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Masterpost: A List of Movies Based on Real Serial Killers

This list compiles movies about serial killers (not spree or mass murderers included) that have already premiered and would be available to buy, rent or find in streaming.

I’ve left out some titles, particularly crappy direct to video ones. I haven’t seen all of these, so I added the RT Score (when available) and IMDB score to help figure out which are worth our time.

If you can think of one I haven’t included here, feel free to message me to add it.

10 Rillington Place (1971)

Based On: John Christie.

Plot: The story of the famous british serial killer that was active in the 40s that strangled at least 8 people in his London flat. This movie focus particularly on his relationship with his neighbors and the controversial twist of how he led them to their death.

Stars: Richard Attemborough as John Christie, John Hurt as Timothy Evans and Judy Geeson as Beryl Evans.

RT Score: 70%

IMDB Score: 7.6/10

There’s also a 2016 BBC miniseries called Rillington Place with Tim Roth in the role of John Christie. You can see here if you’re in the UK.

IMDB Score: 7.2/10

Angst (1983)

Based On: Werner Kniesek.

Plot: A little known film about a little known austrian serial killer. Although he committed more crimes, the film focus on the most horrible: he gets released from prison and tortures and murders a family in a secluded house. This movie is in german and it’s really hard to find. If you’re lucky enough to know spanish, you can watch it here.

Stars: Erwin Leder as The Psycopath.

IMDB Score: 7.6/10

Appropiate Adult (2011)

Based On: Fred and Rose West.

Plot: This two part british miniseries focuses mostly on how this serial killer couple was brought to justice, telling the events between their arrest in 1994 and Fred’s suicide in 1995.

Stars: Dominic West as Fred West, Monica Dolan as Rosemary West and Emily Watson as Janet Leach.

IMDB Score: 7.6/10

Changeling (2008)

Based On: The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders.

Plot: Partly inspired in the series of abductions and murders of young boys in LA between 1926 and 1928, the story follows a fictional mother that loses her son. Police returns to her another boy and treats her as crazy when she tells them it’s not her son, prompting a social uproar.

Stars: Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins, John Malkovich as Gustav Briegleb, Colm Feore as Chief James E. Davis.

RT Score: 62%

IMDB Score: 7.8/10.

Chugyeogja (2008)

Based On: Yoo Young-chul.

Plot: This movie, called The Chaser in the western market, follows a former policeman turned pimp investigating the disappearance of some of his girls. It’s inspired by a self confessed serial killer and cannibal who murdered prostitutes and rich men in Seoul between 2003 and 2004.

RT Score: 83%.

IMDB Score: 7.9/10.

Citizen X (1995)

Based On: Andrei Chikatilo

Plot: Follows the efforts of Soviet police to catch a serial killer that ended up claiming over 50 lives of women and children between 1978 and 1990.

Stars: Jeffrey DeMunn as Andrei Chikatilo, Stephen Rea as Victor Burakov and Donald Sutherland as Mikhail Fetisov.

RT Score: 86%

IMDB Score: 7.7/10

This case also inspired the movie Child 44 (2015), with Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman.

Cold Light of Day (1989)

Based On: Dennis Nilsen.

Plot: Not to be confused with this action film, this british movie tells in graphic detail the story of a serial killer and necrophiliac that murdered at least 12 men between 1978 and 1983 in London.

Stars: Bob Flag as Dennis Nilsen.

IMDB Score: 5.8/10

Dahmer (2002)

Based On: Jeffrey Dahmer

Plot: The film explores the life and psychology of Jeffrey Dahmer, mostly the path he followed until he became one of the most infamous serial killers in history.

Stars: Jeremy Renner as Jeffrey Dahmer, Bruce Davison as Lionel Dahmer.

RT Score: 68%

IMDB Score: 5.6/10

Dark Angel (2016)

Based On: Mary Ann Cotton.

Plot: Miniseries about a woman who gets ahead in the XIX by murdering her husbands and getting the life insurance money.

