SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT - Greg Mclean
"The idea behind Wolf Creek has been around for about six years, when I wrote the first treatment for the film. It started with the notion of a terrifying, lone character inhabiting the Australian Outback. A character that reverses all of the clichés about the classic Australian bushman type, exemplified by 'Crocodile Dundee' and 'Steve Irwin'.  Wholesome, bush skilled Larrikins with a naïve charm and childlike view of the world. These are two of our most popular cultural exports - but what if we created a character who exemplified the darkest, most sinister and monstrous aspects of this essential Australian archetype. Essentially creating a uniquely Australian 'Boogieman'. As the script has developed a number of 'real' Aussie Boogiemen appeared. Figures that were so horrific it was as if they and their crimes sprang directly from the imagination of some writer whose object was to scare us witless, and make certain those Sunday afternoon drives out into the Australian country-side stopped altogether."
Ivan Milat (the Backpacker Killer), Bradley Murdoch (the Peter Falconio Killer) and the Snowtown Serial killers stunned Australians and terrified International onlookers. They committed crimes characterised by unparalleled violence, brutality and chilling, cold-blooded planning. Australia, once the world's favourite beach suddenly became a place where lonely, deranged men with murder on their minds stalked empty highways. Looking for vulnerable tourists a long way from home. And while Wolf Creek is not based on any one story or case, Mick Taylor is the bastard child of all of these men and their hideous crimes.
"It was my intention to make Wolf Creek an unforgettable, shocking and genuinely scary movie that is also distinctly Australian. In terms of producing the film, the breakthrough on a way to make it came with the advent of Dogma 95 - the group of Danish filmmakers led by Lars Von Trier, who created a digital revolution by liberating themselves from the burden of huge production budgets. No built sets, limited lighting and sound, shooting on digital video, and focussing all their energy into telling great stories innovatively with compelling performances. I truly admired their original and daring cinema:  Breaking The Waves, The Idiots, The Celebration and Dancer In The Dark among them. And even though many of their original ideas were cast aside as they became more successful, the original concepts served to prove that shooting in this way re-focuses a film on it's essential elements, and re-asks the question; what do you need to make a good movie? Their answer was - a great idea, excellent actors and a digital camera. (Wolf Creek was shot on Hi-Definition Camera's and Lenses, also used on Star Wars Episode II, III and Once Upon A Time In Mexico.)
"So this formed the basis of my approach to making Wolf Creek. I was influenced by certain elements of Dogma 95 (economy, focus on script and performance for cinematic effects) and my favourite elements of the classic horror movies (strong central storyline, few characters, an isolated setting, a unique and unforgettable monster) and decided (probably subconsciously) to mesh them together to create Wolf Creek.
"In addition to this I've always loved Horror/Sci-fi/Fantasy Comics and Movies since childhood.  I was going to be a painter and studied painting and drawing my whole life, constantly filling up sketchbooks with monsters from Conan the Barbarian, Marvel Superheroes, Star Wars characters and Tales From the Crypt creatures. My mother used to let me watch all the old Hammer Horror films; I think she liked them a lot and I was just blown away by them.  So I guess, in retrospect, you could call the directorial technique finally devised for Wolf Creek a real meeting of high and low art - a classic boogie man story using the techniques of "art" cinema to create an original cinematic experience.
"The reaction to the film so far has been intense and fascinating. None one has been completely 'unmoved' by the film, which is great because I feel that anything is better than a neutral or lack-lustre reaction to your film. Movies should, I believe, be explosive, slightly sensational, magical and, primarily, an unforgettable experience (and I don't just mean being shocking for the sake of it - stillness and silence can be as powerful as violence and action). Movies of this nature have changed and enriched my life so much so that my life now seems too short to sit through boring movies! So Wolf Creek is definitely a movie I've attempted to make into a cinematic hand grenade. I'm very excited about bringing the film to life and witness what kind of life it has once it and the 'boogieman' it contains is 'out there."
The film does contain some confronting sequences of violence. Mclean is quick to point out that the use of violence in the film was carefully thought through. "The movie does contain explicit and intense scenes, they are disturbing. However the film does explore the dull, mundane nature of violence, as the film is in some ways a voyeuristic journey into a world of pure evil. I believe it's the artist's job in some form to 'not look away' from our world and the human experience: both in its blackest elements of suffering and it's brightest moments of joy. And while it may be confronting at times, I feel it is important to expand the audience beyond what they would experience in their everyday lives. And cinema is a great medium in which to do that, as the audience is never actually in danger. We get to look into the horror with the reassurance in the end that, 'it's only a movie'."
On the film being accepted into the Sundance Film Festival, Mclean had this to say: "I have always loved the stories I grew up with about weird lights in the sky, UFO's and people who simply 'disappeared' while in the Outback. Australia is a magical country with amazing and yet terrifying qualities, and I really wanted to put a face to the nameless fear of what lurks 'out there' on those long lonely highways. As someone from a small town who grew up watching some of my cinematic heroes arrive at film festivals and begin their careers [Steven Soderbergh - Sex Lies and Videotape, Spike Lee - Do The Right Thing, Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs], it's an incredible honour and a dream come true be invited to show our little horror movie in the country that actually invented the horror movie.  I still can't believe it's happening and I can't wait to get over there."

