Top 10 Movies Based On Real Life Events

Even though rom-coms are entertaining, there’s no better (or more intense) feeling than reaching the end of a crazy film and having the words “based on real events” appear on your screen. True-crime films are a unique form of entertainment. We know better than to take any detail or line of dialogue at face value—movies are often a work of fiction in the broadest sense—and that filmmakers dealing with true events must take liberties. After all, the only thing that makes a bizarre plot point or character even more ridiculous is the possibility of encountering it in real life.

In the Shadow of the Moon

This is a fantastic documentary that features astronauts who were still alive in 2008 or 2009 talking about their experiences of the first Moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s. It excludes Niall Armstrong, who was still alive but avoided giving several interviews. By the year’s end, 12 men (all men) had set foot on the moon, and it all happened in the late 1960s and the early 1970s when manned flights with astronauts to the Moon came to an end.

My Friend Dahmer

Marc Meyers and John Bergdorf offer us a well-written, performed, and directed glimpse into the life of Jeffrey Dahmer, a near-mythical serial killer. My Friend Dahmer is based on a graphic novel of the same name (which I also recommend), and it focuses on character development and suspense rather than blood or cheap scares. You won’t learn much about his later crimes either. Instead, this film focuses on the crucible that helped shape the suspect. Anne Heche as Jeffrey’s girlfriend, Vincent Kartheiser (“The Mad Men” guy!) as one of Dahmer’s doctors, and Ross Lynch as the title character all deliver good performances.

Natural Born Killers

Wonderful film it is, even better is the director’s cut, which is totally uncut, resulting in even more surprising scenes; one of the best is when Dwight (Tommy Lee Jones’ character) is stuck with rampaging inmates in his jail, and they cut off his head and put it on a stick. The extras are also a nice feature; Woody Harrelson is excellent in this film, but he is also a great actor, and it was interesting to hear his thoughts on this contentious film. This is a 90’s classic.

Scream

A masterpiece by Wes Craven! In 1996, the horror genre was practically extinct. Sure, horror films were still being produced, but most of them lacked originality and instead focused on rehashing the same old template (with the exception of Wes Craven’s Latest Nightmare, which did break new ground). It’s the tale of a small town where people are being brutally murdered, and the killer’s attention starts to centre on the main character Sydney Prescott. As the film progresses, a much broader back-story emerges that underpins all of the events that are taking place. Scream delivers at all the important angles and keeps you guessing as well as jumping throughout! The ending is fantastic and very original!!

Zodiac

David Fincher directed Zodiac a 2007 American mystery thriller film. James Vanderbilt wrote the screenplay, which is based on Robert Graysmith’s non-fiction book of the same name from 1986. Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Candy Clark, Dermot Mulroney, and Chloe Sevigny star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr.When it comes to holding the audience’s interest, movies featuring well-known historical figures – Zodiac being one, whether we like it or not – generally face an uphill battle; not only do most viewers know specifics about the true storey, but they rarely give up material that isn’t in certain respects common knowledge.

Hannibal

As a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal does a fantastic job! The scenes were extremely well-staged. Some of the scenes could make you squirm, so if you’re easily startled, you might want to reconsider watching this film. It’s beautifully shot and features a talented cast. As the sophisticated Dr Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins reprises his role. Clarice is played admirably by Julianne Moore (even more so than Jodie Foster in my opinion). This is the kind of big-budget horror movie that only comes around every two years, so make it a point to see it!

Summer of Sam

This movie was fantastic, and Spike Lee nailed the situation. Blending a big psychotic true tale with news flashes from the period, as well as people attempting to return to the past and bring their lives back together. The story depicts how serial killings have changed people’s lives, and how some will never be able to reclaim the passion or intimate friendships that existed before the first gunshot. I like how the storey of this film isn’t entirely focused on the serial killer Son of Sam. It’s also the storey of some of the New Yorkers who were traumatised by the nation’s terrifying murder spree. Spike Lee’s portrayal of over-the-top personalities of typical New Yorkers, especially Italians, is fantastic. It amuses me because I grew up with people like this, and it reminds me of my own family. Richie, played by Adrain Brody, is one of my favourite characters in the film. He did a fantastic job, in my opinion. John Leguizamo and Mira Sorvino both delivered powerful performances. There were some incredible scenes with both of them that captivated you. 

Creep 2

The plot of this film is straightforward. For $1000, a young videographer is hired to spend a day in a mountain town filming a stranger. He was recruited by an eccentric character who claimed to be dying of cancer and wanted to make a video diary for his unborn son. We know it won’t be that easy, but Mark Duplass does an excellent job as the subject, going from heartbreaking to creepy to irritating to fake to believable in the blink of an eye. Patrick Brice, who also plays the cameraman and a possible victim, does an excellent job. The script was co-written by Brice and Duplass.

Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile

Deranged is one of those films that has gotten a lot more publicity over the last 20 years (between Tape Traders and Horror Message Boards) than it deserves. This is the definitive biography of Ed Gein, the man who gave us Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s creepy, entertaining, and well-observed, and it’s a low-budget gem that many people are unaware of. This is a film that deserves to be rediscovered, and the Blu-ray version looks so much better than the previous mediocre releases.

The Cell

The Cell has a solid idea, and it’s delivered well overall, but there are just too few elements that really work. There aren’t enough dream scenes, there aren’t enough appearances by King D’Onofrio, and there aren’t enough appearances by Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls, who looks amazing in the film and plays a fantastic enforcer. I’m not sure why we didn’t see more of her. As a result, the ending is lukewarm at best, because the earlier scenes have such an effect that you just KNOW the ending would be crazy, but it doesn’t. Quite the opposite, in reality.