Stars: Joanne Froggatt as Mary Ann Cotton.

IMDB Score: 6.8/10.

Deranged (1974)

Based On: Ed Gein.

Plot: A low budget movie that has become something of a cult film for fans, tells the story of Ezra Cobb, a man who digs up bodies and use them as home decor. Eventually, he becomes a serial killer.

Stars: Roberts Blossom as Ezra Cobb.

IMDB Score: 6.5/10

Although a lot more loosely, you could consider Psycho (1960), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and House of a 1000 Corpses (2003) inspired by Gein too.

El Niño de Barro (2007)

Based On: Cayetano Santos Godino.

Plot: Translated as The Mudboy, this movie follow the efforts of police to try to catch a serial killer in 1912 in Argentina, who turns out to be just a kid.

Stars: Maribel Verdú as Estela and Daniel Freire as Comisario Petrie.

Five Daughters (2010)

Based On: Steve Wright.

Plot: This BBC miniseries tells the stories of the five victims of the Ipswich Serial Murders, which happened in the last months of 2006 in England. Truck driver Steve Wright was convicted of the crimes.

Stars: Ian Hart as DCS Stewart Gull, Jaime Winstone as Anneli Anderton and Eva Birthisle as Annette Nicholls.

IMDB Score: 7.8/10.

Freeway Killer (2010)

Based On: William Bonin.

Plot: The movie is about The Freeway Killer, who raped and killed around 21 boys and men in Southern California, between 1979 and 1980.

Stars: Scott Anthony Leet as William Bonin, Michael Rooker as Detective St. John.

RT Score: 18%

IMDB Score: 5.5/10

From Hell (2001)

Based On: Jack the Ripper.

Plot: Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore of the same name, this movie follows a detective with psychic powers that investigates a string of gruesome murders in Victorian London. The movie also bets on one of the more popular theories for the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Stars: Johnny Depp as Frederick Abberline, Heather Graham as Mary Kelly and Ian Holm as Sir William Gull.

RT Score: 57%.

IMDB Score: 6.8/10.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Based On: Henry Lee Lucas.

Plot: This deeply disturbing movie takes liberties with Lucas’ story, but as the title suggests, it’s an exploration of the mind of a sadistic serial killer and how he chooses and deals with his victims.

Stars: Michael Rooker as Henry and Tom Towles as Otis.

RT Score: 85%

IMDB Score: 7.0/10

Hunt for the I-5 Killer (2011)

Based On: Randall Woodfield.

Plot: Detectives start a year long manhunt to catch a man who murdered 44 people along the Interstate 5 Corridor in the West Coast, in 1981.

Stars: John Corbett as Dave Kominek, Sara Canning as Beth Williams and Tygh Runyan as Randy Woodfield.

RT Score: 50%

IMDB Score: 6.1/10

Karla (2006)

Based On: Karla Homolka.

Plot: In preparation for her parole hearing, Karla Homolka recounts her sick love story with husband Paul Bernardo and the crimes they committed together.

Stars: Laura Prepon as Karla Homolka, Mischa Collins as Paul Bernardo and Patric Bauchau as Dr. Arnold.

RT Score: 0%

IMDB Score: 5.5/10

Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)

Based On: Carl Panzram.

Plot: Based on serial killer’s autobiography of the same name, it shows Panzram’s friendship with a prison guard while he was behind bars for burglary and how he started confessing to other crimes and murders, eventually leading to the one that got him a death sentence.

Stars: James Woods as Carl Panzram, Robert Sean Leonard as Henry Lesser, Ellen Greene as Elizabeth Wyatt.

IMDB Score: 6.4/10.

Lonely Hearts (2006)

Based On: Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck.

Plot: Con Man Raymond Fernandez and his lover Martha Beck start murdering women they lure through lonely hearts ads in newspapers.

Stars: Jared Leto as Ray Fernandez, Salma Hayek as Martha Beck, John Travolta as Det. Elmer Robinson.

