Is 'Wolf Creek' based on a true story? Find out the truth about the real incidents

Wolf Creek is a 2005 Australian horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Greg McLean and starred John Jarratt, Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, and Kestie Morassi. The plot of the horror movie revolves around three backpackers who find themselves taken captive and subsequently hunted by Mick Taylor, a deranged psychopathic xenophobic killer, in the Australian outback. Read on to know if Wolf Creek is based on true events.

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Is Wolf Creek based on a true story? 

According to a report by Oxygen, Wolf Creek story that is set in the year 1999, follows three tourists in their expedition at the Wolf Creek National Park, where their car breaks down and they are offered help by a person named Mick Taylor, who turns out to be the end of two out of three of them. The three tourists, Ben, Liz, and Kristy are held captive by the sadistic serial killer and only Ben manages to escape and is rescued by people. Ending title cards explain that Ben was at first a suspect in the killings of Liz and Kristy, but was eventually cleared of charges. The mystery of their deaths was never officially solved and their bodies were never found. 

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The director of the movie Greg McLean explained that two real-life murder cases inspired this film. Greg used the stories of Ivan Milat in the 1990s and Bradley Murdoch in 2001 for his film's screenplay. In an interview with Starburst Magazine, Greg McLean stated that the killer in his movie is the combined elements of true characters including a lot of Australian archetypal characters and cultural mythology, like Crocodile Dundee and Steve Irwin, and weaving those characters into a combination to come up with the character.

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He added that it is really a combination of what the international perception of the Australian personality is, then also having this hidden side of that personality that’s the dark and negative stuff as well. He further said that it is an interesting combination, which shows the repressed side of the country. Ivan Milat killed at least seven tourists between 1989 and 1993 in what infamously became known as 'The Backpack Killings' while Bradley John Murdoch, the other inspiration for Wolf Creek, was found guilty for the murder of an English backpacker named Peter Falconio in the year 2005.

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Image Credits: wolf_creek_movie Instagram account