Apr 2014 *
I've always been fascinated by true crime stuff. TV shows looking for tips on crimes, movies based on real life crimes, documentaries about crimes, even stuff online like Wikipedia's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_deaths . I think it's one of the reasons why I decided to go with a giallo for my novel, because it involves mystery and trying to figure out who the killer is.
I'd say some of the top movies based on real life crimes are:
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer https://trashepics.com/forum/130/ , based on the life and crimes of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole.
- Summer of Sam https://trashepics.com/forum/235/ , based on the crimes of the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz.
- Deranged https://trashepics.com/forum/472/ , based on the life and crimes of Ed Gein.
- Zodiac https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443706/ , based of the crimes of the Zodiac Killer.
- The Manson Family https://trashepics.com/forum/139/ , based on the life and crimes of the Manson Family.
I own and highly recommend all five of those movies. Henry even has a surprisingly good sequel https://trashepics.com/forum/132/. I realize I left out other good stuff like Psycho https://trashepics.com/forum/41/ and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre https://trashepics.com/forum/21/ , which are also both supposedly based on Gein, but I don't feel like those are really meant to be about him and just borrow ideas from his life.
Thinking about it, I guess I don't really know that much about true crime documentaries. In fact, only two come to mind at the moment: H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358500/ and The Poisoner's Handbook https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3154430/ , the latter of which is really part of a TV series itself and isn't entirely about crimes. Something I enjoyed about both of those is the fact that they focus on crimes from a time long since past, when crime solving techniques weren't as efficient as they are now.
As far as TV shows that focus on true crimes, I think there are two main ones that come to mind for most, at least here in the US: Unsolved Mysteries https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094574/ and America's Most Wanted https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094415/. As a kid, I watched both of them, although I did and still do lean towards Unsolved Mysteries. I think it's just the whole style of the show, from Robert Stack's voice to the darkly toned music.
Unlike fictional horror, which hasn't creeped me out in the slightest for years now, Unsolved Mysteries always manages to creep me out after I watch enough of it. And I don't mean the usually cheesy ghost or UFO segments. I'm talking about the murders, most of which still stand out separately in my mind, even if I can't remember the exact names of the people involved in each one, because most of them are fucked up in their own, unique way.
Much like horror movies, I could talk about the segments on that show for hours. It's not that I enjoy the idea of the suffering that some of those people went through. I do feel bad for the victims and their loved ones. But at the same time, it's just so interesting to me.
As sort of a bonus, Matthew McConaughey and Bill Moseley starred in separate segments, McConaughey in the Edward Bell https://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_Bell segment and Moseley in the Cokeville Elementary School Explosion https://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_explosion segment. There were probably other known actors who were in segments. I just don't know about them.
Unfortunately, it's very hard to find any Unsolved Mysteries segments to watch on YouTube, due to copyrights. I think it's a shame since it rarely comes on TV anymore and when it does, it's the more recent, updated, less creepy version. This is the only segment I currently know about that's on there and that's because the person who uploaded it has something to do with the case itself:
That's actually a pretty creepy one itself. I'm lucky enough to have 19 bootleg discs myself with about 6 hours worth of segments on each. There's some officially released sets too (one was pictured above) that mostly contain well-known segments, but they really just leave you wanting more.
Well, that's all from me for now. Until next time.
I've always been fascinated by true crime stuff. TV shows looking for tips on crimes, movies based on real life crimes, documentaries about crimes, even stuff online like Wikipedia's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_deaths . I think it's one of the reasons why I decided to go with a giallo for my novel, because it involves mystery and trying to figure out who the killer is.I'd say some of the top movies based on real life crimes are:
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer https://trashepics.com/forum/130/ , based on the life and crimes of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole.
- Summer of Sam https://trashepics.com/forum/235/ , based on the crimes of the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz.
- Deranged https://trashepics.com/forum/472/ , based on the life and crimes of Ed Gein.
- Zodiac https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443706/ , based of the crimes of the Zodiac Killer.
- The Manson Family https://trashepics.com/forum/139/ , based on the life and crimes of the Manson Family.
I own and highly recommend all five of those movies. Henry even has a surprisingly good sequel https://trashepics.com/forum/132/. I realize I left out other good stuff like Psycho https://trashepics.com/forum/41/ and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre https://trashepics.com/forum/21/ , which are also both supposedly based on Gein, but I don't feel like those are really meant to be about him and just borrow ideas from his life. Thinking about it, I guess I don't really know that much about true crime documentaries. In fact, only two come to mind at the moment: H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358500/ and The Poisoner's Handbook https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3154430/ , the latter of which is really part of a TV series itself and isn't entirely about crimes. Something I enjoyed about both of those is the fact that they focus on crimes from a time long since past, when crime solving techniques weren't as efficient as they are now. As far as TV shows that focus on true crimes, I think there are two main ones that come to mind for most, at least here in the US: Unsolved Mysteries https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094574/ and America's Most Wanted https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094415/. As a kid, I watched both of them, although I did and still do lean towards Unsolved Mysteries. I think it's just the whole style of the show, from Robert Stack's voice to the darkly toned music. Unlike fictional horror, which hasn't creeped me out in the slightest for years now, Unsolved Mysteries always manages to creep me out after I watch enough of it. And I don't mean the usually cheesy ghost or UFO segments. I'm talking about the murders, most of which still stand out separately in my mind, even if I can't remember the exact names of the people involved in each one, because most of them are fucked up in their own, unique way. Much like horror movies, I could talk about the segments on that show for hours. It's not that I enjoy the idea of the suffering that some of those people went through. I do feel bad for the victims and their loved ones. But at the same time, it's just so interesting to me. As sort of a bonus, Matthew McConaughey and Bill Moseley starred in separate segments, McConaughey in the Edward Bell https://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_Bell segment and Moseley in the Cokeville Elementary School Explosion https://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_explosion segment. There were probably other known actors who were in segments. I just don't know about them.Unfortunately, it's very hard to find any Unsolved Mysteries segments to watch on YouTube, due to copyrights. I think it's a shame since it rarely comes on TV anymore and when it does, it's the more recent, updated, less creepy version. This is the only segment I currently know about that's on there and that's because the person who uploaded it has something to do with the case itself:
That's actually a pretty creepy one itself. I'm lucky enough to have 19 bootleg discs myself with about 6 hours worth of segments on each. There's some officially released sets too (one was pictured above) that mostly contain well-known segments, but they really just leave you wanting more.
Well, that's all from me for now. Until next time.
