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By: Fish
Date: May 7, 2011

A History Lesson

The Real True Story of 'Wolf Creek'

I assume that for every horror fan, a film based on a true story gives it a little something extra. For me, I allow myself to dive deeply into the story, knowing that while some events may be exacerbated for effect, the bottom line is usually rather accurate, and somewhere, someone had gone through this. Whether or not they lived through it is something different and probably less important. For those reasons I decided it was due time for me to check out Wolf Creek.

I didn’t do my research before watching the film on purpose. I didn’t want to ruin anything, wanted to keep the element of surprise alive. What I found after watching this has brought me to this. I’m not going to give you a complete review of this movie. I will tell you it is worth sitting through, it’s average, it’s a normal stalk/capture/torture/kill movie, and if you’re in the mood for some mindless gore paired with a good date and some popcorn, pick it up. There is something bigger that I want to discuss.

The film Wolf Creek tells you it is based on a true story, and it is. The story that it gives credit to goes like this: Two British tourists, Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio met a mechanic Bradley John Murdoch when he somehow got them to pull over near Barrow Creek. He told them there was something wrong with their vehicle, and soon after shot Peter. He then bound Joanne and took her to his truck. When he went to go deal with Peter’s body, Joanne escaped, hid and Bradley never managed to find her. She later wrote a book detailing her experience.

Okay, so that’s kind of horrible, but it could have been much worse. We’ve all heard stories of what happens to people on vacation and I think all of them trump that. A traumatizing personal experience? Sure. I won’t attempt to discredit that. Is it movie worthy? Absolutely not. Is there any part of that story that fits in with the movie? Euuhhh, no. So where did these film makers pull the gore-filled story they handed over to us from? Well, that’s why I’m here, kids.

The story that we watch happen is based on “The Backpack Murders.” The star of our story is one Ivan Robert Marko Milat of New South Wales, Australia. Milat is responsible for seven known victims, all of them under 23 years old. Here’s who they were, and how they died: Twenty year old Simone Schmidl from Germany, died of stab wounds to the chest and back. 22 year old Joanne Walters died of 35 stab wounds. 21 year old Gabor Kurt Neugebauer from Germany died of multiple stab wounds. 20 year old Anja Susanne Habschied of Germany died of decapitation. 22 year old Caroline Clarke died of shot gun wounds to the head. Deborah Everist and James Gibson, both nine-teen, of Australia died of unknown causes. Only their bones were found.

crater

victims

gravesites

milat

Above are photographs of the famous Wolf Creek crater, all of Milat’s known victims, the gravesites where they were found and a photo of Mialt along with the original sketch. The grave site was found by Ken Seily and Keith Cladwell. They smelled something putrid, and following it, stumbled upon a pile of brush. In the brush they saw what appeared to be human hair and bone, the heel of a shoe and a black t-shirt. When forensics examined the bodies, they found out more than just the cause of death. Facial bones and structures were shattered by violent blows not associated with gun shots. Gags were found, vaginal and anal rape were suspected but never proved due to the rapid decay of the bodies. Bullet patterns suggested that after they were dead, Milat would use his victims as target practice. Milat was discovered by authorities quickly, having prior arrests for the abduction and rape of two women.

So here’s my question and the main purpose for writing this: Dear writer and director Greg Mclean, what the fuck are you doing? Why would you make a movie “based on a true story” that is a really about another true story? Why make a violent, bloody, capture and torture film about a murderer who never got around to torturing anybody? Why not give credit where credit is due? This story is clearly about Ivan Milat and what he has done. No one can argue that. So, why? Dear readers, if you have already watched this film, I hope I could educate you about something, and for future watchers, you’re welcome. Write a letter to Greg Mclean and tell him he’s an idiot.

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