True terror down under.

Australia is a beautiful country with beaches, world class surfing, and kangaroos drawing tourists from around the world. CROCODILE DUNDEE gave a safe, fun stereotype for the country. As for inspiring horror films, it also provided some terrifying inspirations for filmmakers.

John Jarratt’s performance as Mick Taylor in ,WOLF CREEK and WOLF CREEK 2, gained fans worldwide; with the film being allegedly based on true events, it gave audiences even more to fear when in the Outback. Luckily for backpackers, WOLF CREEK is much more fiction than truth. The true life crimes from the film are based on a series of three separate criminal cases. Ivan Milat, dubbed as the backpack killer, seems to have provided the most inspiration for the character. Milat murdered seven backpackers in Belanglo State Park. He would sever his victims spinal cords to keep them from escaping. On a very unfortunate afternoon, Bradley Murdoch, aka The Outback Killer, stopped two travelers saying their car was shooting out sparks. The driver, Peter Falconio, exited his car on to be shot and killed by Murdoch. Peter’s girlfriend, Joanne Lees, witnessed the execution but was able to escape and alert authorities.

Murdoch was convicted of the murder but remarkably, Peter’s body, to this day, has never been found. And Murdoch still proclaims his innocence. During the trial the judge thought that the film, WOLF CREEK, would influence the case so the film was not released in the territory during the trial. But even with Murdoch behind bars, the outback had more evil looming on the horizon and what was to come was pure evil. Four men and one woman would change history as we know it! Eleven people were slaughtered in a crimes soon titles as “The Snowtown Murders”. John Justin Bunting was the leader of this murderous brood. Though the murders didn’t happen in Snowtown, the bodies of the victims were found in acid filled barrels stored in a vault located in an abandoned bank in that town. The victims were subjected to extreme methods of torture. Bunting chose the victims based off rumors and innuendos of them being pedophiles or homosexuals. The group was apprehended one night after two of the members were arguing outside of the bank, where the victims were, and the police were called. What was merely a routine check on a minor disturbance call resulted in the discovery of a much more gruesome crime. The Snowtown murders also was the basis for the movie by the town’s name, SNOWTOWN. The producers were granted access to sealed court documents of the crime. The cast of the film is mostly comprised of non-actors from the areas where the murders occurred.

Having seen SNOWTOWN, I can say it is a gut punch of a film. The film shows the dark depths that man is capable of and the hive mentality that one disturbed person can create. The movie is not for everyone! If you prefer your monsters to be a fictional entity that has no chance of getting you, then I recommend you avoid this film! If you can endure a dark journey into the recesses of a deranged mindset then I say go for it. This is sadly what man can and has done to others and is far more terrifying than anything Hollywood can imagine, in my opinion. Viewer discretion is highly advised!

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