Granted the characters were not particularly likeable, fairly common trait in modern slasher films though, but TCM rip off? Bein' a bit 'arsh there mate :P I think part of the problem was that Mick was just too funny to be really... scary.
Here's hoping the sequel is as gory with as many great one-liners as the original, minus the tourists-being-jerky-so-crazy-guy-exacts-revenge aspect that most Aussie horror films seem to encompass.

I agree, John Jarrat as Mick isn't a particularly scary character at all but in an odd way this works, in the sense that he really could be some guy that you bump into on a back-packing trip.

Characters... what is this insistance that people have, that characters in a film have to be "likeable"?
I don't get it. Is it more satisfying to see a string of people sliced and diced if you actually like them? Conversely are you happier to see people die if you don't like them?

I quite enjoyed the film myself, I enjoyed its refreshing lack of American polish.

Likeability makes it easier to commiserate with the characters IN THEORY- Personally I love to hate them, makes it more satisfying when they get snuffed. :D

Yeah, they were rhetorical questions really.

Puts me in mind of the Stephen King (I think?) comment that most horrors have a morality that would make even a puritan smile.

I'm all over this like a hobo on a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20

Me too... I loved the first and loved McLean's other film (Rogue).