This interest is not just about simple curiosity, but also about a deep human need to make sense of the incomprehensible and dangerous. It is a kind of psychological mechanism for processing the fear of uncontrolled evil. The fascination with the true crime genre can be related to the desire to understand motives in order to better protect oneself, or to work through one's own hidden fears and anxieties in a safe, controlled environment.
Henry Lee Lucas, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Nielsen – these names have forever entered the world's criminal history, leaving behind a large bloody mark. What made them who they are, by what principle did they choose their victims, what were they thinking at the time of committing crimes (and in between them) and what did they say during hours of police interrogations? In search of answers to these questions, filmmakers have studied in detail the biographies of the most famous serial killers and presented the world with creepy plots based on real events – we tell you about the 11 best projects of the genre.
“Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”, 1986
The film “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” released in 1990, tells the story of the life of Henry Lee Lucas, one of the most famous maniacs in American history, and his accomplice Ottis Toole. Between 1960 and 1983, they committed 11 proven murders while traveling across the United States, but Lucas himself claimed to have more than a hundred victims.
After all the facts were made public, the public was truly horrified, and the story of the maniacs formed the basis of John McNaughton's debut film – the project turned out to be truly provocative and was awarded a number of awards, despite the fact that the filmmaker interpreted the facts from the killers' biographies quite freely.
“Sam's Bloody Summer”, 1999
“Bloody Summer of Sam” by Spike Lee was released in 1999. The plot centers on the true story of American serial killer David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam, who terrorized New York in the 1970s. The maniac became a real phenomenon – shooting people, he seemed not to be afraid of being caught, and the motive for his crimes and the criteria for choosing victims were not always obvious.
Spike Lee's film, which tells not only about the murderer's crimes themselves, but also about the atmosphere of fear that prevailed in New York during the period of his active activity, received recognition from the public and critics, who noted the excellent directorial work and the detailed plot.
“Wolf's Pit”, 2005
Greg McLean's 2005 film Wolf Pit is based on the story of the notorious Australian serial killer Ivan Milat, who was long considered the only maniac in the country's history. His crimes were characterized by particular audacity and cruelty – in just a few years he killed seven people, whom he used as live targets before his death.
“Wolf's Den” is a fairly loose interpretation of the killer's biography, but critics noted that the filmmaker managed to very accurately convey the criminal's handwriting and style – as a result, the film was repeatedly recognized as one of the best in the thriller genre, and, in addition, was awarded several awards and nominations.
“Zodiac”, 2007
David Fincher's film “Zodiac,” released in 2007, tells the true story of the Zodiac maniac who terrorized San Francisco in the 1960s and was never caught.
The film was warmly received by audiences and critics, who praised the cast (Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo), the stylistic design, and the filmmaker's original approach, and the project was later awarded several prestigious awards and nominations, including the Cannes Film Festival.
“Frozen Earth”, 2013
The 2013 film “Frozen Earth” tells the story of the crimes of Robert Christian Hansen, a maniac nicknamed “the Butcher-Baker” – from 1971 to 1983 he killed more than 20 girls in Anchorage, Alaska. The plot almost exactly repeats the biography of the maniac – detective Glenn Flout, thanks to the testimony of the only surviving victim, manages to destroy the ideal image of an exemplary family man, which Hansen carefully worked out for several years, and stop one of the most dangerous and cruel serial killers in America.
A brilliant cast including Nicolas Cage and John Cusack, a detailed plot, and excellent directing – the film is truly worth watching and is definitely recommended for fans of the genre.
“Aquarius”, 2015
The series “Aquarius” starring David Duchovny takes place in Los Angeles in 1967 – detective Sam Hodiak and his partner Brian Shaif are trying to find a missing girl, Emma Karn, who is also the daughter of Hodiak's former lover. As a result, the search leads the police to one of the most dangerous and famous serial killers of our time – Charles Manson – and his sect “The Family”, which turns into the most unexpected consequences for all the characters.
According to critics, the series is interesting because it tells not about the most high-profile crimes of the sect and its leader, but about the time when Manson was just gathering his followers – the film tells about the realities of life in the “Family”, touches on facts from the killer's childhood and vividly conveys the atmosphere that prevailed in America in those years.
“My Friend Dahmer”, 2017
The biographical drama “My Friend Dahmer,” released in 2017, tells the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, whose history of crimes shocked the United States in 1991. The maniac has more than fifteen victims, and the cruelty with which he committed his crimes has generated special interest in his biography among scientists, journalists, and representatives of the art world.
Mark Meyers' film touches not only on the period of the maniac's criminal activities, but also on his childhood and adolescence – critics noted that the filmmaker managed to look at the killer's story from a different angle and tell what made Jeffrey Dahmer who he became.
“Mind Hunter”, 2017
The series “The Mindhunter”, executive produced and directed by the recognized maestro of the genre David Fincher, does not tell the story of an individual killer, unlike most of the projects in our selection today, but rather about the work of FBI agents from the Behavioral Sciences Division – as part of the investigation of “fresh” cases, Holden Ford and Bill Tench talk to already caught maniacs (Charles Manson, David Berkowitz, Richard Speck) in order to understand their motives and the psychology of crimes.
The story of agents who became pioneers in criminal profiling (by the way, their prototypes were real FBI agents John Douglas and Robert Ressler), candid conversations with the most dangerous serial killers, and the gruesome details of the most famous crimes – the project definitely deserves attention.
“So Charlie Said”, 2017
The project “So Charlie Said,” created by Mary Herron in 2017, tells the stories of three girls from Charles Manson's sect “The Family” – Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten. As part of the story, a student writing a paper on the cult leader's colossal influence on his followers goes to prison to talk to convicted criminals and find out what was behind Charles Manson's hypnotic influence on people's minds.
Despite the fact that the film received mixed reviews, some critics still noted the non-triviality of the plot, the acting, and Herron's authorial approach to studying the Charles Manson “phenomenon”.
“The Beautiful, the Bad, the Ugly”, 2019
The thriller “The Beautiful, the Bad, the Ugly,” released in 2019, tells the story of Ted Bundy, one of the most famous serial killers of our time, who operated in the United States in the 1970s. The film stars actor Zac Efron and was directed by Joe Berlinger.
The film received mixed reviews – some appreciated the elaborate plot and stylistic design of the project, others believed that the performer of the role of Ted Bundy, Zac Efron, did not cope with the task and was unable to bring the director's idea to life. One way or another, the film found its audience and is recommended for viewing by fans of the genre – at least to form their own opinion.
“Des”, 2020
The three-episode mini-series “Death” tells the story of the British maniac Dennis Nielsen – he has fifteen murders on his account, which he committed between 1978 and 1983. The film begins with a terrible discovery – human remains – being found in the sewers of one of the houses in London. The police, who arrived at the crime scene, talk to Dennis Nielsen, one of the residents of the house, who immediately confesses to the murder of fifteen people, and the subsequent storyline is entirely devoted to the interrogation of the maniac.
Despite the fact that in the series the viewer will see practically no bloody details of the serial killer's crimes, the film keeps you in suspense literally from the first minutes – the maniac's story, devoid of any emotions and regret, immerses you in an atmosphere of hopelessness, forcing you to closely follow every twist of the plot.
Джерело: ukr.media
