Horror movies are designed to scare audiences, with supernatural entities, gruesome monsters, and immortal masked murderers. Despite the scares, there is still a sense of comfort knowing that everything is fictional and nothing in the movie can actually hurt you, or even actually happen. But what happens when horror movies anchor themselves in truth and present audiences with real-life events?
Taking inspiration from true stories of serial killers, paranormal investigators, and possessions, this list takes a look at some of the most famous and most underrated horror films based on true events. From recent scares to classic frights, filmmakers have been looking to real-life to answer the question is truth scarier than fiction.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Released in 1976, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is based on the 1946 Texarkana Moonlight Murders. The killer in the murders was dubbed The Phantom killer and was never apprehended. Over a ten-week period, The Phantom killer targeted couples and attacked 8 people in total, and murdered 5. The killings caused panic in the town, with people buying out guns and ammunition and curfews were implemented in the hopes of curbing the killer and keeping the town safe.
The movie re-telling, while taking some artistic license with the facts, mostly stayed true to the details of the attacks. The film took the interesting approach of using narration over the story, lending it the air of a documentary and adding to the realism. The killer's face is never seen and launched an iconic look with the sack-headed killer, a look that the real-life killer adopted during his string of attacks. The look inspired the pre-hockey mask burlap sack that Jason Voorhees adopted in Friday The 13th Part 2. The movie is now shown at the beginning of every 'Movies at the Park' event in Texarkana and has been since 2003.
The Conjuring
The Conjuring, released in 2013, tells the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren who were prolific paranormal investigators. The movie depicts the story of the Perron family, who upon moving into their new home starts to experience paranormal activity. Clocks stop at the same time every night, the youngest of the 5 Perron girls starts to talk to a long-dead boy, and mother Carolyn starts to become deeply affected and targeted by the presence in the house. In desperation, the family reaches out to Ed and Lorraine for help and what follows is a fraught journey to save the family from the evil spirit of Bathsheba before it is too late.
The movie was a huge success, spawning multiple spinoffs and sequels but it also spawned some ill will from the owners of the house the movie is based on, stating that since the release of the movie they had experienced multiple acts of vandalism. The author of the book The Demonologist, Gerald Brittle also brought legal action against Warner Bros stating the film infringed on an exclusivity contract he had with the Warrens.
Dahmer
Dahmer is a biopic based on the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Released in 2002, the film chronicles the life of Dahmer through present-day events and flashbacks. In between the years of 1978 and 1991 Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys, becoming one of America's most notorious serial killers. Depicting his troubled and abuse-ridden childhood, the film offers an insight into the mind of a serial killer and poses the question, are killers made or created?
Made in just 18 days, the movie sticks pretty rigidly to the details of the horrific crimes but does change the names of victims out of respect for them and their families. Due to its explicit nature, the film caused some controversy and had difficulties being produced but ultimately was critically acclaimed and Jeremy Renner was praised for his unnerving performance.
Borderland
Loosely based on Cuban-American serial killer, drug lord, and cult leader Adolfo Constanzo, Borderland was released in 2007. Costanzo headed a cult, dubbed Narcosatanists by the media, and he and his followers were responsible for multiple ritualistic killings. The movie follows three American college guys on a Mexican getaway who fall foul of the fictionalized version of Constanzo's cult in the movie. The main events of the film are based around the real-life abduction, torture, and murder of University of Texas student Mark J. Kilroy, and it is a graphic depiction of the events surrounding the young man's last few days.
Borderland has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and was praised for its character work and for all its brutality, it cannot match the true story of what happened to Mark J. Kilroy.
The Entity
In 1974, Doris Bither claimed she was haunted, attacked, and sexually assaulted by a malevolent presence in her home. In 1982 the movie The Entity was released based on her story. Unlike many famous hauntings, the presence followed her through multiple moves and even across the country. The character of Doris in the movie is called Carla Moran, and events unfold much the same as Doris' account of her experiences. She starts going to therapy and recounts her childhood trauma, substance abuse, and sexual and physical abuse. The psychiatrist urges her to go to a hospital for observation, believing her paranormal experiences to be a manifestation of her trauma. Meanwhile, Carla encounters some parapsychologists and enlists them to help investigate her case.
Ultimately the movie concludes with Carla and her family still experiencing paranormal activity but to a lesser degree. At the time of its release, the film was lauded for its feminist theory aspects and style, being called unnerving by many. It was also the subject of many protests due to its content.