RT Score: 48%

IMDB Score: 6.5/10

M (1931)

Based On: Peter Kürten.

Plot: In the late 20s in Berlin, a bunch of criminals join the manhunt to catch a gruesome child killer. Although director Fritz Lang denied that his serial murderer Hans Beckert is based just on the real story of Peter Kürten, the story is so similar that in some countries the movie had “The Vampire of Düsseldorf”, Kürten’s nickname, as a subtitle.

Stars: Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert, Otto Wernicke as Inspector Karl Lohmann.

IMDB Score: 8.4/10

Memories of Murder (2003)

Based On: Hwaseong Serial Murders.

Plot: The film follows two detectives trying to solve Korea’s first case of serial murder, that happened in the city of Hwaseong between 1985 and 1991 and had 10 female victims in total. In real life, the murders are still unsolved.

Stars: Kang-ho Song as Detective Park Doo-man and Sang-kyung Kim as Detective Seo Tae-yoon.

RT Score: 89%.

IMDB Score: 8.1/10.

Monster (2003)

Based On: Aileen Wournos.

Plot: The movie tells the rather sad story of the sex worker that ended up becoming a serial killer, with a lot of focus on her relationship with her lesbian lover (whose real name was changed for the movie).

Stars: Charlize Theron as Aileen Wournos and Christina Ricci as Selby Wall.

RT Score: 82%

IMDB Score: 7.3/10.

Next Time I’ll Aim for the Heart (2014)

Based On: Alain Lamare.

Plot: A fictionalized version of the true story of a French gendarme who started murdering women in the late 70s.

Stars: Guillaume Canet as Franck Neuhart, Ana Girardot as Sophie.

Out of the Darkness (1985)

Based On: David Berkowitz.

Plot: Unlike the better known Summer of Sam movie (further down this list), this one focuses on the investigation that led to the capture of serial killer David Berkowitz in 1977.

Stars: Martin Sheen as Eddie Zigo, Hector Elizondo as Father George and Robert Trevor as David Berkowitz.

IMDB Score: 6.4/10

Peter (2011)

Based On: Peter Sutcliffe.

Plot: Using news footage and actors, this british film leads the audience through the formative years of one of England’s most notorious serial killers and tells about how he was eventually caught.

Stars: Walt Kissack as Peter Sutcliffe.

IMDB Score: 5.5/10

Rampage (1987)

Based On: Richard Chase.

Plot: A fictional story inspired by the so called Vampire of Sacramento, this movie directed by Wiliam Friedkin presents a delusional serial killer called Charles Reece who drinks the blood of his victims and the prosecutor that changed his stance on the death penalty in the light of his crimes.

Stars: Michael Biehn as Anthony Fraser, Alex McArthur as Charlie Reese.

RT Score: 44%.

IMDB Score: 6.3/10.

See no Evil (2006)

Based On: Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Plot: Not to be confused with this horror movie that came out the same year, this TV Miniseries tells the story of british serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, and how their toxic relationship led to the murder of five children in the 60s.

Stars: Maxine Peake as Myra Hindley, Sean Harris as Ian Brady and Joan Froggatt as Maureen Smith.

RT Score: 61%

IMDB Score: 7.2/10.

SK1 (2014)

Based On: Guy Georges.

Plot: Tells the hunt for a serial killer codenamed The Beast of the Bastille, who murdered seven women in the 90s. He was the first serial killer identified in France thanks to the use of DNA technology.

Stars: Raphaël Personnaz as Franck Magne, Adama Niane as Guy Georges.

IMDB Score: 6.6/10.

Snowtown (2011)

Based On: John Bunting, Robert Wagner and Jamie Vlassakis.

Plot: One of the most shocking cases in Australia, in which an abused teenager finds a toxic father figure that fuels his hate and turns him into a murderer.

Stars: Daniel Henshall as John Bunting and Lucas Pittaway as Jamie.

RT Score: 83%

IMDB Score: 6.6/10

Summer of Sam (1999)

Based On: David Berkowitz.

