I put off watching this film for a while because I heard it was very scary (or perhaps just really off putting to tourists?) but compared to what I’ve heard of other films in this genre Wolf Creek was not too hard for me to watch.
I won't go into the plot line in too much detail, if you like these kind of movies you would have already seen it, but basically it’s 2 English girls and 1 Australian lad (backpackers) falling victim to an at first seemingly helpful bushmen when their car won’t start in the outback. He tows them back to his abandoned mine site camping area and that’s when things go wrong.
Some background information on (in my opinion) the main real life crime influence - taken from IMDB:
The other major event to influence the film was the Bradley John Murdoch case involving Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio. Lees and Falconio were British tourists backpacking in Australia. Whilst travelling along the Stuart Highway, near Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory on July 14, 2001, they were stopped by a man who was indicating that they were having trouble with their car's exhaust. Falconio got out to investigate, and Lees heard a gunshot. The man then dragged her from the car, tied her up, and blindfolded her, before forcing her into his van along with Falconio's dead body. Whilst he was driving however, Lees managed to escape into the bush. Now in the dead of night, she hid and watched as the man and his dog attempted to find her. Eventually after the man left the area, Lees hailed down a passing car, and contacted police. A massive search was initiated for Falconio's body and the murderer. But almost immediately, the world media began to point the finger at Lees herself. Expert Aboriginal trackers had been sent to the scene where Lees had hidden from the man but could find no sign of tracks other than Lees' own in the vicinity. They also failed to find any fresh blood where the car had been stopped. Two years later, with many now firmly believing that Lees herself had killed Falconio, Bradley John Murdoch was charged with rape in Barrow Creek on or around July 14, 2001. Murdoch was found not guilty of the rape, but Lees identified his photograph as being the man who abducted her, and DNA tests then confirmed that the bloodstains on Lees' clothing matched Murdoch's DNA.
Murdoch's trial began on October 18, 2005. The jury was out on December 13, and returned with a verdict of guilty on the same day after only 8 hours of deliberation. Murdoch was also convicted of other assault-related charges on Lees, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years. Falconio's body has never been found, and there is still a great deal of speculation about the truth of the case. Murdoch has always maintained his innocence, and during the trial his defence team claimed that police procedures were not followed correctly, that Lees' story was inconsistent, and that it was impossible for him to have committed the crime. The defence also discovered that Lees had been cheating on Falconio during their time in Australia, something she denied until confronted with incontrovertible evidence. It was also pointed out how much money Lees has made from the incident; $125,000 AUD for an interview with Martin Bashir and $650,000 AUD advance for a book. Lees was also forced to admit to using ecstasy and marijuana during her visit to Australia, all of which undermined her credibility as a witness. Murdoch's team argued that the whole thing was a cover up.
Apart from the killer, Mick himself (and his very creepy laugh), the big scares are from the isolation the trio face in order to save themselves. Mobile phones don’t work everywhere and while we have populated capital cities once you’re in the middle of the country there isn’t a lot there.
This was filmed in South Australia but actually set in my home state of Western Australia and Wolf Creek does exist (the crater site) but is spelled Wolfe Creek in real life. Our state is a bit bigger than Alaska but something like 80% live in the south west corner which makes for a lot of lonely patches up north.
Regarding the casting, John Jarrett does a great job. For years he and his wife were fairly well known Australian personalities hosting Better Homes and Gardens, so it definitely was odd seeing him in this role.
The English girls did really well in seeming authentic (and IMDB informs me they are both Australian). Nathan Phillips was good but he wasn’t in a good chunk of the film. The final girl was not who I was expecting, so that was good as usually from the beginning you can pick who will be left surviving at the end.
