Essential True Crime Watchlist
True Crime films and documentaries. Mostly serial killers.
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- DirectorMarc MeyersStarsRoss LynchAlex WolffAnne HecheA young Jeffrey Dahmer struggles to belong in high school.
- DirectorDavid JacobsonStarsJeremy RennerBruce DavisonArtel GreatBiopic about notorious American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, taking place in both the past and the present.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerStarsLily CollinsZac EfronAngela SarafyanA chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
- DirectorMatthew BrightStarsMichael Reilly BurkeBoti BlissJulianna McCarthyThe story of serial killer Ted Bundy.
- DirectorAndrew JonesStarsMatthew BaunsgardOliver BerryLola ClaireA police detective consults with incarcerated madman Ted Bundy to help him catch The Green River Killer.
- CreatorJoe BerlingerStarsStephen MichaudBob KeppelKathleen McChesneyA look inside the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy, featuring interviews with him on death row.
- DirectorChris GerolmoStarsStephen ReaDonald SutherlandMax von SydowDuring the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsMichael RookerTracy ArnoldTom TowlesArriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsTony CurtisHenry FondaGeorge KennedyA series of brutal murders in Boston sparks a seemingly endless and increasingly complex manhunt.
- DirectorStephen KayStarsRobert ForsterMichael MicheleMaury ChaykinAfter 31 years at-large, detectives in Wichita, Kansas home in on the serial killer known as BTK.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsRichard AttenboroughJudy GeesonJohn HurtWhat happened to the women at 10 Rillington Place? The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans.
- StarsTim RothNico MirallegroSamantha MortonA three-part drama about serial killer John Christie and the murders at 10 Rillington Place in the 1940s and early 1950s.
- StarsJoanne FroggattMaxine PeakeSean HarrisA vivid drama which documents the notorious Moors murderers; Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsLee BoardmanJim BroadbentTam Dean BurnA portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.
- DirectorJoel BenderStarsLaura PreponMisha CollinsPatrick BauchauBased on real events, Paul Bernardo and his wife, Karla Homolka, kidnap, sexually abuse, and murder three young girls.
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsCharlize TheronChristina RicciBruce DernBased on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsJohn LeguizamoAdrien BrodyMira SorvinoSpike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American Northeast Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.
- DirectorChristopher MartinStarsAugustine CaponeMaggie DemingPaul DierdorfIn this jailhouse interview, Arthur Shawcross, the Genesee River Killer, shares candid details of his crimes and his surprising family bonds.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldJoan ChurchillStarsAileen WuornosNick BroomfieldTerry Humphreys-SlayNick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
- DirectorJohn BorowskiStarsJohn DiMaggioTom LodewyckDavid SalmonsonThe true story of lifelong criminal and serial killer, Carl Panzram who wrote his autobiography for a jail guard in 1928.
- DirectorJohn R. HandStarsArnold OdoFernando CanoBri Bynon McGregorA true crime film based on the story of New York's most notorious serial killer, who murdered at least seventeen prostitutes in the late eighties and early nineties.
- DirectorUlli LommelStarsYogi JoshiElissa DowlingCassandra ChurchThis chilling tale recounts the late 70's in New York City, when a serial killer on the loose dubbed "Son of Sam" creates havoc. When arrested, "Son of Sam" tells police he was influenced by a satanic cult. New York would never be the same.
- DirectorScott L. FlynnStarsPatrick BauchauJack ConleyJohn AylwardObsessive manhunt to identify and capture a despicable serial killer.
- DirectorBill EaglesStarsBruce GreenwoodSam JaegerSarah ManninenA series of interviews are conducted with convicted serial killer Ted Bundy in hopes of gaining insight into the Green River Killer who is terrorizing Seattle.
- StarsGeorge DiCenzoSteve RailsbackNancy WolfeThe investigation and trial of the horrific Tate-LaBianca mass murders orchestrated by the psychotic pseudo-hippie cult leader, Charles Manson.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsLeonardo DiCaprioBrad PittMargot RobbieA faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.
- DirectorJim Van BebberStarsMarcelo GamesMarc PitmanLeslie OrrA dramatization of the horrific and notorious Manson Family Murders, in the form of super 8 home movies.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsRobert BlakeScott WilsonJohn ForsytheTwo ex-cons murder a family in a robbery attempt, before going on the run from the authorities. The police try to piece together the details of the murder in an attempt to track down the killers.
