True Crime: Serial Killer and Spree Killer Movies
by BloedEnMelk | created - 01 May 2011 | updated - 07 Sep 2013 | PublicNo documentaries, no docudrama's, only movies. Based on true crime, so no fictional killers.
I have tried to leave out movies which are IMO tóó loosely based upon the real events, though sometimes it is a thin line. 'Inspired by' is not enough to make this list. I have also left out movies about hitmen and war criminals.
I must have missed quite a few movies on this list, so if you have any suggestions to add, please tell me.
I have seen quite a lot of these but not all. Some are great, some are utter crap.
Alphabetical order.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 10 Rillington Place (1971)
GP | 111 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
What happened to the women at 10 Rillington Place? The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, Pat Heywood
Votes: 9,778
Based on John Reginald Christie
2. A Is for Acid (2002 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
John George Haigh, the notorious "acid bath murderer" in 1940s England, becomes the subject of this dramatization.
Director: Harry Bradbeer | Stars: Martin Clunes, Keeley Hawes, Richard Hope, Celia Imrie
Votes: 854
Based on John George Haigh
3. Angst (I) (1983)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A troubled man gets released from prison and starts taking out his sadistic fantasies on an unsuspecting family living in a secluded house.
Director: Gerald Kargl | Stars: Erwin Leder, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Silvia Ryder, Karin Springer
Votes: 13,461
Based on Werner Kniesek
4. Appropriate Adult (2011)
67 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Dramatisation of the case of serial killers Fred and Rose West, focusing on the way in which they were brought to justice.
Stars: Emily Watson, Dominic West, Robert Glenister, Sylvestra Le Touzel
Votes: 4,355
Based on Fred and Rose West
5. The Atlanta Child Murders (1985)
245 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The city of Atlanta, Georgia, is terrorized by a rash of child murders occurring in its black community. When a black photographer is arrested for the crimes, controversy erupts over ... See full summary »
Stars: Jason Robards, James Earl Jones, Rip Torn, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 486
Based on the Atlanta Child Murders.
6. Badlands (1973)
PG | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri
Votes: 78,379
Based on Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate
7. Bathory: Countess of Blood (2008)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, Fantasy
With an unquenchable thirst for blood, Countess Elizabeth Bathory was one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
Director: Juraj Jakubisko | Stars: Anna Friel, Karel Roden, Vincent Regan, Hans Matheson
Votes: 4,692
Based on Countess Elizabeth Báthory
8. Belle (I)
Drama | Announced
Based on the true life of Belle Gunness, Belle is the story of America's most prolific female serial killer at the turn of the century.
Director: Edward Bass | Star: Edward Bass
Based on Belle Sorenson Gunness
9. Berdella (2009)
83 min | Horror
Bob Berdella who originated from Ohio, moved to Kansas City in the 1960s to enroll at the KC Art Institute. Shortly after his move to Kansas City, Berdella purchased a house on 4315 ... See full summary »
Directors: Paul South, William Taft | Stars: Seth Correa, Steve Williams, Marc Saleme, Vito Spino
Votes: 64
Based on Robert Berdella
10. Black Circle Boys (1997)
R | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
All-American Kyle is the newest initiate of the Black Circle Boys, an underworld society of gothic groupies whose primary interests are creating mayhem and studying the Occult. By the time ... See full summary »
Director: Matthew Carnahan | Stars: Scott Bairstow, Eric Mabius, Tara Subkoff, Chad Lindberg
Votes: 1,071
Based on Ricky Kasso
11. The Black Panther (1977)
R | 97 min | Crime, Thriller
A gung-ho ex-military man pursues a secret life of crime, culminating in the kidnapping of a teenage heiress.
Director: Ian Merrick | Stars: Donald Sumpter, Debbie Farrington, Marjorie Yates, Sylvia O'Donnell
Votes: 809
Based on Donald Neilson
12. Black Widower (2006 TV Movie)
90 min | Drama, Thriller
True story of a charming, popular American who managed to kill his mother and 3 wives before anyone even suspected him.
