It's received wisdom never to receive lifts from a stranger.

However, in Australia - after this and Wolf Creek - the wise words cry out to be heeded if you don't want to end up a mangled corpse behind a bush in the Outback.

After a drunken night out in Sydney, newly-arrived Scouser Alex (Evans) accepts a lift up the coast from friendly American co-traveller Taylor (Mechlowicz).

Stopping off to pick up Alex's girlfriend Sophie (Warner), the happy-go-lucky trio roll on down the highway, knocking back tinnies and hitting the beach at every opportunity.

But there's something not quite right. For a start Sophie's German beach bum buddy - who was supposed to be joining them on the trip - disappeared on the eve of the trek without so much as an Auf Wiedersehen.

Taylor also throws a wobbler when Alex and Spphie wake him up with some amorous activity in their three-man tent.

Suspicions are further raised when a furious Scottish lass Taylor runs into at a barbie abuses him for something dodgy that went on in Thailand. He denies everything.

This follows the formula of countless psychological thrillers where the real fun is to be had watching the psycho cultivate his carrion and bide his time before striking.

This neatly drives a wedge between the victims-in-waiting - Alex has a clear idea exactly how dangerous Taylor is becoming while his increasingly irritated girlfriend regards Alex as the psychotic.

It all ends predictably enough although there's a sly trick with a mobile phone and Scott Mechlowicz is grinningly convincing as - you suspect - a serial killer with a round-the-world ticket.

Tim Evans