Wolf Creek trailer1:45
The trailer for Australia's very own thriller, which scared the world; 'Wolf Creek'.
Wolf Creek 2 was inspired by the evil actions of serial killer Ivan Milat and remorseless murderer Bradley John Murdoch
Wolf Creek writer and director Greg McLean drew his portrait of the fictional serial killer with a close eye to true characters, as well as the most terrifying monsters of the screen.
The original 2005 outback horror film — that revolted some reviewers and drew high praise from others — is inspired by terrifying true events.
Set in 1999, the original Wolf Creek follows the plight of two young English female backpackers and their male Aussie counterpart who fall prey to Taylor during an adventure in remote Western Australia.
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As is revealed, they are not the duplicitous killer’s first victims.
McLean has drawn connections between his story and real-life inspirations, like Australian killers Ivan Milat and Bradley Murdoch.
In one interview McLean said he originally wrote the story as a “standard horror thriller set in the outback” and then drew from the Milat and Murdoch stories.
And Wolf Creek 2 co-writer and author Aaron Sterns says he believes the Australian Outback could be home to more serial killers like Ivan Milat.
“This is one of the scary things, I think; we only hear these stories if a serial killer is caught or the body is found,” the Melbourne-based writer told the Herald Sun.
“Look at how big Australia is. How do you find a body? That’s what Wolf Creek taps into.”
Road worker Ivan Robert Marko Milat was, in July 1996, sentenced to life in prison for the prolonged torture murders of seven backpackers — killed between December 1992 and November 1993 — in the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales’ southern highlands.
The 51-year-old had pleaded not guilty.
In sentencing Milat, NSW Supreme Court judge Justice David Hunt said was a cruel and savage killer.
“Whatever the actual causes of their death may have been, it is clear (your victims) were subjected to behaviour which, for callous indifference to suffering and complete disregard of humanity, is almost beyond belief,” Justice Hunt told Milat.
“They would obviously have been absolutely terrified, and death is unlikely to have been swiftly applied.”
Milat’s victims were Deborah Everist, 19, James Gibson, 19, Anja Habschied, 20, Gabor Neugebauer, 21, Simone Schmidl, 21, Caroline Clarke, 22, and Joanne Walters, 22.
Milat also detained a man named Paul Onions.
“(The murder victims were) seven young people on the threshold of their lives with everything to look forward to — travel, career, happiness, love, family and even old age,” Justice Hunt said.
According to a man who gathered evidence for police but died in a car crash before the court case, Milat — just like the fictitious Mick Taylor — used a rifle and a knife and considered himself a hunter.
Justice Hunt said it was obvious Milat had used “vastly more force” than was necessary to kill “for some form of psychological gratification”.
“Two of the victims were shot a number of times in the head. A third was decapitated.
“The multiple stab wounds to three of the seven victims would have been likely to have penetrated their hearts. There are signs two had been strangled.
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In an interview with Urban Cinefile, McLean said the Milat case had a major influence.
“That case influenced the Mick Taylor character a lot in terms of what he did, what his background was, mode of operation,” McLean said.
In a hidden on-screen reference to Milat, a sign at Taylor’s disused mining camp reads Navithalim Mining Co (read the name backwards).
Bradley John Murdoch, in December 2005, was jailed for life with a 28-year minimum for the 2001 murder of British tourist Peter Falconio, 28, on a remote stretch of the Stuart Highway, near Barrow Creek, in the Northern Territory.
Driving a white 4WD vehicle with a dark-coloured canopy, Murdoch ambushed Mr Falconio and girlfriend Joanne Lees.
The English couple were travelling around Australia on a holiday of a lifetime.
Murdoch shot Mr Falconio and tried to abduct Ms Lees.
He put a gun to her head and bound her hands with cable ties, but she managed to escape his clutches.
She hid in the darkness.
Murdoch buried Mr Falconio’s body before driving to Alice Springs and then heading home to Broome, in Western Australia.
In a court statement, Ms Lees said: “I thought I was going to be raped and murdered. I was terrified and extremely distressed when I was hiding, as I thought I would never see my family again and no one would know what happened to Pete and me.”
When sentencing 47-year-old Murdoch, NT’s chief justice Brian Martin told him: “I am unable to discern any sense of remorse.”
Police had previously dealt with Murdoch, who was acquitted of raping a 12-year-old girl and abducting the child and her mother.
When arrested over the rape allegations, police found an array of weapons in Murdoch’s vehicle including a high-powered rifle, almost 800 rounds of ammunition, a .38 pistol, a knife and a crossbow.
They also found shovels, a jockey’s whip and disposable gloves.
So as not to prejudice the Falconio murder trial, Wolf Creek was not released in the NT while the case was before the court.
In reference to Murdoch, McLean told Urban Cinefile: “Again, a very similar character (to Mick Taylor) … Look at Mick Taylor in the movie. It’s conceivable that this guy could be real.
“Even though we don’t know anything about his backstory, he’s a genuinely frightening character.”
Veteran Aussie actor John Jarratt played Taylor in the original, and reprises the role in the upcoming sequel Wolf Creek 2.
“I had to go into a strange zone to play the guy,” Jarratt told The Australian in 2005.
“I don’t normally remain in character when I’m on the set, but I had to for this film. I was Mick all night and I’d scare the life out of everybody.”
Film reviewers have also mentioned Mick Taylor in the same breath as classic movie killers such as Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs and Max Cady from Cape Fear.
Others suggest he is more comic-book in style, like slash killer Freddy Kreuger from the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise.
In interviews, McLean has also mentioned the film Texas Chainsaw Massacre as an influence.
Wolf Creek 2 through Mick Taylor and his actions will tap into peoples’ our worst fears.
With this character, McClean has brought to life a monster.
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