Six Aussie true crime dramas

Loosely based on the orchestrated murder of two young Victorian police constables, known as the ‘Walsh Street Police Shootings’, Animal Kingdom (David Michôd, 2010) features an A-list cast including Ben Mendolsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver. Weaver’s role as the crime family matriarch ‘Smurf’ earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.

In this clip from the film, Smurf meets with her sons in a quiet café to discuss their course of action in the wake of the murder of two policemen:

Animal Kingdom

Loosely based on the orchestrated murder of two young Victorian police constables, known as the ‘Walsh Street Police Shootings’, Animal Kingdom (David Michôd, 2010) features an A-list cast including Ben Mendolsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver. Weaver’s role as the crime family matriarch ‘Smurf’ earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.

In this clip from the film, Smurf meets with her sons in a quiet café to discuss their course of action in the wake of the murder of two policemen:

Snowtown (Justin Kurzel, 2010) is a chilling account of the infamous Snowtown, or ‘Bodies in the Barrels’, murders, named after the discovery of eight bodies in an empty bank vault in the South Australian town of Snowtown in May 1999. It is one of the most disturbing crimes in Australia’s history.

Kurzel's feature debut, with its cast of mostly non-professional actors, achieves a stark authenticity that avoids sensationalism.

In this clip, teenage Jamie is introduced to his mother’s new boyfriend, John Bunting, over an unsettling breakfast:

Nitram (2022), also directed by Justin Kurzel, examines the lead-up to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. American actor Caleb Landry Jones portrays the troubled young man behind one of Australia’s most devastating events. Kurzel and screenwriter Shaun Grant focus on gun violence, mental illness and bullying, carefully steering clear of exploitation.

Despite their efforts, Nitram sparked debate over giving a platform to a mass murderer.

This scene is when Nitram first meets the reclusive heiress, Helen (Essie Davis), who will become his only close friend. The lighting and framing in this scene perfectly convey Helen's isolation, and the performances skilfully signpost the connection that is about to develop between them:

Catching Milat (Peter Andrikidis, 2015) dramatises the police investigation by Task Force Air into the 1990s backpacker murders in NSW. This two-part series, directed by Peter Andrikidis, chronicles the pursuit and capture of Ivan Milat, one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers. His crimes shattered the country's image as a safe haven for young travellers.

In this clip, police face a hostile media, unsuspecting passers-by uncover a crime scene and forensic experts get down to business. While these are all familiar storytelling devices, Andrikidis has cleverly cut these together, married with an intense soundtrack, to build suspense and tension:

The first series of Underbelly (Tony Tilse, 2008) is a 13-part crime drama based on the Melbourne gangland wars from 1994 to 2004. The cast is a who’s who of Aussie TV, including Vince Colosimo, Alex Dimitriades, Gerard Kennedy, Les Hill, Kat Stewart, Madeleine West, Dan Wyllie, Simon Westaway, Kevin Harrington, Caroline Craig and many others. The series was criticised for its cinematic portrayal of real-life underworld figures, yet gripping storytelling made it a landmark in Australian television.

This pivotal scene from episode 3 shows the Moran family’s brazen celebration of the police’s failure to convict Jason Moran for a series of assaults, alongside Roberta Stevens (Kat Stewart) meeting Carl Williams (Gyton Grantley) for the first time:

Evil Angels (Fred Schepisi, 1988) recounts the tragic case of Azaria Chamberlain, who was taken by a dingo at Uluru in 1980. Despite scant evidence, her mother, Lindy Chamberlain (portrayed by Meryl Streep), was wrongfully convicted of murder, and her father, Michael (Sam Neill), was accused of being an accessory. The film captures the media frenzy and judicial errors that compounded their suffering.

This clip vividly recreates the moment Lindy discovers Azaria is missing and glimpses a dingo fleeing from their tent:

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Main image: promotional image for Underbelly, Series 1. NFSA title: 1634936