- DirectorStanley NelsonStarsRebecca MooreJanet ShularTim CarterFeaturing never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
- DirectorChuck ParelloStarsSteve RailsbackCarrie SnodgressCarol MansellThe story of Ed Gein, who dug up the corpses of over a dozen women and made things out of their remains before finally shooting two people to death and butchering their bodies like beef sides.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsJohnny DeppHeather GrahamIan HolmAfter five ritualistic murders are committed in 1888 London, Inspector Abberline's assignment is to investigate the "Jack the Ripper" murders. Along with a string of mutilated prostitutes, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the government.
- DirectorChris FisherStarsJoleigh FioreavantiBret RobertsBrittany DanielKenneth Bianchi, one of the two serial rapists and killers who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s, is giving police station interviews to psychiatrist Samantha Stone, who is forced to relive the horrific crimes.
- DirectorRick BitzelbergerStarsChristopher StapletonRobert SiskoSean ThomasA film based on the true story of Ed Kemper, a serial killer who murdered ten in Santa Cruz, CA during the late sixties and early seventies.
- DirectorMichael FeiferStarsKane HodderAmy LyndonOdessa RaeDennis L. Rader systematically tortured and killed innocent victims for over two decades, evading the police for over 30 years while living a seemingly normal life as a husband, father, security officer and church president.
- DirectorUlli LommelStarsGeorge KiseleffJacquelyn AuroraGeorgie DonovanAlong twenty years, the deranged serial-killer Gary Ridgway has killed at least forty-eight prostitutes and dumped their bodies in Green River.
- DirectorKeith WalleyStarsDoug ColeBeverly SoteloStacy CunninghamGruesome true story of murderer Richard Speck who killed eight nursing students in one night in Chicago during the late sixties. The story also follows him to his prison fate and uncovers more of his strange behavoir before his death.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary KempMartin KempBillie WhitelawThis fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's '60s underworld.
- DirectorTommy O'HaverStarsElliot PageHayley McFarlandNick SearcyThe true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
- DirectorUlli LommelStarsKurt RaabJeff RodenMargit CarstensenUsing his status as a police informant to procure his victims, baby-faced, shaven-headed Fritz Haarmann dismembers their bodies after death and sells the flesh to restaurants, dumping the remainder out of sight.
- DirectorDavid R. BowenStarsCarl CrewCassidy PhillipsDonna Stewart BowenBased on the life of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered 17 men and ate many of them before he was caught in 1991.
- DirectorSandor SternStarsTiffani ThiessenEric CloseLorrie MorganThere's a rapist plaguing a neighborhood. Now a young newlywed suspects that her new husband may be the one doing this.
- CreatorJoe PenhallStarsJonathan GroffHolt McCallanyAnna TorvIn the late 1970s, two FBI agents broaden the realm of criminal science by investigating the psychology behind murder and end up getting too close to real-life monsters.
- StarsBrian DennehyMichael RileyMargot KidderGood friend and neighbour John Wayne Gacy entertained children and ran a business. However, he hid a dark secret as a violent serial killer who raped and murdered over 30 young boys.
- DirectorRoger BamfordStarsMichael StaintonOlive PendletonVeda WarwickA dramatisation of the true story of Doctor Harold Shipman, a general practitioner from Hyde, Manchester, who was convicted in 2000 of murdering fifteen of his elderly patients and is suspected of having murdered as many as two hundred others.
- StarsAlun ArmstrongRichard RidingsJames LaurensonTwo part ITV drama based on the long police investigation and hunt for serial killer the Yorkshire Ripper, in late 1970s Northern England. It shows the effect that it had on the health and career of ACC George Oldfield who led the enquiry.
- DirectorChuck ParelloStarsC. Thomas HowellNicholas TurturroAllison LangeKenneth is obsessed with the police, he moves to LA with his cousin, Angelo convinces him to start a prostitution business. Frustrated decide on revenge, feeling a great pleasure with her death. The two cousins become addicted to death.
- DirectorBenjamin RossStarsHugh O'ConorAntony SherTobias ArnoldThis film is based on a true story about a British teenager who allegedly poisoned family, friends, and co-workers. Graham is highly intelligent, but completely amoral. He becomes interested in science, especially chemistry, and begins to read avidly. Something of a social misfit, he is fascinated by morbid subjects such as poisons and murder. His family environment is intolerable to him and, in particular, his stepmother torments him. He decides to poison those who annoy him, first with antimony and later with thallium. He smugly thinks himself cleverer than all those around him, but nevertheless he is caught and sentenced to 'rehabilitation' at a psychiatric institution. Once there, he undertakes to deceive the new eminent psychiatrist sent there to 'cure' him, thereby securing his release.
