10 Horror Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On True Stories

Ravenous is a cannibal movie starring Robert Carlyle as Colqhoun, a man addicted to human flesh, and Guy Pearce as Boyd, a U.S. Army lieutenant out to stop him. The film is set in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountain range, with Colqhoun luring a group of soldiers to a cave so he can consume their flesh. Tasty.

The two main inspirations behind the film are the Donner Party, and the story of Alferd Packer. The Donner Party was a group of pioneers who became stranded in the same mountain range depicted in the film, with some of the pioneers turning to cannibalism in order to survive, eating the flesh of those who died from starvation, or the cold.

Packer - also known as "The Colorado Cannibal" - also ate human flesh, munching down on his companions when the expedition he was a part of became lost in the San Juan Mountains in 1874.

In the film, in order to lure the soldiers to the cave, Colqhoun tells the group that his wagon train became lost in the mountains, forcing him into cannibalism. This is similar to how Packer himself became lost in the mountains, with both men performing an unspeakable deed to stave off hunger and keep their lives.