Director: Christopher Leitch | Stars: Kelly McGillis, David Lipper, Francis X. McCarthy, Lori Hallier
Votes: 253
Based on Lowell Amos
13. Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story (1993 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A woman marries her boyfriend on his deathbed for his money so she can move on to the next guy. When he turns up mysteriously ill the police step in and investigate the strange circumstances.
Director: Alan Metzger | Stars: Elizabeth Montgomery, David Clennon, John M. Jackson, Grace Zabriskie
Votes: 315
Based on Blanche Taylor Moore
14. Bloody Wednesday (1987)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Harry is unable to hold a job due to his mental illness and lives in an abandoned Hollywood hotel haunted by friendly ghosts of the long dead staff. The lines of his mental illness and reality become extremely blurred as some of his strangest events are indeed witnessed by others. As Harry becomes more frustrated by not being able to distinguish fact from delusion he turns to violence.
Director: Mark G. Gilhuis | Stars: Raymond Elmendorf, Pamela Baker, Navarre Perry, Teresa Mae Allen
Votes: 546
Based on James Huberty
15. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
R | 111 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman
Votes: 120,594
Based on Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow
16. The Boston Strangler (1968)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A series of brutal murders in Boston sparks a seemingly endless and increasingly complex manhunt.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin
Votes: 10,821
Based on Albert DeSalvo
17. The Boston Strangler (2006 Video)
Not Rated | 86 min | Crime, Thriller
Albert DeSalvo (Mauro Lannini) embarks on a murderous crime spree.
Director: Keith Walley | Stars: Mauro Lannini, Jason David, Camille Lannan, Doug Cole
Votes: 234
Based on Albert deSalvo
18. Boston Strangler: The Untold Story (2008 Video)
R | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Boston Strangler: The Untold Story is an intense true-crime thriller about Albert De Salvo, a wise cracking, small time criminal with an unrelenting sex drive, who ultimately falsely ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Feifer | Stars: David Faustino, Andrew Divoff, Kostas Sommer, Joe Torry
Votes: 771
Based on Albert deSalvo
19. The Brides in the Bath (2003 TV Movie)
99 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Dramatisation of the real-life case of George Joseph Smith who was hanged in 1915 for the murder of his three wives, each of whom he killed in turn by drowning them in the bath while trying to make the deaths look like accidents.
Director: Harry Bradbeer | Stars: Martin Kemp, Richard Griffiths, Charlotte Randle, Emma Owen
Votes: 241
Based on George Joseph Smith
20. B.T.K. (2008 Video)
R | 90 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Dennis L. Rader systematically tortured and killed innocent victims for over two decades, evading the police for over 30 years while living a seemingly normal life as a husband, father, security officer and church president.
Director: Michael Feifer | Stars: Kane Hodder, Amy Lyndon, Odessa Rae, Cara Sigmund
Votes: 1,365
Based on Dennis Rader
21. Bundy: A Legacy of Evil (2009 Video)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Based on the true story of one of history's most demented serial killers.
Director: Michael Feifer | Stars: Corin Nemec, Kane Hodder, Jen Nikolaisen, Shannon Pierce Wilkins
