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John Jarrett as Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek

Where is the real Wolf Creek and how true to life is the film? Danny Gray, via email.

Wolfe Creek, as it is correctly spelt, is a meteorite crater in northern Western Australia and is the second largest of its kind in the world. Believed to be over 300,000 years old, you can find it 16km by 4WD from Halls Creek.

The 2005 horror film was shot in South Australia but does use aerial footage of the crater. The film, which portrays three friends on a fateful roadtrip, is entirely fiction.

Having said that, director Greg McLean did use details from several genuine Aussie murder cases. It’s loosely inspired by ‘Backpacker Murderer’ Ivan Milat, who killed at least seven travellers in New South Wales during the 80s and 90s.

It’s also largely based on the 2001 murder of British tourist Peter Falconio who was travelling with his partner, Joanne Lees, from Alice Springs to Darwin. During the night they were signalled by a man (Bradley John Murdoch) who told them there was something wrong their van. Peter went to check and, not long after, Joanne heard a gunshot. She was then held up at gunpoint, tied up and forced into his car.

Amazingly, Joanne was able to escape, running for her life until she was picked up by a truck driver. Peter’s body has never been found. The film was released while Murdoch was on trial and an injunction was placed on its release in the Northern Territory. Murdoch was later convicted.