CASTING
From the outset Greg advised casting agent Angela Heesom that having big 'name' actors in the film was not a concern. "The only thing that was important was how relaxed and naturalistic they could be as a performer and understand the style of the filmmaking we were doing - which is completely observational of the action. Cassandra, Nathan and Kestie were a godsend as not only are they incredible actors, they absolutely embodied the spirit of this production; which is that everyone involved threw themselves into it completely. And John [Jarratt] as the veteran exuded such command as an actor on set and is a fantastic guy to be around, so the cast were a dream come true. I really believe that great directing is being good at casting and taking time to make the best choices possible. In the end I suppose it's about responding to truth. The truth in a moment being performed by the actor. The way something is said. How well an actor can listen to another performer. When you spot an actor who can live and breathe and react and create in a really truthful way it's incredibly inspiring. And I was inspired by these actors everyday making this movie with them. They give the movie it's organic quality, and it's rhythm, because in the shooting and cutting we were essentially following the lead of the their truthful exchanges throughout a scene. It's like a golden thread that is pretty much the narrative line of the story, and I feel that in great films there is always that thread of truth that leads you through the journey of the characters. The writer is the first person to feel it but then it's up the actors to pick it up and make it 'their' truth. I'm just so glad we had this cast because they completely and truthfully owned their performances. And that is what's on the screen."

DESIGN AND CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The style of Wolf Creek was always intended to be ultra-realistic, semi-documentary. We designed the film to appear to be little more than a 'recreation' of an actual criminal case. The reason for adopting this storytelling technique is that when there's an element of 'truth' to a horror film the audience is more readily able to become complicit. Fact based stories mean it is easier for an audience to suspend their disbelief, thus creating a much more intense reaction. Examples are The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Blair With Project. All play with the idea that they are based on or are 'true stories'. All went to great lengths stylistically to convince the audience of the 'reality' of their environment, characters and events. The object being with this kind of movie to generate maximum audience reaction. And have lots of fun doing it - as finally that's what horror movies are for! As Stephen King said, "Without first belief, there can be no fear". This maxim by the master of horror is one we adhered closely to in the preparation, design and construction of Wolf Creek."

POST PRODUCTION / MUSIC / SOUND
The film was post-produced entirely in Adelaide, South Australia at Oasis Post Production. Marty Pepper and Dale Roberts oversaw this process, with Marty personally creating all of the visual digital effects, digital matte paintings and colour grading the entire film. Pete Smith and Pete Best mixed and sound edited the film at Best FX in Adelaide. They collaborated heavily with composer Francois Tetaz in creating the film's textured audio blend of score and sound. Francois says, "We were always thinking about a sparse, electronic score that is quite abstract, and gradually builds so that in the last half of the film it virtually becomes one constant, building piece till the end. The music in the film subtly shifts as the movie dramatically changes gear half way through and becomes a completely different kind of experience. The challenge was in staying true to what was happening in the story and avoid 'horror' clichés. So it was scored much more from a place of, "this is actually taking place, historically, as opposed to trying to scare people with the music. So in that sense the music is simply supporting the storytelling. But it also works on other emotional and poetic levels throughout and suggests the larger themes running through the piece."

GREG MCLEAN - PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR
Greg has been writing, directing and producing for over ten years.
His experience extends across theatre, film and television. 
After training as a Fine Artist specialising in Painting, Greg attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), completing a graduate diploma in directing. His success there ensured work with one of Australia's most esteemed theatre directors, Neil Armfield, on his highly acclaimed production of Hamlet -- which starred Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh. 
Greg then worked with Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, assisting the team on their production of A Midsummer Nights Dream for the Australian Opera and then in the early stages of pre-production on their film version of Romeo and Juliet. 
This work led to a position as the director of OzOpera, the Australian Opera's touring arm. He directed their first production: Mozart's The Magic Flute. Over the years Greg has independently directed theatrical productions of Equus (written by Peter Shaffer, Guild Theatre), A Property Of The Clan (written by Nick Enright, NIDA theatre) and, As You Like It (by Shakespeare, Ensemble theatre).
Greg has completed numerous short films as director and producer. His first, Plead, won a Gold award from the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS).
His last short film, ICQ has screened at several film festivals, including St. Kilda, Eye Candy, Short-trips, MUFF, Upstart Films. At The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, it was awarded Best Director of a Short Film. 'ICQ', shot on 35mm Panavision and starring Sam Johnson, was nominated for Best Sound Design in the non-feature category of the Australian Film Institute awards, and received a Silver award for Cinematography from the ACS.  The film is being distributed by Flickerfest and screened recently on Showtime Movie Channel.
Under his production company GMF- Greg Mclean Film Greg has produced and directed dozens of television commercials, corporate videos and film clips.
These include visually striking spots for Najee, Moods, Pure Essence, Christopher Chronis, Mushroom Music, Vicious Vinyl and the ANZ bank.
These productions have enabled him to employ a wide variety of directorial styles, performance methods and post-production techniques. Over the past four years Greg has written a number of feature film screenplays across many genres: including thriller, drama and romantic comedy. Wolf Creek is his first feature film.