Votes: 935
Based on Ted Bundy
22. Burke & Hare (1972)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.
Director: Vernon Sewell | Stars: Paul Luty, Roy Macready, Derren Nesbitt, Susan Coates
Votes: 565
Based on William Burke and William Hare
23. Burke and Hare (2010)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, History
A black comedy about two 19th-century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Bill Bailey, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Smiley, Tim Curry
Votes: 21,348 | Gross: $0.00M
Based on William Burke and William Hare
24. Capote (2005)
R | 114 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr., Catherine Keener, Allie Mickelson
Votes: 140,753 | Gross: $28.75M
Based on the Clutter Family Murders by Rickard Hickock and Perry Smith
25. The Capture of the Green River Killer (2008)
Not Rated | 89 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A pair of girls seeking adventure beyond their western Washington trailer park encounter the area's most ruthless serial killer. The series is based on Sheriff David Reichert's book, "... See full summary »
Stars: Tom Cavanagh, Currie Graham, Amy Davidson, Ingrid Rogers
Votes: 1,371
Based on Gary Ridgway
26. The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killin' cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers, is told in this TV drama. The movie concentrates ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Gethers | Stars: Richard Crenna, Dennis Farina, Billy Zane, Tony Plana
Votes: 768
Based on Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono
27. To Catch a Killer (1992)
Unrated | 89 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
"To Catch a Killer" tells the true gruesome story of John Wayne Gacy - a good friend and helpful neighbour, a great child entertainer, a respectful businessman, and a violent serial killer ... See full summary »
Stars: Brian Dennehy, Michael Riley, Margot Kidder, Meg Foster
Votes: 2,913
Based on John Wayne Gacy
28. Changeling (2008)
R | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
After Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, Gattlin Griffith
Votes: 265,257 | Gross: $35.74M
Based on the dissapearance of Walter Collins, the imposter Arthur Hutchins and serial killer Gordon Stewart Northcott
29. Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck (2007 Video)
R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A film based on the notorious mass killer Richard Speck, who systematically tortured, raped and murdered a group of student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in 1966.
Director: Michael Feifer | Stars: Corin Nemec, Amy Lyndon, Coley Feifer, Jake Riding
Votes: 933
Based on Richard Speck
30. Citizen X (1995 TV Movie)
R | 105 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
During the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.
Director: Chris Gerolmo | Stars: Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Max von Sydow, Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 22,296
Based on Andrei Chicatilo
31. Cold Light of Day (1990)
80 min | Biography, Crime, Horror
Fictionalized account based on the actions of serial killer Dennis Nilsen.
Director: Fhiona-Louise | Stars: Bob Flag, Martin Byrne-Quinn, Geoffrey Greenhill, Mark Hawkins
Votes: 417
Based on Dennis Nilsen
32. Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985)
R | 89 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
After being arrested, a Texas man begins confessing to the brutal murder of over 200 women. He recounts his random selection of victims and his traveling companions, his friend and friend's... See full summary »
Director: Mark Blair | Stars: Robert A. Burns, Dennis Hill, Berkley Garrett, Sidney Brammer
Votes: 813
Based on Henry Lee Lucas
33. The Countess (2009)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
A 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.
Director: Julie Delpy | Stars: Julie Delpy, Daniel Brühl, William Hurt, Anamaria Marinca
Votes: 8,659
Based on Countess Elizabeth Báthory
34. Dahmer (2002)
R | 101 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Biopic about notorious American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, taking place in both the past and the present.
Director: David Jacobson | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Bruce Davison, Artel Great, Matt Newton
Votes: 11,661 | Gross: $0.14M
Based on Jeffrey Dahmer
35. Daisy de Melker (1993 TV Movie)
192 min | Drama
Director: Annie Basson | Stars: Susan Coetzer, Graham Armitage, Charlotte Butler, Dean Fourie
Votes: 20
Based on Daisy de melker
36. D.C. Sniper (2010 Video)
R | 92 min | Crime, Thriller
A mysterious shooter randomly kills innocent citizens in public; one after the other in broad daylight. All murders happen not far from the White House; not far from the President.
Director: Ulli Lommel | Stars: Ken Foree, Ulli Lommel, Christopher Kriesa, Tory N. Thompson
Votes: 418
Based on John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo
37. D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear (2003 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 85 min | Drama, History, Thriller
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo went on a serial killing spree in October 2002 in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
Director: Tom McLoughlin | Stars: Charles S. Dutton, Jay O. Sanders, Bobby Hosea, Trent Cameron
Votes: 1,526
Based on John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo
38. Dead Beat (1994)
R | 93 min | Thriller
In 1965, Rudy, a Midwestern high-school kid, moves to Albuquerque; lonely and friendless, he's attracted to Kit, slightly older, with a car, his own apartment, and spending money. Kit loves... See full summary »
Director: Adam Dubov | Stars: Bruce Ramsay, Balthazar Getty, Max Perlich, Caleb Smith
Votes: 246
Based on Charles Schmid
39. Deadly Medicine (1991 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama, Thriller
A pediatrician becomes trapped in a web of betrayal and guilt when her best friend, a nurse, seems to be a baby-killer.
