?<\/B><\/FONT> I know a lot of actors like to be able to connect with their character on some level. Do you find that tough to do here \u2013 if it\u2019s even possible at all?<\/B><\/FONT> How do you detox from something like that?<\/B><\/FONT> How well do you know Mick? We get a clearer sense of how strongly he feels about his country and tourists here, but what about what drives him to hate like that and to kill?<\/B><\/FONT> This may sound silly, but what about what he does in his downtime? He can\u2019t be hunting and killing 24\/7, so what does Mick do to relax?<\/B><\/FONT> How is it playing a killer without a mask? Jason, Michael, Ghostface, they all earn their place, but there\u2019s still something about seeing someone in a mask that makes them scary right off the bat. Do you think there are benefits to Mick just being Mick from start to finish?<\/B><\/FONT> Are there any villains that really scare you anymore or does playing one yourself change how you respond to material like that?<\/B><\/FONT> Can you tell me about some of the movie magic in \u201cWolf Creek 2?\u201d Was there anything that looked totally ridiculous on set that looks like real violence and gore to us in the final cut?<\/B><\/FONT> What about the correlation to real murders? I remember when the first film came out, there was a lot of talk about the movie being based on true events versus being inspired by true events.<\/B><\/FONT> Is there any more truth to \u201cWolf Creek 2\u201d than the first one?<\/B><\/FONT> Do you have other ideas brewing for the character? Is there more to Mick that could warrant a third film?<\/B><\/FONT> What about a prequel? I wouldn\u2019t mind seeing Mick on the rise and becoming the guy we meet in the first film.<\/B><\/FONT> Wolf Creek 2 arrives in select theaters today. It\u2019s also available on VOD and iTunes<\/a>.<\/I><\/p>\n
\nJohn Jarratt:<\/B> A couple of things. Number one, Greg [Mclean] was very determined to write a script that was better than the first one, or make a film that was better than the first one. The problem with sequels is they usually let people down, you know? So he worked very hard at that and then we had a bit of funding difficulties because this idiot put this money into the first attempt, pulled the plug on us and we had to reinvent ourselves and refinance. That\u2019s what slowed it all down. It wasn\u2019t that it was never gonna be made; it was just bad luck along the way. <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> Yeah, but the first film did extremely well so it\u2019s got to franchise, if you like. It\u2019s much easier to raise the dollars for the second one than it was for the first one. The first one was made for $1.2 [million], really. It should have been $3.5 [million], you know what I mean? We made that film on a wing and a prayer. No one got paid and all that rubbish, as it goes down when you\u2019re trying to make a little independent film. It\u2019s probably twice the budget when you think about it. <\/p>\n![\"John](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/John_Jarratt_Ryan_Corr_Wolf_Creek_2.jpg\")
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\nJarratt:<\/B> Well, I was kind of connected to the character all those years for two reasons; one, Greg Mclean\u2019s very inclusive and I worked very closely with him on the script so I never felt that far away from \u201cWolf Creek\u201d in that regard. And secondly, I\u2019m a household name in Australia. I walk the streets and people stop me and want to take an iPhone photo and they want me to do the laugh or the funny voice, so the Mick Taylor character\u2019s never been far away. <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> I wouldn\u2019t call it exciting. It\u2019s gratifying to know that what you\u2019ve done has worked, but when you\u2019re trying to get to a dental appointment and you got a toothache and someone wants to take your photo, it gets a bit annoying sometimes. But it\u2019s part of what I\u2019ve always done so I\u2019m kind of used to it. In fact, I love coming to the States and walking around and not having people look at me. That\u2019s quite different for me. [Laughs]<\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> I signed this girl\u2019s arm at one of those Comic Con things and apparently she went straight to the tattooist and had my signature tattooed on her arm. <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> It\u2019s one of the only times that I do go a bit method because the character is such an evil bastard and that\u2019s a long way away from who I am, and to get into the skin of someone who is a serial killer is a strange place to go. It\u2019s a bit schizophrenic. But I\u2019m normally not a method actor. People say, \u2018Are you a method actor?\u2019 I say, \u2018No, I\u2019m a professional actor.\u2019 [Laughs] But in this case I did have to suck eggs and do a little bit of method and try and stay in character. <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> Very, very quickly. I take the clothes off, I have a severe haircut and a shave, and a really long shower, and then come out looking totally different. <\/p>\n![\"John](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/John_Jarratt_Wolf_Creek_2.jpg\")
