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October 24, 2024 at 5:12pm EDT
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We won’t pretend to understand what it is that makes true crime so fascinating. To be honest, we should probably be a little concerned about the way that the true crime genre has spread like wildfire, prompting TV, movies, and podcasts about all the worst, most fascinating crimes ever recorded. But there’s no time to wonder why we love these true tales of murder and madness when new true crime movies are popping up every day and demanding our attention, from Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci to The Boston Strangler and Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning performance in Monster.
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One note about these true crime faves? Make sure your kiddos are in bed and asleep (really asleep) before you click on the evening’s entertainment. Unlike our favorite horror movies, even the scariest of which can be explained away as “all pretend,” these true crime stories may be harder to brush off. On the other hand, if you have a teen or pre-teen, you do have some options for true crime with softened edges — otherwise known as the Hollywood dramatization. Movies like Lost Girls, Spotlight, and Room all tell stories of very real crimes in very real ways, but the familiar narrative style (and familiar actors) can make subjects more palatable than they may have been.
Here are true crime movies that we guarantee will surely capture your attention.
A version of this article was originally published on July 2020.
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‘In Cold Blood’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
Based on Truman Capote’s non-fiction work In Cold Blood, this 1967 movie tells the story of the Herbert Clutter family murders in Kansas, for which Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were ultimately arrested. The movie tells the story from the killer’s point of view.
'In Cold Blood' on Amazon
$3.99
on Amazon.com
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‘Room’
Image Credit: Caitlin Cronenberg/©A24/Courtesy Everett Collection
Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay star in this drama based on the real 2008 case of Elisabeth Fritzl, who was held captive by her father in their basement for 24 years, repeatedly raped and forced to bear his children, one of whom remained in captivity with her.
Larson won her first Oscar in this role.
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‘The Imposter’
Image Credit: Erik Wilson/©Indomina/courtesy Everett Collection
In 1994, a 13-year-old boy in Texas named Nicholas Barclay disappeared. In 1997, the con man Frédéric Bourdin, then 23, told the Barclay family he was their missing son — and despite his completely different appearance, age difference, and French accent, it took years for his plot to be uncovered.
'The Imposter' on Amazon
$3.99
on Amazon.com
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‘Monster’
Image Credit: Newmarket Films.
In what might be Charlize Theron’s best performance ever, she takes on the role of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who starts killing her male clients. In this dramatized version of events, Wuornos is endlessly devoted to girlfriend Selby Wall (Christina Ricci) but unable to curb her worst impulses.
'Monster' on Amazon
$3.99
on Amazon.com
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‘Lost Girls’
Image Credit: Jessica Kourkounis / © Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection
This mystery movie is based on the actions of the Long Island serial killer, who killed up to 16 victims between 1996 and 2010 and was only identified years later in 2023.
As a woman searches for her missing daughter, she uncovers the series of murders of sex workers on the South Shore barrier islands of Long Island.
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‘Sergio’
Image Credit: Karima Shehata / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
Inspired by a true story, Sergio is set in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq and follows the life of top UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello as he takes on one last assignment in Baghdad pushing his physical and emotional limits.
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‘Spotlight’
Image Credit: © Open Road Films /courtesy Everett Collection
Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, and more A-listers star in this drama based on the investigative reporting of the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, which led to them uncovering widespread sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Boston area.
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‘Foxcatcher’
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics
This eerie drama starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo tells the story of John du Pont, the heir to the E.I. du Pont family, who wants to recruit wrestlers Dave and Mark Schultz for his Olympic wrestling team, Foxcatcher. While they both wrestle for him for a time, his relationship with Mark quickly grows complicated by du Pont’s power dynamic, drugs, and emotional manipulation.
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‘House of Gucci’
Image Credit: Fabio Lovino / © MGM / courtesy Everett Collection
Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino tells the true story of Patrizia Reggiani, a woman who married into the Gucci family and arranged for her husband Maurizio to be killed after he left her. She was ultimately sentenced to 29 years in prison.
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‘Boston Strangler’
Image Credit: © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection.
In this compelling movie, Keira Knightley stars as Loretta McLaughlin, the woman who first broke the story of the Boston Strangler. Inspired by the true events, her character tries to track down the killer while fighting the sexist work environment in the 1960s.
'Boston Strangler'
$8 / month
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‘The Irishman’
Image Credit: ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman tells the story of Frank Sheeran, an alleged mafia hitman who confesses the crimes he committed working for the Bufalino crime family. The movie is based on the 2004 nonfiction book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, a former homicide prosecutor, investigator and defense attorney.
