I apologize ahead of time if the song (People who need People) by Barbara Streisand gets stuck in your head. Wolf Creek and The Loved Ones are among the most notorious titles from this true-crime movies list. These films are all inspired by real events, serial killers and are all about people who hunt people.

People Who Hunt People, True Cime Movies

Unlike the Streisand song, the people in these films need people for all the wrong reasons and their victims are not the luckiest people in the world.

The Loved Ones is my favorite true crime movie from this list.

The Loved Ones (2009)

Movies where people are hunting people because they got turned down for prom.

Written and Directed by Sean Byrne.

Sean Byrne. Released:

Budget: $4 million.

$4 million. Starring: Xavier Samuel, Robin Mcleavy, Victoria Thaine, Jessica McNamee, Richard Wilson, and John Brampton.

One of my favorite films and probably the one that spurred me into writing about Australian horror. Even though it released in 2009, it holds a 98% satisfaction score on Rotten Tomatoes. If you know me, I don’t hold a lot of confidence in that site, but for a film nearly ten years old, it’s usually a good indication you will like what you see.

All The Right Ingredients For a True Crime Horror Movie

The Loved Ones has all the ingredients you want in a horror film. Likable characters with back-stories, tragedy and a few twists and turns to keep you on your toes.

Sean Byrne made his feature film directorial début with this The Loved Ones and didn’t rush with his follow-up film Devils Candy (2015). Having what I consider two smash-hit films with fantastic cult following must make him feel pretty good about himself.

The Loved Ones features some awesome and unique kill sequences. It also has Lola, who is the teenage epitome of the queen of a wannabe bunny boilers. The atmosphere created in this multi-layered story of unrequited love is a must-see.

bunny boiler – noun informal

a woman who acts vengefully after having been spurned by her lover.

I give The Loved Ones

5 razor blade necklaces out of 5

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5.

5 out of 5

Image via Dimension Films

Wolf Creek (2005)

Is Wolf Creek a Real Place? Is this really a true-crime movie?

Yes. It certainly is and there is even a giant crater made by a meteorite featured in the film itself. The name has only been changed incrementally and is actually called Wolfe Creek. The location for this place is Western Australia, the largest state in the country.

Written and Directed by Greg McLean.

Greg McLean. Budget: $1 million. It took almost $4.9 million opening weekend and has gone on to make over an estimated $28 million.

$1 million. It took almost $4.9 million opening weekend and has gone on to make over an estimated $28 million. Released:

Starring: John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips and Gordon Poole.

Wolf Creek 2005 is an ozploitation -grindhouse Australian horror film that will stick with you for many reasons. John Jarratt’s portrayal of Mick Taylor is special in that he only seems quietly suspicious when he first appears. His Aussie blokiness is easily mistaken as friendly if only for the first few moments you lay your eyes upon him. His sinister laugh and methodical planning are what gets under your skin.

By the end of this film, I think I sat still for a few minutes, quietly digesting the total brutality of it. This idea went on to a sequel, however, I really didn’t appreciate the tone it took. I am not too fond of over-the-top schlock and was happy when I watched the television series of the same name and saw it go back to its original dark and twisted roots.

Is The Movie Wolf Creek a True Story?

In short; yes. One of the most iconic and talked about Australian Horror films is this little gem. This film is something of a notorious horror. Most people know the infamous character, Mick Taylor, and many a backpacker has probably thought of this film somewhere in the back of their minds while visiting the Australian outback. Mick Taylor is inspired by real-life serial killer Ivan Milat who killed seven people.

Has the Wolf Creek Killer Been Caught?

In fact, its writer Greg McLean used a true crime event that happened between 1989 and 1993 as inspiration. Ivan Milat is known as The Backpack Killer and many of his victims resemble some of the more vicious scenes in the film itself. Luckily he will be in jail until he is well and truly buried. Currently, he has died after a long bout with cancer.

When Wolf Creek was about to release, the film got postponed in the Northern Territory due to another infamous tourist murder involving Peter Falconio.

I give Wolf Creek

4 that’s not a knife, this is a Bowie knife out of 5

4.5 stars out of 5

People hunting people movies, Killing Ground trailer

Quick Film Info for Killing Ground

Written and Directed by Simon Power.

Simon Power. Budget: $1.3 million.

$1.3 million. Starring: Aaron Pederson, Ian Meadows, Harriet Dyer, Aaron Glenane, and Maya Strange.

Aaron Pederson, Ian Meadows, Harriet Dyer, Aaron Glenane, and Maya Strange. Released:

Killing Ground (2016)

I have given the writer and director Damien Power the title of my favorite director now. This film is not perfect, but the way the movie gets put together created a perfect storm of horrific detail.

This one starts fairly innocuously with a family camping. Like a suffocating whirlwind of wrong place wrong time, the family becomes entrenched in the worst possible nightmares imaginable.

What I loved about this was the off-camera cruelty instead of the often too much shock value scenic madness. Where Wolf Creek causes you to have flashbacks of what you have seen, this will cause you to have flashbacks of what you imagine in your own mind.

The twist is phenomenal in this true-crime movies and the storytelling something that lets this film-maker quit his day job and start concentrating on what he does best. Making movies. I cannot wait to see his next film base on a short he did in 2011 called Peekaboo.

I give Killing Ground

4 do doctors even go camping? out of 5

4.5 stars out of 5

Image via IFC Midnight & Protagonist Pictures

(2011) Snowtown

Seeing this film is not a nice experience. It’s one of those movies that after you watch it you want to rewind it in your mind and pretend you didn’t just inflict such mind-numbing pain upon your psyche. The violence in this film covers animals, sex, and torture.

There might not be a lot of onscreen violence, but wow you can hear it. In others, a precursor such as body parts or implements used gets shown instead. In any case, having these acts shown in this way certainly doesn’t minimize the act itself.

There is no mistaking the painstaking detail that has been wound together by the filmmaker. The cast is overall brilliant. You will never forget the mannerisms of John Bunting (Daniel Henshall) as he eats. I’m not sure why that stuck with me.

True Crime, Movies Based on True Crime & Real Stories

The Snowtown Murders is fully made from a true-crime often called bodies-in-barrels. It all happened in South Australia. John Bunting was the instigator of leading the others into thinking the murders were for reasons of weakness, pedophilia or homosexuality.

Because the bodies of the groups killing spree were eventually found in Snowtown the town itself has suffered. A man called Mr. Large who lived in the town wanted to turn the events into a gimmick, such as selling pies in the shape of barrels. Others wanted to change the name of the town to Rosetown. In any case, the town has suffered even though only one of the 12 murders took place there.

Quick Film Info for Snowtown

Directed by: Justin Kurzel

Story: Written by Shaun Grant and Justin Kurzel. Taken from books Killing for Pleasure Debi Mashall and The Snowtown Murders by Andrew McGarry.

Budget: $2 million

Starring: Daniel Henshall, Lucas Pittaway, Louise Harris, and Anthony Groves.

Released: (Cannes Film Festival)

Fun Fact: Justin Kurzel’s next film is called Haven. The plot is tightly under wraps however I can tell you it’s set in a mental facility and is a psychological thriller.

I give The Snowtown Murders

4 dead, mashed kangaroos out of 5

4.5 stars out of 5

The Snowtown Murders Trailer, People who hunt people movies

Honorable Mentions

100 Bloody Acres (2012) 3.5/5

Berlin Syndrome (2017) 3.5/5

Dishonorable mention to:

Red Christmas (2016) because it is not so good it’s bad, I just didn’t like it. But see it if you like a film with no real story, inane characters, and taboo antagonists.