10 Horror Movies That Are All Too Real
6. Wolf Creek
From the brutality and sadistic nature of the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, many horror films are set in isolated, rural locations on the fringes of civilisation where nobody can save you. What better place to set a horror film, then, than the vast emptiness of the Australian Outback? That’s exactly where the horror takes us in Aussie slasher Wolf Creek.
Written and directed by Greg McLean, this controversial film centres around a group of backpackers who are drugged, kidnapped, and maliciously tortured by charismatic serial killer Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) after their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Marketed as being “based on a true story”, the film’s bleak and cruel depiction of events combined with its true crime aesthetic gives the violence an uncomfortable sense of verisimilitude and believability.
Though the plot is entirely fictional, McLean was inspired by the very real Australian killers Bradley John Murdoch and Ivan Milat to create a slasher film that was distinctly Australian and explored what it would be like to be stuck in the wilderness with a character like Mick – it’s not something you’d want to experience, that’s for certain.