Plot: This Spike Lee take of the case of Son of Sam is not focused on the killer or on the police. Instead, it shows the impact that his crimes has in a fictional group of residents in a South Bronx neighborhood in 1977.

Stars: John Leguizamo as Vinny, Adrien Brody as Richie, Mira Sorvino as Dionna.

RT Score: 51%.

IMDB Score: 6.6/10.

Texas Killing Fields (2011)

Based On: Texas Killing Fields.

Plot: Two detectives try to solve a murder and a disappearance that seem to be part of a much bigger scheme. The film is mostly fiction but inspired on the area known as the killing fields, where 30 bodies have been found since the 70s and seems to be the dumping ground of one or several serial killers.

Stars: Sam Worthington as Mike Souder, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Brian Heigh and Jessica Chastain as Pam Stall.

RT Score: 36%.

IMDB Score: 5.7/10.

The Alphabet Killer (2008)

Based On: Alphabet Murders.

Plot: Very loosely based on the murders of three girls in New York in the 70s, the movie is centered around a female detective that gets obsessed with solving the murder of a preteen.

Stars: Eliza Dushku as Detective Megan Paige, Cary Elwes as Kenneth Shine and Timothy Hutton as Richard Ledge.

IMDB Score: 5.3/10.

The Atlanta Child Murders (1985)

Based On: Wayne Williams.

Plot: This miniseries about the murder of several children between 1979 and 1981 puts the focus on the trial of Wayne Williams, who claims innocence. Many parts of it are fictionalized.

Stars: Calvin Levels as Wayne Williams, Morgan Freeman as Ben Shelter, James Earl Jones as Major Walker.

IMDB Score: 6.6/10

The Boston Strangler (1968)

Based On: Albert DeSalvo.

Plot: A true Hollywood classic, follows the investigation of a series of murders in Boston and then what happens after a man called Albert DeSalvo is arrested. The movie tries to explain why so many women trusted in the killer and it’s heavily fictionalized, especially considering that there’s still doubt on DeSalvo being the Boston Strangler.

Stars: Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo and Henry Fonda as John S. Bottomly.

RT Score: 92%

IMDB Score: 7.1/10

The Capture of the Green River Killer (2008)

Based On: Gary Ridgway.

Plot: Based on Detective Dave Reichert’s book, follows his 20 year quest to catch a prolific serial killer in the 80s and 90s. The TV miniseries also includes a fictional victim to become the face of the stories of the real victims.

Stars: Tom Cavanagh as Dave Reichert, John Pielmeier as Gary Ridgeway and James Masters as Ted Bundy.

IMDB Score: 7.4/10

The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989)

Based On: Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono.

Plot: A TV movie about cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, who raped and killed 10 women in the 70s, and the investigator who finally caught them.

Stars: Dennis Farina as Angelo Buono, Billy Zane as Kenneth Bianchi and Richard Crenna as Sgt. Bob Grogan.

IMDB Score: 6/10

The Countess (2009)

Based On: Erzsébet Báthory.

Plot: Tells the story of the 17th Century noble woman from Hungary famous for her cruelty and killing many young servants because she believed bathing in the blood of virgins would help her preserve her beauty and youth.

Stars: Julie Delpy as Erzsébet Báthory, William Hurt as Gyorgy Thurzo and Daniel Brühl as Istvan Thurzo.

IMDB Score: 6.3/10

The Deliberate Stranger (1986)

Based On: Ted Bundy.

Plot: A take on the best known of the american serial killers, and how he used his looks and charm to fool everyone, making it a struggle for police to capture him. This TV movie is based on a book by Richard W. Larsen.

Stars: Mark Harmon as Ted Bundy and Frederic Forrest as Detective Bob Keppel.

IMDB Score: 7.6/10

The Frozen Ground (2013)

Based On: Robert Hansen.

Plot: A teenage prostitute helps an Alaska State Trooper capture the serial killer that almost got her too, even though at first no one wants to believe her that upstanding citizen Robert Hansen could be capable of such henious crimes.

