© 2008 William Ahearn
There are two stories about Greg McLean’s 2005 “Wolf Creek” going around. The first is that it’s based on a true story; and the second is that McLean wrote the script then found out about the true story and rewrote sections of the script to match actual events. To some, that reeks of exploitation. To me, that’s a writer making a living.
“Wolf Creek” is a well-made flick and it isn’t for the faint of heart. Whether it is a horror film or a serial killer film isn’t a distinction that can be made with any confidence.
If nothing else, “Wolf Creek” brings the reality of Australian serial killers from the outback to the ubiquitous DVD. It’s a terrifying story because the victims aren’t prostitutes or runaways or some other population that most societies see as disposable. In the Australian outback, the victims are travelers and tourists.
The basic gist of the film is that three young people – one an Aussie, two from the UK – are off across Australia and stop to see Wolf Creek National Park. They have trouble with their car and a seemingly helpful local mechanic and hunter offers to tow them and the car to his sprawling home and shop.
And there, their troubles begin.
Whether the story is actually based on the so-called Backpacker Murders is debatable. For information on the Backpack Murders or Ivan Milat, go here or here or here. For background on other Australian serial killers, go here.