McLean's first full-length film was the 2005 Australian independent horror film Wolf Creek. Reviews were mixed, but it achieved a cult following. In the United States, it received an NC-17 rating until being edited to obtain an R rating.
Mclean's next film Rogue, in 2007, was about a deadly salt-water crocodile attacking an international group of tourists in Australia's Northern Territory. He was one of the candidates to direct Paranormal Activity 2. McLean produced the Justin Dix thriller Crawlspace.
McLean also joined The Legend of Ben Hall as an Executive Producer in February 2015.
In 2016, McLean directed the poorly received horror film The Darkness. His next films are The Belko Experiment and then Jungle.
