On this day in 2004, Australian director George McLean began shooting Wolf Creek. He wrote the film (which he also produced), inspired by the infamous exploits of the Backpack Killer in the 1990s. The film debuted in Australia at number one before performing impressively in the UK and U.S. as well.
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez were two notable supporters of the film, but the critical reception was polarized. Many objected to the graphic scenes of sadistic torture while others commended their effectiveness. Reaching U.S. theaters around the same time as the Tarantino-presented and similarly themed Hostel, Wolf Creek heralded the arrival of a new type of horror film inspired by the works of Japanese thrillmaster Takashi Miike.
Factoid: Takashi Miike makes a cameo as a patron at the torture chamber in Eli Roth’s Hostel.
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