When watching movies of horror genre your heart beats faster, and if the films are based on real events it will be much more terrifying. However, not all the films marked “based on real events” are not so. This tag is simply meant to cause a greater impact or interest in the viewer. The list below includes some of the most horror movies based on true st. They were scary enough as a fictional work of art, but have now been made even scarier thanks to their real life counterparts. It might be a good idea to sleep with the lights on tonight.
10 Horror Movies Based on True Stories
10. The Strangers (2008)
“The Strangers” is an American horror film by a director and screenwriter Bryan Bertino. Starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, who play the young couple left in a country house and attacked by three masked men. It is believed that this horror film is based on personal experience of Bryan Bertino, the director and screenwriter of the film.
9. Open Sea (2003)
Open sea – psychological horror film, shot on real events. An event that occurred in 1998 in Australia with spouses Tom and Eileen Lonergan served as the basis of the film. Couple on a boat with a group of diving enthusiasts went to admire the beauty of the underwater world, but the crew of the boat, not knowing the exact number of the group forgot to pick up the couple, leaving them to survive in the open ocean.
8. Zodiac (2007)
Zodiac – American detective thriller from director David Fincher, shot by Robert Greysmita based on a book of the same name. The film and the book are based on real events and tell about the investigation of the case of a serial killer who called himself “Zodiac.” During 12 years the notorious murderer committed 37 murders in San Francisco, while leaving the police messages that are sent to the newspaper by mail. Case “Zodiac” is considered as one of the most famous undiscovered crimes in San Francisco.
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
It is an American horror film from director Touba Hooper. Part of the story and the character of serial-killer nicknamed “Leatherface” were based on the murders of one of the most famous killers in the US history – Ed Gein. During the search of the house there was found a mask and a whole wardrobe which included two pairs of pants, a vest and a suit sewed from human skin by artisanal way. There were also other terrible crafts of maniac in the house.
6. Dead Ringers (1988)
Dead Ringers – Canadian-American psychological thriller from director David Cronenberg. The film is about the life of two twin brothers Mantle, who often change their roles. The real brothers Stewart and Cyril Marcus who committed suicide in their own Manhattan apartment served as a prototype for them.
5. Children’s Game (1988)
Children’s game is a horror film, shot by Tom Holland, where the serial killer uses magic ritual and transports his soul into a doll. Horror movie was inspired by real events of the mid-1980s. A man standing in a queue for the Cabbage Patch doll for his child was killed by a hooligan, who was immediately shot to death by police.
4. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
American horror film from director Scott Derrickson based on real events that occurred with a German girl, Anneliese Michel. When she was 17-year-old she was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy, but soon her condition deteriorated and she began to show symptoms of mental disorders. Family of Michel agreed that Anneliese possessed with demons and took her to the Catholic priests who carried out series of exorcisms on her for 10 months. In 1976, after the 67th ritual the girl died from dehydration and exhaustion.
3. The girl next door (2007)
The girl next door – a horror film based on a true story and shot by Gregory Wilson. This film is based on a book by Jack Ketchama with the same name. The film tells about a real murder and torture of sixteen year old Sylvia Likens in the summer of 1965, whom the parents left in the care of a housewife Gertrude Baniszewski.
2. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
American psychological horror film, shot by John McNaughton and based on the real life of the famous serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. According to some estimates he committed about 600 murders during the years 1951-1983. Only 11 crimes were proved, although during the investigation, he confessed to more than 300 murders, 213 of which can be seen as more or less plausible. The film is considered as one of the most brutal and violent in the history.
1. The Amityville Horror (1979)
American horror film directed by Stuart Rosenberg was based on the bestseller of Jay Anson. The book was written based on the testimony of the terrible events that the Lutz family faced in their new home at 112 Ocean Avenue in town Amityville, New York. A year after the Lutz family moved into the house there was a massacre. November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters.