Is Rust Creek Based On A True Story?

Summary

• Filmed in Kentucky, Rust Creek follows a girl hunted down in the woods by criminals after they think she witnesses them burying a body.
• Rust Creek is not entirely based on a true story, but it is partly inspired by real events.
• The survival story in Rust Creek is similar to other recent thrillers.

At first glance, Rust Creek tells a pretty simple story (a girl gets lost, and two criminals hunt her in the woods), but its sly complexity leaves some viewers wondering if the movie is inspired by true events or entirely fictional. The tense crime thriller, directed by Jen McGowan and written by Julie Lipson, premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival on May 3, 2018, before its theatrical run began on January 4, 2019. Shortly following its release, Rust Creek earned high praise from critics, with many commending the film for its ability to subvert expectations and the star’s performance.

The cast of Rust Creek includes Hermione Corfield as Sawyer, Micah Hauptman as Hollister, and Daniel R. Hill as Buck. The actors and the crew filmed the entirety of Rust Creek in Kentucky, where the celebrated suspense movie takes place. In the film, Sawyer is driving from Centre College to Washington D.C. (a road trip only she knows about) for a job interview when she gets lost. Sawyer pulls over and unknowingly stumbles upon Hollister and Buck burying a body. Fearing that she has seen them, the two men hunt her down in the woods to keep her quiet.

Rust Creek Technically Isn’t Based On A True Story

The 2018 Crime Thriller Is Inspired By Real Events (Without The Murderers)

The exact events of Rust Creekincluding the two brothers burying a body and then attempting to hunt down and kill the girl they think saw them, didn’t happen in real life. However, the getting lost part of the 2018 crime thriller’s plot is based on a true story. Stu Pollard, the producer and co-writer of the story that the movie was inspired by, took a scary experience from his college years at Georgetown University and made it into a film. During an interview with Courier JournalPollard explained:

“I took off in my car to drive back home but didn’t tell anyone where I was going or to expect me. I drove into a terrible snowstorm in Maryland and realized no one had any idea where I was. It was a wake-up moment. For the first time, I realized my own mortality.”

Thankfully, murderers were not hunting Pollard down when he was stuck in a snowstorm like how Sawyer is chased by Hollister and Buck in Rust Creek. Nevertheless, the incident was evidently traumatic for the filmmaker and inspired him to deal with it creatively by turning it into a movie. Pollard had to add the murderers to the narrative, though, to amplify the story’s suspense.

Rust Creek’s Survival Story Shares Similarities With Several Other Recent Horror Movies

Alone, Wrong Turn, & More Have Similar Premises

Rust Creek is only one of many recent horror films that revolve around characters trying to survive while being hunted in the woods by sadistic killers. Other thriller movies such as Alone and Wrong Turn feature similar premises, and it seems as if this corner of the survival genre has become quite popular in the past few years. A handful of the films that share characteristics with Rust Creek are:

Rust Creek
is available to stream on Netflix, AMC+, or The Roku Channel.

Source: Courier Journal