Director: Richard A. Colla | Stars: Veronica Hamel, Susan Ruttan, Stephen Tobolowsky, Scott Paulin
Votes: 106
Based on Genene Anne Jones
40. The Deadly Tower (1975 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 100 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
The infamous story of Charles Whitman, "America's favourite sniper" (in Stephen King's words), is told here once again.
Director: Jerry Jameson | Stars: Kurt Russell, Richard Yniguez, Ned Beatty, Pernell Roberts
Votes: 1,170
Based on Charles Whitman
41. Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)
R | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A chronicle of the interaction between college student Jason Moss and the object of his obsession, serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Director: Svetozar Ristovski | Stars: William Forsythe, Jesse Moss, Emma Lahana, Cole Heppell
Votes: 3,808
Based on John Wayne Gayce
42. Death of a Soldier (1986)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, War
Based on a true story, James Coburn portrays a military lawyer assigned to defend a confessed psychotic killer. Set in the context of WWII and the uneasy US-Australian military alliance. ... See full summary »
Director: Philippe Mora | Stars: James Coburn, Bill Hunter, Reb Brown, Maurie Fields
Votes: 277
Based on Edward Joseph Leonski
43. The Deliberate Stranger (1986)
Not Rated | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The story of serial killer, Ted Bundy.
Stars: Mark Harmon, Frederic Forrest, George Grizzard, Ben Masters
Votes: 2,673
Based on Ted Bundy
44. Deranged (1974)
R | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A deranged rural farmer becomes a grave robber and murderer after the death of his possessive mother, whose corpse he keeps, among others, as his companion in a decaying farmhouse.
Directors: Jeff Gillen, Alan Ormsby | Stars: Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Leslie Carlson, Robert Warner
Votes: 5,761 | Gross: $0.05M
Based on Ed Gein
45. Detention: The Siege at Johnson High (1997 TV Movie)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A former high school student, Jason Copeland, returns to his school to take his revenge on the teachers for failing him out of school.
Director: Michael W. Watkins | Stars: Ricky Schroder, Freddie Prinze Jr., Katie Wright, Alexis Cruz
Votes: 639
Based on Eric Houston
46. Dr. Petiot (1990)
102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the real life of Dr. Marcel Petiot: During world war II Petiot, an MD living in occupied Paris, promised to help wealthy Jewish people among his patients to flee occupied France ... See full summary »
Director: Christian de Chalonge | Stars: Michel Serrault, Pierre Romans, Bérangère Bonvoisin, Zbigniew Horoks
Votes: 796
Based on Marcel Petiot
47. Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (2009)
R | 91 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
The true story of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.
Director: Michael Feifer | Stars: Antonio Sabato Jr., John Burke, Kelly Curran, Kostas Sommer
Votes: 767
Based on Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole
48. Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (2007 Video)
R | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
The twisted and murderous appetites of the notorious Ed Gein, whose depredations in his small town of Plainfield come as quite a shock to his neighbors, especially Deputy Mason, whose mother Vera and girlfriend Erica have gone missing.
Director: Michael Feifer | Stars: Kane Hodder, Adrienne Frantz, Michael Berryman, Priscilla Barnes
Votes: 2,206
Based on Ed Gein
49. The Child I Never Was (2002)
86 min | Crime, Drama
The true-life story of 19-year-old Jürgen Bartsch, a German pedophile serial killer who murdered four boys, based on his correspondence, over the course of eight years, with German American author Paul Moor.
Director: Kai S. Pieck | Stars: Tobias Schenke, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Ulrike Bliefert, Walter Gontermann
Votes: 646
Based on Jürgen Bartsch
50. Elephant (2003)
R | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Elias McConnell, Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson
Votes: 97,236 | Gross: $1.23M
Based on the Columbine High School massacre, by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris
51. Evilenko (2003)
Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A disgraced communist schoolteacher in Kyiv becomes a brutal, unfeeling serial killer. Based on the crimes of Andrei Chikatilo.
