WOLF CREEK is almost aligned with torture porn. Its fairly unpleasant, but is it a good movie? Not at all, its just violence for violences sake, a lot of it doesnt make sense but its graced by a great performance by the lead actor. And this is a guy who compiled and co-wrote a book on extreme Italian gore films? In a way, it makes sense: Jay has witnessed so much onscreen sadism as a cult-movie buff (including the films of his former youthful favourite, Lucio Fulci) that hes finally been turned off of it. So to temper his views of WOLF CREEK (a film I find tense and suspenseful), Ive gone for a second opinion. Horror writer Anthony Ferguson is a native of Perth, Western Australia: Were isolated from the rest of the world. Its always hot here. Hes also an expert on Australian murder cases, which hes been writing about in a book with the working title Killers of Oz. So I was interested in his view of a film thats been called an Australian TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and is reputedly based on true crimes. I thought they did a good job and I loved John Jarretts portrayal of Mick Taylor, the Vietnam vet who was scarred by war and had a violent nature, he recounts with amiable enthusiasm. I thought that was brilliantly done. I really loved the end where it was clear they werent going to catch him and he just faded away into the background, because its so huge and so sparse. I thought it was a bit lame that he let one of them go, but that happened with Ivan Milat and Paul Onions anyway. So is there truth in the screen credit that claims Mick Taylors outback road rage is based on real-life cases? There are two obvious ones. The Peter Falconio murder in 2001 was on a remote road in the Northern Territory. They were driving through the night on a tour from Alice Springs, not so far from WA. Bradley John Murdoch isnt a serial killer, hes only done that one. Theres some DNA of his on Joanne Lees t-shirt. A lot of people have questioned her story: even though Murdoch was an experienced bushman, she somehow ran off from his car with her hands tied and he couldnt find her. I think her problem is that she is very good-looking, and it was found out in court that she was cheating on Falconio with another guy. So theres always going to be a suspicion that shes a femme fatale and somehow set the whole thing up. Women are always going to get that. And shes profited a great deal from her story shes put out a book called No Turning Back. But the central character in WOLF CREEK is said to be most closely based on Australias most infamous serial killer. Its been noted in the media before that its based loosely on the Ivan Milat case in the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales, from about 88-92, confirms Ferguson, because he roamed the roads and of course it was backpackers he was after. Milat at the time was a lot younger , a lot fitter, he trained with rifles and knives. I dont think he was a Vietnam vet like Taylor in the story. But he was a roadworker so he was always out on the roads; he had a big rural property; he had lots of guns; he had a big fourwheel drive. Apparently, in the 2005 WOLF CREEK, the actual sign on the abandoned mining site gate says, NAVITALIM MINING CO and if you read that backwards Navitalim says Ivan Milat. If you look at Milat physically, like 20-odd years ago, and Bradley John Murdoch, theres certainly echoes there of Mick Taylor. So what is it about the terrain and the backroads of the Australian outback that captures our imagination? Does the author feel it lends itself to this sort of crime? Absolutely 100 percent, he agrees, disarmingly. Im surprised there isnt more of it, to be honest. There might be a few isolated cases of rapings and stuff like that, but Im surprised there arent more serial killers out there. It might be something to do with the laconic, laidback Australian nature. People just arent vicious enough. Or might it be the case that if there were more out there, maybe you wouldnt know about it if these guys were concealing their crimes? Its possible. Mick Taylor seems to get away with it far too easily. How much easier if youve got all that open space? Oh absolutely. Im glad that it doesnt happen a lot more, but Ive driven right across the desert. Its very lonely and theres like a million places you could hide a body and theyd never find it. Apparently theres a real Wolfe Creek, though spelled with an e. To tell you the truth, until I saw the film I didnt know it existed. But its right up the top north end of WA many, many hundreds of kilometres from me, several days drive. Theyre getting a lot of tourists up there since the film came out. Back in Blighty, Jay Slater remains unimpressed. Its all very low-rent isnt it? he says of the WOLF CREEK-TEXAS CHAINSAW comparison. A crazed serial killer in the outback, or Texas, torturing and killing people. The only thing he doesnt do in this movie is eat people but in Part Two he does. But, perversely perhaps, he agrees the lead role of Taylor is a tour de force. John Jarretts performance is just amazing. In Part Two he still carries an air of menace, but its like a computer game its very, very bad, there are CGI kangaroos. After WOLF CREEK he made ROGUE, which cost $50 million, and it played in a handful of cinemas. It made a huge loss. I knew him and he said hed never do WOLF CREEK 2 he did. And it bombed. I dont know what hes doing now. Ferguson concurs with Slaters damning opinion of WOLF CREEK 2: Yeah, I think the sequels rubbish. It panders to the whole tourist-Australian outback ethos: youve got your obviously CGI-generated kangaroos being mowed down by Mick in the truck. Youve got Mick as the traditional Australian horseman with a whip, chasing the guy down through the grass. Its a bit extreme, a bit ridiculous. WAKE IN FRIGHT was reflected in WOLF CREEK 2 when Mick runs the kangaroos down, only its nowhere near as well done.* *Penguin Australia have published WOLF CREEK prequel novels Origin and Desolation Game, written by the films writer/director Greg McLean and Fergusons friend and fellow horror author Brett McBean: Theyre about Mick and how he becomes a monster. I think its about his Vietnam years and stuff like that.
Writer/editor/ghost-writer transfixed by crime, cinema and the serrated edges of popular culture. Those similarly afflicted are invited to make contact.