Stars: Nicolas Cage as Jack Halcombe, John Cusack as Robert Hansen and Vanessa Hudgens as Cindy Paulson.

RT Score: 60%

IMDB Score: 6.4/10.

The Gray Man (2007)

Based On: Albert Fish.

Plot: The movie delves into the life of XIX serial killer Albert Fish and also follows the intense manhunt to capture him.

Stars: Patrick Bauchau as Albert Fish, Jack Conley as Detective Will King and John Aylward as Captain Ayers.

IMDB Score: 6/10.

The Iceman (2012)

Based On: Richard Kuklinski.

Plot: The story of criminal and contract killer Richard Kuklinski, and how he managed to keep his family life separate from his murders.

Stars: Michael Shannon as Richard Kuklinski, Winona Ryder as Deborah Pellicotti, Chris Evans as Mr. Freezy.

RT Score: 66%.

IMDB Score: 6.9/10.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Based On: Harry Powers.

Plot: A misogynist and religious fanatic murderer woos a widow with the intention of stealing the money her criminal husband hid with the help of his kids. The real life Powers was hanged in 1932 for murdering two women and three children.

Stars: Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell, Shelley Winters as Willa Powell and Lillian Gish as Rachel Cooper.

RT Score: 98%.

IMDB Score: 8/10.

The Night Stalker (2016)

Based On: Richard Ramirez.

Plot: The lawyer of a man facing the death penalty talks to notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez, who’s been in jail for a long time, hoping that he will confess to the crime and free her client.

Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips as Richard Ramirez, Bellamy Young as Kit.

IMDB Score: 6.2/10.

The Stoneman Murders (2009)

Based On: The Stoneman.

Plot: Mixing fiction with real events, the film follows a suspended police officer in Bombay, India, who is trying to catch the person who has been stoning to death homeless people. The real case, which happened in 1989 and ended with 13 people dead, was never solved.

Stars: Kay Kay Menon as Sanjay Shellar, Arbaaz Khan as Kedar.

IMDB Score: 7.4/10.

The Todd Killings (1971)

Based On: Charles Schmid.

Stars: Follows a charismatic young man who may or may not be responsible for a girl’s disappearance and now how his eyes set on another potential victim. The main character of Skipper Todd is based on Schmid, a thrill killer who murdered three women in the 60s.

Stars: Robert F. Lyons as Skipper Todd, Richard Thomas as Billy Roy and Belinda Montgomery as Roberta.

IMDB Score: 6.2/10.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976)

Based On: Phantom Killer.

Plot: A slasher film loosely based on the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, in which a still unidentified serial killer murdered five people in 1946.

Stars: Ben Johnson as Captain J.D. Morales and Bud Davis as The Phantom.

RT Score: 50%.

IMDB Score: 6.1/10.

There’s a 2004 version of this story with the same title but follows a copycat of the Phantom in modern day Texarkana.

To Catch a Killer (1992)

Based On: John Wayne Gacy.

Plot: The two part miniseries shows the investigation that led police to catch serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a man who by all standards seemed to be a pillar of the community but had tortured and kill at least 33 young men in the 70s.

Stars: Brian Dennehy as John Wayne Gacy, Michael Riley as Lt. Jow Kozenczak and Margot Kidder as Rachel Grayson.

IMDB Score: 7.5/10.

Wolf Creek (2005)

Based On: Ivan Milat.

Plot: This very violent and graphic horror film follows three backpackers in the Australian Outback that fall at the mercy of a sadistic killer. The movie has a sequel and a TV show that came out in 2016, the common thread is always the villain, Mick Taylor, who is inspired by Ivan Milat.

Stars: John Jarratt as Mick Taylor, Cassandra Margath as Liz Hunter, Kestie Morassi as Kristy Earl.

RT Score: 53%.

IMDB Score: 7.1/10.

Zodiac (2007)

Based On: Zodiac Killer.