Director: David Grieco | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Marton Csokas, Ronald Pickup, Ruby Kammer
Votes: 3,540
Based on Andrei Chicatilo
52. Five Daughters (2010)
60 min | Crime, Drama
Based on the personal testimonies of many of those most closely involved, "Five Daughters" recounts the final weeks in the lives of the five young women murdered in Ipswich in 2006.
Stars: Adam Kotz, Juliet Aubrey, Natalie Press, Ian Hart
Votes: 618
Based on Steven Gerald James Wright, aka the Suffolk Strangler, the Ipswich murders
53. Freeway Killer (2010 Video)
R | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The true story of William Bonin a California serial killer.
Director: John Murlowski | Stars: Scott Anthony Leet, Cole Williams, Dusty Sorg, Michael Rooker
Votes: 1,345
Based on William Bonin
54. From Hell (2001)
R | 122 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
After five ritualistic murders are committed in 1888 London, Inspector Abberline's assignment is to investigate the "Jack the Ripper" murders. Along with a string of mutilated prostitutes, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the government.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane
Votes: 164,202 | Gross: $31.60M
Based on Jack the Ripper
55. The Frozen Ground (2013)
R | 105 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events.
Director: Scott Walker | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Vanessa Hudgens, John Cusack, Dean Norris
Votes: 67,290
Based on Robert Hansen
56. Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
Not Rated | 139 min | Crime, Drama
Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô
Votes: 7,295
Based on Nishiguchi Akira
57. Gacy (2003 Video)
R | 88 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Model citizen, devoted father, loving husband and serial killer John Wayne Gacy - a man with over 30 dead men and boys entombed in the crawl space underneath his family house. Based on a true story.
Director: Clive Saunders | Stars: Mark Holton, Adam Baldwin, Tom Waldman, Charlie Weber
Votes: 4,815
Based on John Wayne Gacy
58. The Gainesville Ripper (2010)
90 min | Horror
Danny Rolling's serial killings of five college students in 1990 forever changes the college-town of Gainseville, FL.
Director: Josh Townsend | Stars: Teresa Arnold-Simmons, Ralph Cahill, Christina Caparoula, Linnda Durre
Votes: 52
Based on Danny Rolling
59. Dr. Lamb (1992)
Not Rated | 89 min | Crime, Thriller
An abnormal taxi driver lusts for blood every rainy night, and several young women are killed as a result.
Directors: Danny Lee, Billy Hin-Shing Tang | Stars: Danny Lee, Simon Yam, Kent Cheng, Pik Yu Chung
Votes: 938
Based on Lam Kor-Wan
60. The Gray Man (2007)
R | 97 min | Biography, Crime, Thriller
Obsessive manhunt to identify and capture a despicable serial killer.
Director: Scott L. Flynn | Stars: Patrick Bauchau, Jack Conley, John Aylward, Jillian Armenante
Votes: 1,838
Based on Albert Fish
61. Green River Killer (2005 Video)
R | 83 min | Crime, Horror
Along twenty years, the deranged serial-killer Gary Ridgway has killed at least forty-eight prostitutes and dumped their bodies in Green River.
Director: Ulli Lommel | Stars: George Kiseleff, Jacquelyn Aurora, Georgie Donovan, Shannon Leade
Votes: 1,007
Based on Gary Ridgway
62. Helter Skelter (1976)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The investigation and trial of the horrific Tate-LaBianca mass murders orchestrated by the psychotic pseudo-hippie cult leader, Charles Manson.
Stars: George DiCenzo, Steve Railsback, Nancy Wolfe, Marilyn Burns
Votes: 3,852
Based on the Manson Family
63. Helter Skelter (2004 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 136 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.
Director: John Gray | Stars: Jeremy Davies, Clea DuVall, Allison Smith, Eric Dane
Votes: 3,655
Based on the Manson Family
64. The Other Side of Madness (1971)
X | 82 min | Crime, Drama
A mixture of documentary footage and re-enactment scenes, some filmed on the action locations, of the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the gang known as the Manson Family.