'The Irishman'
$7 / month
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‘Lonely Hearts’
Image Credit: ©Samuel Goldwyn Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Starring John Travolta, Salma Hayek and Jared Leto, 2006’s Lonely Hearts follows a detective (Travolta) in the 1940s who’s tasked with tracking serial killers Martha Beck (Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Leto).
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‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile’
Image Credit: © Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection
Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile tells the complicated and eye-opening story of how serial killer Ted Bundy (played by Zac Efron) still managed to capture hearts around the nation while defending himself against heinous murders and kidnappings.
'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile'
$7 / month
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‘All Good Things’
Image Credit: Nicole Rivelli/©Magnolia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
Starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, All Good Things tells the story of real estate heir David who defies his family’s wishes when he weds his middle-class wife Katie. After their marriage, however, her disappearance makes David the main suspect.
'All Good Things'
$7 / month
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‘The Bling Ring’
Image Credit: Merrick Morton/©A24/courtesy Everett Collection
While it may be hard to believe, a group of high schoolers in L.A. made up the “Bling Ring” between 2008 and 2009, a group that would invade celebrity’s homes and steal their clothes. Some of the victims of their robberies were Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge and Rachel Bilson.
'The Bling Ring'
$10 / month
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‘Catch Me If You Can’
Image Credit: ©DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
Leonardo Di Caprio’s 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can tells the impressive true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., a notorious con man who became the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S. In the movie, viewers will see Abagnale (DiCaprio) get away with being a doctor, lawyer and even co-pilot all while being hunted by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks).
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‘Zodiac’
Image Credit: ©Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection
In a case that remains unsolved to this day, Zodiac follows a team of San Francisco authorities and a cartoonist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) as they attempt to solve the killings of the Zodiac killer in the late 1960s and 1970s.
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‘An American Crime’
Image Credit: ©First Look Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
In a horrifying true story, An American Crime follows single mother Gertrude Baniszewski as she takes in two of her friends’ daughters, Sylvia and Jennie, to take care of while they’re away. Once they arrive, however, Gertrude imprisons Sylvia (Elliot Page) in the basement and tortures her, eventually encouraging her children to follow suit.
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‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Image Credit: Mary Cybulski/©Paramount Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
The Oscar-nominated movie The Wolf of Wall Street tells the eye-boggling story of Jordan Belfort, a real-life businessman and founder of brokerage house Stratton Oakmont who made millions defrauding wealthy investors.
'The Wolf of Wall Street'
$6 / month
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‘All the President’s Men’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
1976’s hit movie All the President’s Men follows the two Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) who uncovered the Watergate scandal after the botched 1972 burglary of the Democratic Party Headquarters.
'All the President's Men'
$4.19
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‘She Said’
Image Credit: © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Much like All the President’s Men, She Said follows two The New York Times journalists, Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), as they uncover the trail of abuse and sexual misconduct at the hands of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
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‘I, Tonya’
Image Credit: © 30West /Courtesy Everett Collection
Back in 1994, the world was fascinated by the Tonya Harding scandal, aka the moment figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked with a baton by her opponent Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and his co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt. So, of course, it’s no wonder the whole drama became a movie in 2017’s Oscar-winning I, Tonya.
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‘Summer of Sam’
Image Credit: ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Focusing on a fictional friend group with actors John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody, 1999’s Summer of Sam tells the real story of David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam, who shot and killed six people and wounded seven others in New York City between 1976 and 1977.
'Summer of Sam'
$7 / month
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‘The Good Nurse’
Image Credit: JoJo Whilden / Netflix /Courtesy Everett Collection
The 2022 movie The Good Nurse, starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, tells the story of two nurses, Amy Loughren and Charlie Cullen. One day, after a patient unexpectedly dies on Charlie’s watch, Amy’s suspicions arise and she begins to tie him to a series of suspicious deaths.
'The Good Nurse'
$7 / month
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‘Hotel Mumbai’
Image Credit: © Bleecker Street Media / courtesy Everett Collection
In 2008, terrorists stormed the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and kidnapped all its guests. In 2019, the harrowing attack was made into a heartbreaking and nail-biting film starring Dev Patel, Nazanin Boniadi and Armie Hammer.
