Five movies that you should watch if you’re interested in true crime

Anushka Nepal

  • Read Time 3 min.

Kathmandu: There are many of us who are interested in knowing more about the psychotic and sociopathic behavior of serial killers that have appeared in the past. Most of us want to see the portrayal of the character on the screen rather than read about them.

For those who are interested in learning more about the psychotic personality of serial killers in the past, these 5 movies will be the best place to get started with. 

  1. Zodiac

This movie is based on the investigation into a murder spree attempted by the “Zodiac Killer” in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. The person behind this name has not been identified till date. The movie is based on the book called Zodiac, a non-fiction title written by Robert Graysmith, about the unsolved serial murders committed by the notorious killer in San Francisco.

This killer had a very peculiar way of taunting the police by sending them letters that described the way he murdered his victims, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers, when deciphered would supposedly expose his actual name, mailed to newspapers. 

This movie portrays a journalist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is determined to go on a manhunt and expose the true face of the zodiac killer.

  1. Helter Skelter

This movie is not just about one person, but an entire family, known as the “Manson Family” who led a murder spree in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This family was basically a cult, which was led by Charles Manson, the cult leader.

In the August of 1969, Charles Manson moved forward with a killing spree, leading his followers to go on a bloody campaign, leaving 5 people dead in the Hollywood area. 

The movie came out six years after the capture of the Manson family. It has portrayed the manson murder in the most elegant manner. 

Among the victims was the well-known Hollywood actress, Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Along with her and her unborn child, her other two friends who had joined her for dinner were also brutally murdered. Manson and his deadly followers have been serving life sentences in prison.

  1. My Friend Dahmer

This movie explores the life of Dahmer before he got sight of his first victim, an 18 years old hitchhiker named Steven Hicks. The movie particularly sheds light on the sociopathic behavior that Dahmer had, which significantly contributed to his murder spree.

The movie shows how Dahmer killed animals and kept its body parts as a memento, and did seemingly sociopathic experiments on them. But that experiment graduated from animals to humans in his later days. He managed to have 17 victims between 1978 to 1991. The movie basically shows how a teenage boy went to become a well-known notorious serial killer of the 1980s. 

  1. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

This movie is based on one of the most well known serial killers, Ted Bundy, who denied the accusations until days before his execution. He admitted to murdering 30 women in the span of 5 years.

This biographical film on Ted Bundy is captured through the perspective of his girlfriend, who for many years believed him to be innocent. 

The portrayal of Bundy in this movie is uncanny to what has been heard about him for decades. It portrays a man who on the outside seems decent, falls in love, is working to become a lawyer, but has a dark side of him hidden from the world. 

  1. Monster 

Based on the life of the notorious serial killer Aileen Wuornos, this movie shows the life she lived, in such a way that everyone who watches the movie is left speechless. 

Aileen Wuornos lived in Florida where she murdered seven men, by shooting them at point-blank range. 

Her portrayal in this movie is done by Charlize Theron, who also won an Oscar for her portrayal.