Director: Frank Howard | Stars: Brian Klinknett, Erica Bigelow, Paula Shannon, Linda Van Compernolle
Votes: 271
Based on the Manson Family
65. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Unrated | 83 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas
Votes: 40,436 | Gross: $0.61M
Based on Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole
66. The Hillside Strangler (2004)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Kenneth is obsessed with the police, he moves to LA with his cousin, Angelo convinces him to start a prostitution business. Frustrated decide on revenge, feeling a great pleasure with her death. The two cousins become addicted to death.
Director: Chuck Parello | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Nicholas Turturro, Allison Lange, Marisol Padilla Sánchez
Votes: 1,982 | Gross: $0.00M
Based on Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono
67. Hodinu nevis (2009)
94 min | Crime, Thriller
Hynek Michánek wants to study medicine but fails his entrance exams five times. He starts a job as an orderly in a district hospital where one of the doctors on the examining board works as... See full summary »
Director: Dan Svátek | Stars: Václav Jirácek, Ivan Franek, Marián Geisberg, Stanislav Zindulka
Votes: 98
Based on Petr Zelenka
68. The Honeymoon Killers (1970)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.
Directors: Leonard Kastle, Donald Volkman | Stars: Shirley Stoler, Tony Lo Bianco, Mary Jane Higby, Doris Roberts
Votes: 5,829 | Gross: $0.46M
Based on Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck
69. Hong Kong Butcher (1985)
90 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
A serial killer taxi driver stalks the women of Hong Kong.
Director: Kuo-Jen Chung | Stars: Chiang Huang, Ko-Ai Chiang, Kam-Cheong Cheng, Mei-Kei Cheng
Votes: 31
Based on Lam Kor-wan
70. The Hunt for the BTK Killer (2005 TV Movie)
R | 82 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
After 31 years at-large, detectives in Wichita, Kansas home in on the serial killer known as BTK.
Director: Stephen Kay | Stars: Robert Forster, Michael Michele, Maury Chaykin, Mimi Kuzyk
Votes: 1,575
Based on Dennis Rader
71. Hunt for the I-5 Killer (2011 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 89 min | Action, Thriller
The true story of the year-long manhunt for the killer who raped and murdered his way up and down the I-5 corridor through California, Washington, and Oregon for over a year in 1981, leaving 44 victims in his wake.
Director: Allan Kroeker | Stars: John Corbett, Sara Canning, Tygh Runyan, Andrew Wheeler
Votes: 765
Based on Randall Woodfield
72. In Cold Blood (1967)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two ex-cons murder a family in a robbery attempt, before going on the run from the authorities. The police try to piece together the details of the murder in an attempt to track down the killers.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart
Votes: 29,142
Based on the Clutter Family murders by Richard Hickock and Perry Smith
73. In Cold Blood (1996)
240 min | Crime, Drama, History
Based on Truman Capote's true-crime classic and nominated for two Primetime Emmys, "In Cold Blood" follows a pair of ex-cons (Anthony Edwards and Eric Roberts) who brutally murdered a respected Midwestern rancher and his family.
Stars: Anthony Edwards, Eric Roberts, Sam Neill, Kevin Tighe
Votes: 1,040
Based on the Clutter Family murders by Richard Hickock and Perry Smith
74. Infamous (2006)
R | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
While researching his novel "In Cold Blood", Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.
Director: Douglas McGrath | Stars: Toby Jones, Daniel Craig, Sandra Bullock, Sigourney Weaver
Votes: 18,219 | Gross: $1.15M
Based on the Clutter Family murders by Richard Hickock and Perry Smith
75. Ed Gein (2000)
Not Rated | 89 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Ed Gein, who dug up the corpses of over a dozen women and made things out of their remains before finally shooting two people to death and butchering their bodies like beef sides.
Director: Chuck Parello | Stars: Steve Railsback, Carrie Snodgress, Carol Mansell, Sally Champlin
Votes: 5,623 | Gross: $0.01M
Based on Ed Gein
76. The Investigation (2002 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 91 min | Thriller
This gripping, true-life drama tells the story of the bungled and obstructed manhunt for Canada's most notorious serial killer.