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\nJarratt:<\/B> Oh, it\u2019s a really typical redneck attitude in every country. The good old boys in this country are not much better \u2013 I\u2019m not calling them serial killers, but as far as racism is concerned and bigotry, and not having a lot of time for foreigners, it\u2019s not a new thing – but killing them is going a bit too far. [Laughs] <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> He lives down south, right? You get that in the opening sequence of \u201cWolf Creek 2.\u201d They look at his license and say, \u2018You\u2019re from the south.\u2019 So down south he\u2019s a well known guy who does bits and pieces around town, likes to go to the pub and get drunk, have a few laughs. Everyone thinks he\u2019s a happy-go-lucky, terrific, funny guy. \u2018Aw, Mick\u2019s down at the pub. Let\u2019s all go down and have a drink with him,\u2019 you know? If you take out the evil and the psychopath and the killing, he\u2019s an affable, easygoing kind of guy. Every time they find some mad person like Mick Taylor, the neighbor always says, \u2018But he was such a nice guy. He\u2019s a good family man. We\u2019re all really shocked!\u2019<\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> Oh, well, wearing a mask is Halloween; it\u2019s bogeyman time. It\u2019s not real. And you\u2019re hiding behind something; why? Can\u2019t you cut it? I think the great scary characters don\u2019t have masks. Hannibal Lectre, Robert DeNiro in \u201cCape Fear,\u201d \u201cPsycho,\u201d there are so many really good villains that don\u2019t wear masks and they\u2019re scarier because they\u2019re real and people say, \u2018My god, this could be the guy next door.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> I suppose maybe because I work in the business I don\u2019t get freaked out by horror films or scary movies. To be honest, I don\u2019t scare that easy. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d like to be eaten from the legs up by a great white shark or something. That would scare me, so probably \u201cJaws\u201d is the scarier thing for me because being eaten alive is not a good way to go. <\/p>\n![\"John](\"http:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/John_Jarratt_Wolf_Creek_2_II.jpg\")
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\nJarratt:<\/B> There was one thing that happened. I head-butt the English guy, Paul, and we did the take and the guy didn\u2019t pull his head back like he did in rehearsal. He left his head there and I actually head-butted him, so when you see the head-butt in the movie it\u2019s actual and the sound that it makes is actual. [Laughs] And then when they said cut, I reached down and said, \u2018Hey, mate, you okay?\u2019 He said, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019ve got a headache, but how good is it?\u2019<\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> It\u2019s a great device that moviemakers use, you know? Based on true events. Because there\u2019s, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s real,\u2019 but it\u2019s just a very, very well placed sentenced. I did a film 40 years ago called \u201cPicnic at Hanging Rock.\u201d It said based on true events and it was nothing like what actually happened. But, that was part of the intrigue and part of what got people to go to the cinema. <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> Well, my character\u2019s totally fictitious. The only thing that we do that the serial killers that he\u2019s based on do is use a few of their techniques, like Ivan Milat who\u2019s a famous serial killer in Australia used to sever spines, so we sever spines in this one. And another one called [Bradley John] Murdoch, [he] killed this backpacker and tied the girlfriend up and she got away, so we did that in this film, but that\u2019s as close to what happened as we come. <\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> There\u2019s definitely more because in the first one, I was only in 50% of the film. The film was about letting the monster out of the cage, but the monster is out of the cage so you get it from the get-go in \u201cWolf Creek 2\u201d and it\u2019s one hell of a rollercoaster ride from the start.<\/p>\n
\nJarratt:<\/B> We haven\u2019t thought of a prequel. We have thought of sequels, but prequels haven\u2019t come to mind. <\/p>\n