Wolf Creek was held back from its initial release due to a real-life murder trial.
Wolf Creek tells the story of Kristy, Liz, and Ben, (Kestie Morassi, Cassandra Magrath, Nathan Phillip) three backpackers that accept help from a friendly local man, Mick, after their car breaks down in the middle of the Australian Outback. Despite his initial kind actions, Mick is anything but friendly and ends up drugging and abducting them. The vacationers must then try to escape the tortuous psychopath by any means necessary. Once the blood starts flowing, this film is unrelenting and doesn't hold back on grisly details. It marked the directorial debut of Greg McLean, who is more recently credited for 2017's The Belko Experiment
Despite its gruesome nature, Wolf Creek was quite the success. Not only did it spawn a sequel, the equally brutal Wolf Creek 2 but also a Wolf Creek TV series. Both McLean and Jarratt have stayed attached in their respective roles and will continue to do so with the upcoming Wolf Creek 3, which is expected to begin principal photography in October of 2020.
Wolf Creek Was Put On Hold For A Murder Trial
Roadshow Film Distributors received a request from the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Northern Territory of Australia to delay the release of Wolf Creek, following a screening of the film. The reason for the request was due to the trial of Bradley John Murdoch, charged with the murder of Peter Falconio in 2001, which served as partial inspiration for the film. The original release date for the film was to be November 3rd, 2005, which would coincide with the trial. The primary concern was that the film's release could influence the jury of the trial. It was requested that it be put on hold only in the Northern Territory of Australia until the trial concluded. Murdoch was convicted and sentenced on December 13th, 2005.
Murdoch's trial surrounded events that took place in July of 2001. English backpacker couple Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were in the middle of vacation around the world when they arrived in Australia. They bought a camping van, and while driving down a desolate road at night in the Outback, another vehicle behind them flagged them down to tell them there was something wrong with the rear of their van. Both vehicles pulled over, and Peter got out to speak to the other man, while Joanne did not. Peter briefly returned to ask her to rev the engine to see if he could replicate the issue the man saw. When she did, she heard a loud sound, which she assumed was the engine backfiring.
Shortly afterward, the stranger came to the front and pointed a gun at Joanne. He proceeded to bind her using home-made manacles and force her into the bed of his truck. She managed to push herself up and out of the truck, and ran into the dark Outback, successfully evading the man and his dog's attempts to find her. The man eventually left, and hours later, Joanne was found by a truck driver. To this day, Peter's body has not been found.
Unfortunately, Wolf Creek wasn't in short supply of source material to get inspiration from. The film also drew upon the events surrounding Ivan Milat, who was responsible for at least seven brutal murders from the late 80s and early 90s, and possibly more, known as "the Backpack Murders." The victims were primarily hitchhiking backpackers, in which Milat would pick them up and attack them. Many of the victims were found in shallow graves and were shot and/or stabbed several times, and in some instances, decapitated.
Wolf Creek came at a time where torture and gore were all the rage in horror. It was released during the same time frame as Saw II, Eli Roth's Hostel, and Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. However, the Australian horror film's inspiration and delay due to the real murder trial it was inspired by allows it to stand alone among the ranks.