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Following on from my poor review of “The Hills Have Eyes” I’m going for a bit of a departure from what I normally put on this page. On Sunday night I watched an ITV drama that held my interest for a full two hours, more than I thought it, and it turned out to be a most compelling viewing. “Murder in the Outback” told the true story of the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio and the recollections of survivor Joanne Lees. The reason I’ve put it on this page is because it mirrors so many horror stories, especially “Wolf Creek” and to some extent “Hostel”.

The programme opened with the purchase of the van and pretty much straight away took us into the outback where the pair were seemingly targeted for termination by a passer by who told them sparks were flying out of their exhaust. This must have been an absolutely terrifying experience and Joanne Froggat played the part of Lees extremely well in these opening scenes. We really felt the fear and sense of being trapped with no clue as to what had, was or might have happened to her and Falconio. I must admit though, I wouldn’t have so readily flagged down a giant truck after what had happened to her.

The treatment of Lees by the media was portrayed interestingly and the programme really got across what my perceptions of her were throughout the immediate aftermath and trial. I always thought she came across as cold and the film did not shirk away from that, not showing her in a positive light at all, despite what she’d been through. It brought up her affair and showed her dismiss the person who’d rescued her, despite the fact he’d since been in an accident that put him in a wheelchair. I recall having doubts about her story because of her manner and this was conveyed in the film.

I also remember the Martin Bashir special with her. According to the film he wanted her take on the Australian Police’s handling of the investigation, something Lees had strong views about, but the finished piece was more like a character assassination and that led to her distrust (she already had doubts about them) of the media. She also had reservations about her own legal team, the film conveyed a feeling of Lees against the world (from her point of view at least) whilst making it clear that most people just wanted to help.

The trial was also dealt with well, it really did hang in the balance, and even managed to create a semblance of tension in the result despite the fact we all know what it was. Issues such as Lees e-mailing the bloke she had an affair with, a headband of hers taken by the suspect, whether or not she could move her bound arms from behind her to the front were all covered. All in all it was a good piece of TV that conveyed how I felt about her throughout.

What set it apart from similar true accounts is that it didn’t portray the victim as whiter than white, a fact that led many to believe she could have killed her own boyfriend. It raised the doubts over her story, inaccuracies, discrepancies and ambiguities that dogged her account to police (not portrayed in the best of ways – they didn’t arrive at the scene until 8 hours after the incident, 3 hours after it was reported). Compelling TV and possibly a worthy entry into the road horror genre?