What ghastly TRUE STORIES should by made into movies?
February 18th 2007 23:01
There are some that were so shocking that for one reason or another they have never been made into movies. Perhaps the subject matter is considered too sensitive. Or the person or persons involved have had legal injunctions taken out to prevent any dramatisation of the events being produced.
Or perhaps the events were so bizarre that no one would ever believe the story if it were into a movie.
Some true violent crime stories do get made into movies, yet the productions are so under-produced that they end up on a video store shelf with bad cover art and even worse production values and hardly anyone sees them.
Or they end up as tele-movies, a dime a dozen.
There are numerous movies made about fictional serial killers, but what about the real serial killers? The Ted Bundy’s, Jeffrey Dahmer’s, John Wayne Casey’s, etc. There have been movies about some of these, but they're usually not of such a high calibre. Are the crimes simply too sick and twisted to have mainstream movies made about them? Is the permeation of evil so thick that it would choke a theatrical audience?
Again in Australia the ex-freezing worker Katherine Knight who stabbed her husband to death, then decapitated him, skinned his body, carved up his body and cooked part of it intending on serving him to her grown kids for dinner. Now if that isn’t horror, I don’t know what it.
What about mass murderers? Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003) was loosely centred on the Columbine massacre in America. But it wasn’t really a horror movie. The Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, Australia is interesting. The worst single killer mass murder. That’s scary, but the intriguing element is the conspiracy theory surrounding the case, suggesting he was not the lone killer.
The “Rambo” styled killers, Michael Ryan and Julian Knight, each strolled down their respective streets in Hungerford, England, and Melbourne, Australia, shooting from the hip, killing numerous people before using a bullet to end their own lives. These cases happened within two weeks of each other.
There hasn’t been a proper movie about the O.J. Simpson case. He was acquitted; perhaps he has an injunction in place.
What about the adventurer Aron Ralston who got his arm jammed between two boulders in Utah and was eventually forced to cut part of his own arm off in order to survive? Talk about touching the void.
Mind you, thinking about it I’ve come to the conclusion dramatisations of any of these only captures part of the evil. Documentaries on the other hand, keeping in mind there’s enough cinematic material at hand, would capture even more of the real horror, and we are talking about real horror.
Capturing the Friedmans (2003) was a different type of horror movie; a quietly compelling, modern suburban horror. No one died, but it was chilling nevertheless.
What horrendous, gut-wrenching and evil true stories do you know of that you think would make for pure horror cinema?
* images on this page were taken from the following wikipedia pages:
Jeffrey Dahmer, Jim Jones and Michael Jackson
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Damo
I think the life of L Ron Hubbard is worthy of examination as a true horror story.
Michael Knight was chilling when I saw his police interview. His reason for shooting people for a second time was to finish them off. The shrinks called it a combat zone mentality.
Child soldiers? The horror of training childred to hack civilians to pieces.
Comment by David
Anything written by Brian Masters or Harold Schechter would do it for me ...
H.H. Holmes ... (Sponsored by the Chase for Skase Foundation, and funded by Denton?) ... The House of Horrors ... (Sponsored by Maddam Toussads?) ... Ivan Milat even ... (sponsored by Paddy Palins? Or Cheap as Chips?) ... The Snowtown Murders (Sponsored by Boony and Beefy VB ... as in, The Barrells in the Bodies?) ...
One of the most underrated movies about a serial killer of all time? ... Citizen X ... (about the life of the Russian Serial Killer Andrei Chikatilo ...
And yes ... a film about Jeffrey Dahmer would make my life ...
David ...
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Anonymous
I think that it's a BIG YES to a child soldiers movie. Get it out there and diuscussed.
Other one - make a movie on the Chianese Death Sentancing system. Serious horror.
And while not quite horror, I'd love a film about the dude who took so much acid he basically tripped his way through a whole year.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
So Brian Masters is a good read then David? Is his book on Bundy the definitive? Or is it on Dahmer? I wonder who's making the flick on him ...
Which is the best movie on Bundy? Is the book by Ann rule The Stranger Beside Me worth reading?
There's a book Killing for Pleasure about Snowtown. I've seen that flick Citizen X in video stores ...
Child Soldiers ... They feature in the new Leonardo DiCaprio flick Blood Diamond.
I hadn't heard of the mini-series on Jonestown, but I don't like mini-series as a rule of thumb.
Morning face. Yeah I got pretty scary one kicking off this week.
Ugh.
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
A movie about child soldiers would be pretty gripping stuff.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Hope you feel better, Bryn.
Comment by Damo
Not for the sqeemish.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I will come back later with a serious answer, been a big day...
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Bhumika
Political Minds
Comment by David
'The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer' by Brian Masters is to me one of the most thoroughly and meticulously researched true-crime novels I've ever read. So many books hit the stores within a week of his arrest, and although, I did read them, and enjoyed them, there is no comparison really.
And another fascinating book is 'A Father's Story' which was written by Lionel Dahmer (Jeff's father) ... It is so interesting because to this day Lionel Dahmer has no idea how his son became a serial killer. He really should read his own words. All the answers are in that book, but he can't see them himself. Talk about a robot.
Harold Schechter's collection is superb. The first book I read of his was Deviant (Ed Gein) ... and I was so damn disappointed with the film 'Ed Gein' ... Whoever wrote that screenplay hadn't read Schechter's book properly or was just a shit screenwriter? Or maybe the Producer fucked it up (as often happens)? Or the dirctor (as also often happens)? ...
I've had a screenplay about the childhood of a serial killer under option now for almost three years. I get it back in May, and I'll see if I can find a Producer who does more with it than sit on his fat lazy arse for three years denying me the right to farm it out anywhre else ...
People wonder why writers get disillusioned with the film industry. Try dealing with the dickheads and morons!
David ...
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Cheers for those pointers. I'd looked at that Masters book. Think I'll buy me a copy. Yeah, "under option" ... underfuckingrockandstone more like. I feel for you.
Tracy,
those Moors murderers sound hideous.
Comment by Anonymous
I'd pick either the first school murders that come to mind, from Bath, Michigan, USA in 1927. You think what happens now is awful, this guy was a lunatic who blew up the school, then torched his house after killing his wife, if I remember correctly.
There's also anything about children who kill, like that of James Bulger where the boys were both 11 or Mary Bell at 10. All Bad Seed / The Other material. Shudder.
Although there is a movie in the works right now, the case of Silvia Likens where she was murdered by the woman (her aunt? I don't remember) who house her and basically all the kids in the neighborhood. Ketchum wrote the book (The Girl Next Door -- horrific) that it'll be based on.
The UT Austin, TX, USA bell tower shooter, Charles Whitman. Lots of body count (17) there and perhaps one of the first mass killings ('66). The one at the McDonald's in California, the post office in Oklahoma or the Luby's in Texas. Fascinating psyches.
Any famous (or sort of) people killing. Lana Turner's daughter, for example.
Last of all, the perversion that was Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka from Canada. Her own sister, specifically targeted, drug, held in bondage and raped (while being video taped by Karla), then murdered.
Comment by Anonymous
-lilith
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Yeah, I found out about the Dahmer film after I posted. I'd liek to see it, apparently Tom Savini did the sfx.
The Bulger case still irks me!
Thanks for the great comment Lilith!