Director: Anne Wheeler | Stars: Nicholas Lea, Reece Dinsdale, Lochlyn Munro, Paul Coeur
Votes: 255
Based on Clifford Olson
77. Jack the Ripper (1959)
Not Rated | 84 min | Crime, Drama, History
A serial killer is murdering women in the Whitechapel district of London. An American policeman is brought in to help Scotland Yard solve the case.
Directors: Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman | Stars: Lee Patterson, Eddie Byrne, Betty McDowall, Ewen Solon
Votes: 963
Based on Jack the Ripper
78. Jack the Ripper (1976)
R | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A serial killer whose mother was a prostitute starts killing streetwalkers as a way of paying back his mother for her abuse.
Director: Jesús Franco | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Josephine Chaplin, Herbert Fux, Lina Romay
Votes: 1,903
Based on Jack the Ripper
79. Jack the Ripper (1988)
TV-PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Scotland Yard police inspector, battling the booze, investigates the Jack the Ripper murders and discovers a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the Queen.
Stars: Michael Caine, Armand Assante, Ray McAnally, Lewis Collins
Votes: 5,675
Based on Jack the Ripper
80. I Can't Sleep (1994)
Unrated | 110 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A serial killer terrorizes Paris at night, but that doesn't stop Daïga and Théo from meeting up, and falling in love.
Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Yekaterina Golubeva, Richard Courcet, Vincent Dupont, Laurent Grévill
Votes: 1,377 | Gross: $0.11M
Based on Thierry Paulin
81. Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993 TV Movie)
96 min | Crime, Drama
The story of the notorious American mass murderer who killed his entire immediate family to hide his personal failures and hid for decades before he was finally arrested.
Director: Bobby Roth | Stars: Robert Blake, Beverly D'Angelo, David Caruso, Melinda Dillon
Votes: 256
Based on John Emil List
82. Karla (2006)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Based on real events, Paul Bernardo and his wife, Karla Homolka, kidnap, sexually abuse, and murder three young girls.
Director: Joel Bender | Stars: Laura Prepon, Misha Collins, Patrick Bauchau, Emilie Jacobs
Votes: 6,339
Based on Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka
83. Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)
R | 91 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A prison guard at Leavenworth with lofty ideals and hopes of reform struggles to understand a violent, hateful and conscienceless convict. The result is a written testimonial to a crime that no one could have predicted.
Director: Tim Metcalfe | Stars: James Woods, Robert Sean Leonard, Ellen Greene, Cara Buono
Votes: 2,408 | Gross: $0.07M
Based on Carl Panzram
84. Killer Nurse (2008 Video)
80 min | Crime, Horror
He called himself the Angel of Death. But when the police discovered that he was involved with over 40 deaths, he name soon became Killer Nurse. In the beginning it was his story against ... See full summary »
Director: Ulli Lommel | Stars: Steve Olson, Pia Pownall, Hollie Overton, Colette Claire
Votes: 142
Based on Charles Cullen
85. Bluebeard (1963)
115 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Follows a family man who meets women through lonely-hearts ads.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Michèle Morgan, Danielle Darrieux, Hildegard Knef, Juliette Mayniel
Votes: 1,231
Based on Henri Désiré Landru
86.
The Life and Crimes of William Palmer (1998– )
Episode:
Episode #1.1
(1998)
75 min | Crime, Drama, History
Dr. William Palmer moves back to his childhood town with a new wife. Soon, people he owes money to start dying in mysterious ways, and yet no one seems to notice.
Director: Alan Dossor | Stars: Keith Allen, Dan Armour, Jayne Ashbourne, Linda Bassett
Votes: 58
Based on William Palmer
87. Live Freaky Die Freaky (2006)
Unrated | 75 min | Animation, Comedy, Musical
In a distant future, a cult forms around the Manson Family, when Charles Manson is mistaken for the messiah. Meanwhile, in 1969, Manson convinces his followers to murder Sharon Tate.
Director: John Roecker | Stars: Nick 13, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tim Armstrong, Rob Aston
Votes: 706 | Gross: $0.01M
Based on the Manson Family. This movie is the exception on the rule of this list. Yes, it is about the Manson Family, but it does take a whole different direction....
