By their very nature, horror movies based on true stories are more challenging to get right than outright fantasies. Motion pictures, after all, must be structured dramatically to grab the interest of the viewer and maintain it throughout their running time. And very few horror movies can push past the two-hour mark; the idea is to develop suspense quickly and then maintain the tension, which makes an excessive running time (usually) a bad, exhausting idea.
Within those limitations, and the criticisms to be expected when real-life individuals are the focus of any movie, certain horror biopics have proven to be remarkably successful in capturing sometimes demented and villainous, sometimes heroic and brave characters at their best (or worst). Take, for example, this selection of real-life heroes and villains in horror movies.
The Conjuring (2013)
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren come to life in James Wan's suspense thriller. As played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, they are a loving married couple with a very close connection to their work, and this clip shows how well they work together as they heroically fight on behalf of an afflicted family.
Hitchcock (2012)
The movie is an odd duck indeed. It's based on Stephen Rebello's superb nonfiction account of the making of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, but for some reason mixes in odd fantasy scenes, imagining that the director found common cause with real-life serial killer Ed Gein, whose nefarious crimes inspired Robert Bloch's original novel. Still, it's a fascinating failure, and one of its best moments can be seen in the clip below as the famous "shower scene" is put together in the editing room.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Henry Lee Lucas claimed to have killed hundreds of people, claims that were later disputed and/or disproven. Still, he appears to have been guilty of at least two murders, and his homicidal state of mind is convincingly portrayed by Michael Rooker, in a movie that is filled with disquieting, disturbing images inspired by Lucas' confessions and fantasies.
To Catch a Killer (1992)
John Wayne Gacy lived a double life. To many, he appeared to be a respectable Chicago business owner. To others, he looked like the clown he dressed up as at children's parties. To a few dozen young people, however, he was the last person they saw before they were raped and killed, and then buried in the crawl space beneath his home. Brian Dennehy memorably portrayed Gacy.
The Deliberate Stranger (1986)
Adapted from Richard W. Larsen's book about Ted Bundy, this movie for television was remarkably effective in presenting the charming, clean-cut Mark Harmon as a most unlikely -- yet incredibly vicious -- serial killer. Watch this brief scene to catch a glimpse of his seemingly normal interaction with his girlfriend (Glynnis O'Connor).
10 Rillington Place (1970)
Richard Attenborough portrays John Reginald Christie, who appears to be a very proper English gentleman and landlord as he shows young John Hurt and his wife Judy Geeson a new apartment. But the truth is that Christie was a stone-cold serial killer with grave duplicity in his heart.
The Boston Strangler (1968)
The story of notorious serial killer Albert DeSalvo (played expertly, against type, by Tony Curtis) is told largely from the perspective of the investigators (Henry Fonda, George Kennedy). The restaging of the murders is absolutely chilling.