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‘Girl in the Basement’
Image Credit: ©Lifetime Television/Courtesy Everett Collection
Girl in the Basement is a movie based on the same heartbreaking story of Elisabeth Fritzl, a 17-year-old who was tortured and held captive by her father, Josef Fritzl, for 24 years.
'Girl in the Basement'
$8 / month
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‘The Post’
Image Credit: Niko Tavernise. TM and copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved/courtesy Everett Collection
Like a few others in this list, The Post follows journalists’ pursuit of the truth. Following Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), The Washington Post team recovered the Pentagon Papers, a set of classified documents that revealed the US government’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
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‘Dog Day Afternoon’
Image Credit: Everett Collection / Everett Collection
In a shockingly real story, Dog Day Afternoon follows inexperienced criminal Sonny Wortzik (played by Al Pacino) as he leads an unplanned and messy bank robbery in Brooklyn. As the police and the press begin to arrive, things quickly go awry.
'Dog Day Afternoon'
$7 / month
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‘The Black Dahlia’
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
Starring Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson, The Black Dahlia follows two cops in 1940s L.A. who begin the grisly investigation of the death of Elizabeth Short, aka Black Dahlia. Her death continues to be one of the biggest unsolved murders in history.
'The Black Dahlia'
$15 / month
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‘The Iceman’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
For over two decades, serial killer Richard Kuklinski was an effective hitman who killed over 100 people. While trying not to get noticed by the cops, Kuklinski’s wife and children also have no clue about his dangerous side business.
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‘Goodfellas’
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Oscar-winning movie Goodfellas was inspired by the 1985 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. In the movie, viewers follow the rise and fall of mobster Henry Hill (played by the late Ray Liotta) and his friends and family from 1955 to 1980.
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‘Badlands’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
Inspired by real-life murderous duo Caril Ann Fugate and Charlie Starkweather, 1973’s Badlands follows a ruthless couple who slaughters her family and everyone else who threatens to end their newfound freedom in the Dakota badlands.
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‘Changeling’
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
The touching movie Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, is any mom’s worst nightmare. After single mother Christine’s young son Walter goes missing, the police return him to her months later. But here’s the catch: it’s not actually her son.
The story was based on real-life events sorrounding the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders in Mira Loma, California.
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‘In the Name of the Father’
Image Credit: Jonathan Hession / © Universal Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection
Based on the true story of the so-called “Guildford Four,” the 1993 movie In the Name of the Father follows four people wrongly imprisoned and falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings that killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian.
'In the Name of the Father'
$15 / month
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‘Fruitvale Station’
Image Credit: Ron Koeberer/©The Weinstein Company/courtesy Everett Collection
In a movie that introduced the world to the talent of Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station tells the true story of Oscar Grant, a young Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, California, on New Year’s Day in 2009.
'Fruitvale Station'
$10 / month
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‘Woman of the Hour’
Image Credit: Leah Gallo / © Roadshow Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
In the most recent addition to this list, Woman of the Hour tells the eerie story of serial killer Rodney Alcala as he shockingly joins a TV dating show and goes out with an aspiring actress while the cops are on his trail.
'Woman of the Hour'
$7 / month
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‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’
Image Credit: © Greycat Films/courtesy Everett Collection
Based on the true story of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a gruesome deep dive into the lives of two serial killers, Henry and his accomplice-turned-partner Ottis.
'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'
$0
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‘Casino’
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
In this 1995 classic, Casino sees Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci play real-life mobsters and best friends Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro as they move to Las Vegas to run the Tangiers Casino, putting everything they know about loyalty, power and crime to the test.
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‘My Friend Dahmer’
Image Credit: ©FilmRise/courtesy Everett Collection
Starring Ross Lynch, My Friend Dahmer tells the real story of Derf Backderf, a young boy who befriended soon-to-be serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer when they went to high school together.
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‘Boys Don’t Cry’
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection
In an Oscar-winning performance from Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry tells the tragic story of Brandon Teena, a transgender young boy who became a victim for simply living out his truth.
'Boys Don't Cry'
$7 / month
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‘Citizen X’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection
The 1995 movie Citizen X follows the investigation surrounding the killing spree of serial killer Andrei Chikatilo (played by Jeffrey DeMunn), who 52 people in an eight-year span.
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‘True Story’
Image Credit: ©Fox Searchlight/Courtesy Everett Collection
In another inspired-by-real-events movie, True Story follows New York Times journalist Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) as he finds out his identity has been stolen by Christian Longo (James Franco), a man stood accused of murdering his own family.
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