88. Lonely Hearts (2006)
R | 108 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the true story, two homicide detectives track Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez Fernandez, a murderous pair known as the "Lonely Hearts Killers" who lured their victims through the personals.
Director: Todd Robinson | Stars: John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Jared Leto, James Gandolfini
Votes: 22,369 | Gross: $0.19M
Based on Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck
89. Longford (2006 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 93 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Lee Boardman, Jim Broadbent, Tam Dean Burn, Lindsay Duncan
Votes: 3,289
Based on Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
90. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 168,441 | Gross: $0.03M
Based on Peter Kurten
91. Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker (1989 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 95 min | Crime, Drama, History
Based on the true story of Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez who terrorized California in 1985 and the two Los Angeles police detectives who try to track him down.
Director: Bruce Seth Green | Stars: Richard Jordan, A Martinez, Julie Carmen, Alan Feinstein
Votes: 486
Based on Richard Ramirez
92. The Manson Family (1997)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, History
A dramatization of the horrific and notorious Manson Family Murders, in the form of super 8 home movies.
Director: Jim Van Bebber | Stars: Marcelo Games, Marc Pitman, Leslie Orr, Maureen Allisse
Votes: 3,386 | Gross: $0.02M
Based on the Manson Family
93. Mass Murder (2002 Video)
86 min | Crime, Drama
"Recommended." - Library Journal." ... an intense one-on-one encounter with a series of five serial murderers. The video provided an in-your-face quality I would have missed from the back ... See full summary »
Director: Jeff Meyers | Stars: Eric Mayer, Alicia Barta, Paul Floding, Kelly Hill
Votes: 19
Based on Ted Bundy, Genene Jones, Aileen Wuornos, Andrei Chicatilo and Richard Ramirez.
94. Monster (2003)
R | 109 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
Director: Patty Jenkins | Stars: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen
Votes: 161,794 | Gross: $34.47M
Based on Aileen Wuornos
95. The Monster of Florence (1986)
103 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A string of sex murders has been plaguing Florence for almost 15 years, in which a serial killer brutally murders couples who are sneaking "a quickie" in public areas. A writer who is doing... See full summary »
Director: Cesare Ferrario | Stars: Leonard Mann, Bettina Giovannini, Gabriele Tinti, Francesca Muzio
Votes: 284
Based on the Monster of Florence
96. Murder in the Heartland (1993)
TV-14 | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A wanna-be tough guy and his fourteen-year-old girlfriend go on a murder spree.
Stars: Randy Quaid, Roberts Blossom, Tom Bower, Rondi Reed
Votes: 675
Based on Charles Raymond Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate
97. My Sweet Satan (1994)
19 min | Short, Crime, Horror
A group of directionless, bored, drug-using teenagers get involved in a cult, resulting in a murder.
Director: Jim Van Bebber | Stars: Jim Van Bebber, Terek Puckett, Alydra Kelly, Sherri Rickman
Votes: 744
Based on Ricky Kasso
98. The Devil Strikes at Night (1957)
97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A serial killer strikes again during World War II in Germany. The wrong man is arrested and a detective hunts down the real killer, but justice in Nazi Germany is not so easily administered.
Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Claus Holm, Mario Adorf, Hannes Messemer, Peter Carsten
Votes: 1,581
Based on Brune Luebke
99. Nightstalker (2002)
R | 95 min | Crime, Horror
Richard Ramirez, aka the Nightstalker, who terrorized people in Los Angeles during the 1980s, and the police had no clue with him.
Director: Chris Fisher | Stars: Bret Roberts, Joseph McKelheer, Roxanne Day, Julian Garcia
Votes: 1,270
Based on Richard Ramirez
100. Nightstalker (2009 Video)
R | 80 min | Horror, Thriller
Inspired by the true story of the most publicized and deranged serial killer known to everyone as "The Night Stalker."
Director: Ulli Lommel | Stars: Adolph Cortez, Elissa Dowling, Victoria Ullmann, Pia Pownall
Votes: 321
Based on Richard Ramirez
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