10 Horror Movie Scenes Worse Than Death

Partially inspired by real-life serial killer Ivan Milat, Australian horror Wolf Creek sees a group of backpackers become stranded in the middle of the outback when their car breaks down. Their problems look to be solved when a stranger arrives and offers to tow the vehicle back to his camp, where he promises to fix it.

That stranger is Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). While he initially seems charming despite his gruff appearance, events soon take a deeply disturbing turn when Mick drugs the backpackers and takes them to an abandoned mining site. It’s here where this stranger’s true monstrous nature is revealed when one of the group, Liz (Cassandra Magrath), wakes up to the sound of the man viciously assaulting her friend.

By keeping the violence grimy and grounded, Wolf Creek makes for a difficult watch. However, the most shocking scene comes when Liz tries to escape in a car only for Mick to stab her with a bowie knife. After severing her fingers, he explains how to make “a head on a stick” over her agonised screams.

Taking his knife, he severs her spine, leaving her completely paralysed in a scene that's as excruciating to watch as it sounds.