ONE LINE SYNOPSIS.
Three young backpackers experience a terrifying journey after being abducted in the isolated Australian Outback.

LONG SYNOPSIS.
(Based on Actual Events) Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) are twenty-something British backpackers in Broome, Western Australia. Preparing for a car trip with an Australian, Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips), they enjoy a final night's revelry. The first day is tedious: road kill, car overheating, singing, "getting to know you" conversations and map monitoring. They settle in for the night at a small town and Ben treats the girls to some urban legendary about UFO sightings in the area. Kristy and Liz are sceptical but spooked. Out of petrol the next day, the travellers stop at a roadhouse for fuel. Kristy tells Ben that Liz likes him and Ben almost starts a fight when the presence of the women rouses lewd remarks from some truckies. Driving on through a landscape of burned out car shells and bullet-riddled road signs; they arrive at 'Wolf Creek' National Park. Ben talks about how a meteor formed the crater as they climb its walls. They lose the afternoon to food and dozing and Liz and Ben act upon their attraction.
Ready to leave at dusk, they find their watches stopped, a precursor to discovering the car isn't working either. There is a rush of panic, then Liz spots some lights travelling toward them and the grunt of a truck signals a rescuer: Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). An affable brute of a man, Mick inspects their vehicle and manoeuvres them into letting him tow it, promising to replace the faulty part at his camp. It takes hours to reach his place: an abandoned mining site complete with defunct tunnels and huts. The travellers cook food in exchange for repairs and fresh water. Mick recalls his life as a professional vermin shooter, and then works on the car as his guests fall asleep.
Liz wakes from a drugged sleep late the next day. She's tied up, mouth gagged, inside one of the miner's huts. She frees herself using smashed glass. Outside, she creeps towards the station wagon and its stripped parts, then discovers Ben's bloodied sleeping bag. Loud music and screams emanate from a central hut and a terrified Liz peers inside to see Kristy, almost naked and strung up, swaying in front of Mick's loaded gun. Liz uses mentholated spirits to cause an explosion with a gas lantern, and while Mick deals with the ensuing small fire, sneaks in to free Kristy. She hides beneath a bench and when Mick resumes torturing Kristy, Liz manages to shoot him. By the time Mick comes to the women are escaping in the truck. Headlights in the rear vision mirror panic Liz who finds they're caught between fast approaching Mick and a cliff. They push the truck over the cliff, faking a fatal crash. Fooled, Mick leaves. Stranded in the enormity of the Australian outback, Liz decides their only hope is to return to Mick's mining site home to steal a car and search for Ben.
At the mining site, Liz leaves an exhausted Kristy while she goes in search of a vehicle. Inside a vast, gloomy shed she discovers a chilling car graveyard. Looking further she discovers a box of video cameras and watches footage of other people falling victim to Mick's "rescue" tactics. From Ben's video camera footage she sees Mick's truck was present at the roadhouse. Terrified, she races to one of the cars and manages to start the vehicle -- when suddenly Mick appears. They struggle and she is killed.
Kristy, now following road tracks on the flat desert plains, is petrified by a vehicle looming on the horizon. An elderly man pulls up and offers her assistance. As Kristy collapses into the car, a bullet from Mick's rifle fells the would-be rescuer. Kristy wrests the keys from his corpse and a car chase ensues. When she succeeds in running Mick's Valiant off the road, Mick shoots out her tyres, and then coldly executes her. He puts her exhausted body in the car boot and sets it alight. Meanwhile, Ben finally regains consciousness to find himself crucified and trapped down a mining tunnel. Other crucified corpses with their lower extremities eaten away hang close by and the sight of two starving dogs in a nearby cage hint at his future. Steeling himself he pulls his wrists from the wire constraints and painfully frees himself. He leaves the mining site and wanders for several days through the desert, finally collapsing just outside a small township. We cut to Ben: months later, being led away by Police. He has been blamed for the missing girls murders. We fade to black.
Titles inform us that Ben remains the only suspect in the disappearance and presumed murder of the two British backpackers, since no evidence of the existence of Mick Taylor can be verified. No one believes Ben's far-fetched story of a lone killer, wandering the vastness of the Outback.

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