The real-life inspiration behind Netflix's The Stranger
The Stranger is yet another true-crime hit for Netflix, but this time around, it's a fictionalised telling of a tragic real-life murder.
The new movie, not to be confused with the Netflix series of the same name, might not be top of the most-watched movies list (that honour belongs to The School for Good and Evil), but it will have had viewers delving into the inspiration behind the tense thriller.
It follows a group of seasoned undercover cops who pose as an influential criminal network in order to catch a murderer who has evaded conviction for eight years. While the names have been changed, this did actually happen in real life.
The Stranger is based on a tragic true crime case involving the murder of 13-year-old schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, and the decision to use the case as inspiration for the movie has caused controversy.
To explain why, we'll need to go into some spoilers for the movie, so look away now if you haven't seen The Stranger yet.
The Stranger true story
The Stranger is based on Kate Kyriacou's book The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe's Killer, but as mentioned above, the names have been changed so it's a fictionalised telling of the story.
In December 2003, Daniel Morcombe was abducted on Queensland's Sunshine Coast when he was on the way to a shopping centre. He was murdered by Brett Peter Cowan who was finally caught in August 2011 and found guilty of the murder following a trial in 2014.
The police operation saw Cowan lured in by the fake crime gang run by a 'Mr Big' with the promise of a big payout. While we see this play out in the movie, we don't get any scenes of the abduction and murder of the child.
It's still been the cause of controversy though as Daniel Morcombe's parents called the release of the movie, which came out in cinemas in Australia, "morally corrupt and cruel".
Bruce Morcombe revealed that they had been contacted by the filmmakers about making a movie centred on Daniel's killer. "We absolutely said 'no we don't want any part of that'. Daniel's legacy is all about educating kids," he said (via news.com.au).
His wife Denise added that the movie is "not supported by the Morcombe family".
In response, the producers of The Stranger called it a "fictionalised account" and said that "out of our deepest respect for the family", the movie avoided any details of the murder and the victim's name.
"Instead it tells the story of the unknown police professionals who committed years of their lives and their mental and physical health to resolve this case and others like it," the statement continued.
"When the film was first in development, the producers approached the family to make them aware of the film. They declined to be involved. It is a decision we continue to respect."
Talking to The Guardian, director Thomas M Wright said that after reading the book on which it's based, he didn't think he'd take the job on. "But the more I sat with it, and the more I read it, it began to reveal itself as a film not about violence at all," he added.
"Clearly, the reason for the film is an unnameable act of violence… that embodies the worst of what human animals are capable of. But that is not the subject of the film."
The Stranger is available to watch now on Netflix.
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