crimes going to theatres - film portrayals of real crimes

We all know about Ted Bundy being real, but what else in media was based on real-life crimes? I know I said I'd talk about Arsenic and Old Lace, but another blogger already did, so I looked around at some other cases of true-crime-turned-film. Most of what I found was obvious and horror-related, but here is what I found, obvious or not.

Psycho, a film that has terrified many, was based on a real-life crime, which, frankly, terrifies me. Also, the movies The Boston Strangler, American Psycho, and Halloween. Let's start with one I led with.

Psycho

This Alfred Hitchcock film stars Norman Bates, but it was actually based on Ed Gein. Gein was also obsessed with his own mother. Some experts have said he used women's skin to dress like his late mother. Terrified yet? Yeah, me too. 

In 1957 a woman named Bernice Worden went missing, and Gein was last to see her alive. The police later found her and other womens' remains in his farmhouse. This guy also exhumed bodies from cemeteries. Gein spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital, thankfully. This comes with a warning, should you look up Ed Gein. Weak stomach? Don't look up his name. The picture of Ed Gein alone is awful enough, thus you'll notice the film picture of the woman screaming instead. 

Halloween

Here we are, back in the horror genre. The real killer in this crime was Edmund Kemper. This one is unconfirmed by the filmmaker, but is highly suspected to be based on Kemper's crimes. Both men killed family members, stabbed, and strangled. Kemper also was into necrophilia and buried victims' heads in the backyard, but that was the only difference between film and the real crime. If you want details, check my sources at the end of the blog. If you have a weak stomach, DON'T!

American Psycho

The story follows Patrick Bateman while he's managing homicidal tendencies. The author who wrote the novel read up on Ted Bundy, so it's possible it is based on Bundy, also because Bundy, too, murdered prostitutes. Either way, I think about Fallout Boy when I see the title. The actor Christian Bale played up Bundy mannerisms in a way that supports this theory, so this may be one of the movies inspired by Ted Bundy.

The Boston Strangler

This portrays the true story of 11 murders from 1962 to 1964. The criminal, Albert DeSalvo, sexually assaulted and murdered women, not in an alley or the woods, but in their own homes. Strangely there were no signs of breaking and entering. The film showed a personality disorder, but that part was fiction. He was confirmed to be the strangler by DNA. The DNA came from a water bottle from Tim DeSalvo, whose uncle was Albert DeSalvo. They compared the DNA to the fluid that was left on a maroon blanket at one crime scene. That was 50 years later and the case took 50 years to close. 

I picked a few out of a handful of options, so there are more, but I found these to be less mainstream. Check out the links below for more. In some cases, you may not want any more details. Trust me on that one. If I put a warning, heed it. 

As always, comment what you want to hear about. I aim to arm you with truth. 

Pictures:

imdb.com

TVguide.com

nypost.com

thewrap.com

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/hollywood-serial-killer-movies-based-on-true-crimes.html/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/boston-strangler-case-solved-50-years/story?id=19640699

https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/136059/real-horror-stories-inspired-movies/