The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review
True Crime films refer to works that are depictions of real-life crimes or that are biopics of famous criminals. These usually fall into the Biopics and True Stories category but are so populous they have been spilled over to their own entry.
In genre regard, most of these concern depictions of true-life murders or Serial Killers, ranging from speculations about unsolved cases like Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer to biopics of killers such as Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, Aileen Wuornos, Jeffrey Dahmer and others.
The stories themselves can focus on the killer’s state of Disturbed Psychology or else be Police Procedurals following the process of tracking the killer. The phrase ‘true crime’ should be regarded dubiously as many of these films treat so liberally as to be almost complete fiction, although there are also many instances where this is not the case.
Interesting little film that has gained a small cult reputation, a True Crime work based on a series of unsolved killings conducted by a masked figure in a small Southern town in 1946. A solid, quasi-documentary-like depiction that adheres to the facts for the most part
A British-made tv movie about a female stalker. What sets this above Fatal Attraction and the other copies is that it is based on a true story
Compulsively watchable Ryan Murphy mini-series about a family whose life is torn apart by a sinister letter-writing campaign. A true story that gets far most bizarre than most fiction
One of Kathryn Bigelow’s less successful films, an adaptation of an Anita Shreve historical murder mystery that tells a story in two different time periods
Making dubious claim to be based on real-life, this courted considerable controversy with its violence. Essentially an Australian Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Greg McLean readily pushes things to extremes
Another film about the Manson Family murders, this focuses on the Tate-Folger crime scene. It adheres to the fact general but twists them so it now operates more as a home invasion film
Actress Anna Kendrick directs a film based on a true-life serial killer Rodney Alcala who appeared on tv’s The Dating Game
A true-crime film based on real-life British murderer Graham Young, this comes with a black humour tone and a great performance from Hugh O’Conor as Young
Not the David Fincher film but an earlier work based on the Zodiac Killer. Unlike Fincher, this stays to the facts and doesn’t indulge theories about the identity of the killer
David Fincher’s gripping investigation into the unsolved true-life Zodiac Killer case. Fincher’s stagings are exacting and the mystery he builds intensely absorbing
A film based on the Zodiac Killer. Unlike other Zodiac films, this was made while the killer was still active. The film comes with a fascinating backstory where it was made as part of an elaborate trap to lure the Zodiac Killer out