Plot: Based on the book by Robert Graysmith, this David Fincher movie follows the several years of authorities trying to identify the serial killer known as the Zodiac, and the impact the case had on the characters involved.

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery and Mark Ruffalo as Inspector David Toschi.

RT Score: 89%.

IMDB Score: 7.7/10.

fletchermarple

Five Real Crime Stories that Inspired Fiction – Part II

(Check Part I)

1. The Gainesville Ripper - “Scream”: Screenwriter Kevin Williamson, creator of popular TV shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “The Following”, got his big break with the script of this 1996 horror movie, which caught the interest of genre legend Wes Craven and sparked a huge franchise. The story of a masked man that starts stabbing teenagers in a small town was inspired by real life serial killer Danny Rolling, who in 1990 murdered five college students and was later connected to another killing spree, of a family of three, that happened in 1989. Williamson said that he was struggling with writers block and watching a TV special on Rolling, when he heard a noise in the empty house. This prompted him to call a friend and they started talking about horror movie cliches, which would later turn into the famous opening scene of “Scream”, while Rolling remained the inspiration for the frenzied killer of the plot.

2. The Lindbergh Baby - “Murder on the Orient Express”: The kidnapping of the 20 month old son of beloved American hero, aviator Charles Lindbergh, in 1932, was such a huge event that it crossed borders and reached british writer Agatha Christie, who used the case as inspiration for one of her most famous stories, which has been adapted twice to the big screen, once in 1972 and another in 2017. Charles Lindbergh Jr. was taken on March 1, and although his family paid the requested ransom, the toddler’s body was found on May 12 near the house, which meant he was most likely killed very soon after his abduction. A maid was initially blamed and she ended up committing suicide. “Murder on the Orient Express” was published in 1934, and in her story, a murder victim in a train (played by Johnny Depp in the most recent film) turns out to be the man who years earlier kidnapped and killed the baby son of a famous military hero. Seven months after the novel was was published, German immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of the LIndbergh baby. He was executed in 1936.

3. Hazel Drew - “Twin Peaks”: Mark Frost, co-creator of the cult TV series used to spend his summer vacations near Taborton, New York, where he repeatedly heard a story that was passed on as a cautionary tale. On July 7, 1908, Hazel Drew (20) disappeared after being seen in the evening picking raspberries on the side of the road by two local men. Her body was found four days later floating in a pond, her head bashed in. The case, and the legend that her ghost haunts the area, inspired the story of Laura Palmer, the high school beauty whose murder is the center of “Twin Peaks”, which premiered in 1990.

4. Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray - “Double Indemnity”: The plot of the celebrated 1944 Hollywood film is one that will likely sound familiar to you. Barbara Stanwyck portrays a woman who plots the murder of her husband with her lover, so she can collect the money of his life insurance policy. The film, which is an adaptation of a novella by James M. Cain, was based on the famous cause of Ruth Snyder, a New York housewife who convinced her reluctant lover Judd Gray to kill her husband Tom. The couple strangled Tom and filled his nose with cloroform rags in March 1927. They tried to make it seem like a burglary, but made serious mistakes that led the police quickly to them. Ruth was executed in 1928, at only 32 years old (you’ve probably seen this picture of her in the electric chair before), followed soon after by Gray.

5. Florence “Sally” Horner - “Lolita”: It’s not like Vladimir Nabokov based his famous and controversial 1955 novel about a middle age man obsessed with a 12 year old girl–later adapted in a film by Stanley Kubrick and another by Adrian Lyne– exclusively on the real life case of Sally Horner, but he definitely took some elements of it, even going as far as to directly quote that crime in “Lolita”. Sally was 11 years old in 1948 when she was abducted by Frank LaSalle, a 50 year old child molester who pretended to be an FBI agent that had caught her stealing in a store. He kept her for 21 months, a time in which they traveled all over the United States, until she finally managed to escape. She tragically died in 1952, at the age of 15, in a car accident, and since Nabokov’s novel was published she’s often been called “The real Lolita”.

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