7 Movies Based on Criminal Cases

True crime drama draws people in like flies to rotten meat… it’s something that we can’t look away from. We are simply fascinated with the train wreck of other people’s lives. Here are seven movies based on crimes that took place (as unbelievable as some of them are). Some of these movies are accurate and factual while others have taken some artistic license with some of the facts. No matter what, these movies are certainly riveting because they are based on true events.


1. Monster. This movie is based on real life serial killer Aileen Wuernos, who was a rare breed – a female serial killer. She killed dozens of men as she worked as a prostitute because she claimed that they had either raped her or attempted to rape her. Charlize Theron plays Aileen and the make-up artists on this film did an excellent job of making Charlize look completely ugly. Wuernos led a completely tragic life by all accounts of this film and in the end accepted her fate of the death penalty.


2. The Deliberate Stranger. You really need to watch the story unfold to believe it. Ted Bundy had it all, a loving girlfriend, political connections, a law degree… yet he chose to throw it all away by shamelessly butchering women by the dozens. There may even be some victims that are as yet undiscovered, dumped in remote areas in Washington, Colorado, Utah and Florida. The end of the film shows Bundy being put to death in the electric chair which is a process that many people have only heard of, but is depicted in graphic detail.









3. To Catch A Killer. The sickeningly horrifying story of John Wayne Gacy. He murdered dozens of young men and buried over 29 bodies right under his own home. It took police a very long time to arrest Gacy because on the outside he was a solid pillar of society. Most of the case against Gacy was circumstantial at first, making it difficult to proceed to prosecute him. When he finally went to trial for his crimes his house was demolished.


4. Dahmer. As a boy Jeff Dahmer killed neighbourhood pets and as he grew older he needed to take down larger prey to satisfy his insatiable urge to kill. He had sex with the dead bodies and then cannibalized the flesh. Neighbors complained that there was a horrible smell coming from his apartment for years. Once the police arrived and entered the apartment, they found pots on the stove with body parts, body parts in the fridge, plastic tubs containing body parts (one with just penises) and two skulls that had been boiled clean and painted.


5. Evilenko. A movie based on the serial killer Andrei Chicatilo who was a pedophile that killed dozens of children in Kiev. After violating a small child at work (he was a school teacher), he was dismissed from his job. He did not let his wife and children know this and in fact, continued to pretend that he was going to work on daily basis. Instead of taking his briefcase full of school books to school, he carried a bag full of butchering tools and hunted down his victims, raping them and then carving them up.









6. From Hell. A new take on the age old story of Jack the Ripper. Of course, Jack was never caught, but in this version of the story featuring Johnny Depp, we look at the story from the view of a troubled clairvoyant detective who is an addict and can’t seem to get himself together. As he consumes drugs he dreams of the various murder scenes but is always one step behind this sadistic killer.


7. Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway was an innocuous looking man who had a wife and worked at a factory job for years. Meanwhile, he feverishly worked to kill over 48 prostitutes and dumped their bodies in the Green River in a ritualistic fashion. He was caught after some of the bodies were discovered in the river and a police investigation ensued. A young prostitute came forward and stated that a man had violently raped her while holding a gun to her head. The man made reference to the Green River Killer and she leaped out of the vehicle at a stop light. As the truck sped away she made note of the plates.






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