- DirectorJulie DelpyStarsJulie DelpyDaniel BrühlWilliam HurtA 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
- DirectorTim MetcalfeStarsJames WoodsRobert Sean LeonardEllen GreeneA prison guard at Leavenworth with lofty ideals and hopes of reform struggles to understand a violent, hateful and conscienceless convict. The result is a written testimonial to a crime that no one could have predicted.
- DirectorJosh TownsendStarsTeresa Arnold-SimmonsRalph CahillChristina CaparoulaDanny Rolling's serial killings of five college students in 1990 forever changes the college-town of Gainseville, FL.
- CreatorAndrew SodroskiJim ClementeTony GittelsonStarsGethin AnthonyArliss HowardKelly JenretteAn in-depth look at how an FBI profiler helped track down the terrorist Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
- DirectorChris FisherStarsBret RobertsJoseph McKelheerRoxanne DayRichard Ramirez, aka the Nightstalker, who terrorized people in Los Angeles during the 1980s, and the police had no clue with him.
- StarsSteven AveryDolores AveryLaura NiriderFilmed over a 10-year period, Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime.
- DirectorSkip KiteStarsWalt KissackGary SharkeyAdam LewisThis drama takes you into the mind of one of the UK's most notorious serial killers, while using archive news footage. We are shown his formative years, the biggest manhunt in police history to capture him and finally his time in jail, through actors and newsreels.
- DirectorAriel VromenStarsMichael ShannonChris EvansJames FrancoThe story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man. When he was finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor his daughters had any clue about his real profession.
- DirectorJames CoxStarsVal KilmerLisa KudrowKate BosworthIn the police investigation of a brutal crime scene, one man was at the center of it all: legendary porn star John Holmes.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsTony BrooksDiana DavisTerry WoodA horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
- DirectorShane Ryan-ReidStarsKatie NonameDemi BaumannTeona DolnikovaInspired by true events. A nine year old girl disappears and is later found murdered. The movie exploits the events leading up to the death of the girl, why did it happen? What lies beneath? Was the parenting of the young perpetrators to blame or was it their need to be seen. Are they even an invention of the imagination and not real?
- StarsRandy QuaidRoberts BlossomTom BowerA wanna-be tough guy and his fourteen-year-old girlfriend go on a murder spree.
- DirectorJohn BorowskiStarsOto BrezinaJoe ColemanBob DunsworthA documentary about Albert Fish, who was a sadistic and cannibalistic serial killer.
- DirectorJustin KurzelStarsLucas PittawayDaniel HenshallLouise HarrisBased on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.
- DirectorJohn BorowskiStarsTony JayEd BertagnoliCary CallisonTorture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
- StarsMaggie HuculakVicki GabereauTamara HamiltonAward-winning investigation into the crimes of Robert Pickton. This documentary explores why it took so many years to capture and convict Canada's most prolific serial killer. Troubling revelations about who knew what, and when.
- StarsAdam LongDouglas LippiMichael J. GwynnAn in-depth look at the life of crimes of serial killer, Ted Bundy.
- DirectorNaomi HiltzStarsIzabela CiesinskaLuka MagnottaTerry NovakChronicles the quest for fame of Luka Magnotta.
- StarsMark HarmonFrederic ForrestGeorge GrizzardThe story of serial killer, Ted Bundy.
- StarsAnthony EdwardsEric RobertsSam NeillBased on Truman Capote's true-crime classic and nominated for two Primetime Emmys, "In Cold Blood" follows a pair of ex-cons (Anthony Edwards and Eric Roberts) who brutally murdered a respected Midwestern rancher and his family.
- DirectorReg HarkemaStarsPeter MacNeillGregory SmithRyan RobbinsPerry, a sheltered chemical engineer, falls in love with Leslie, a former homecoming princess, when he becomes a jury member at her hippie death cult murder trial.
- DirectorBarbara BrancaccioJoshua ZemanStarsJoshua ZemanBarbara BrancaccioBill EllisRealizing that the urban legend of their youth has actually come true, two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.
- DirectorClive SaundersStarsMark HoltonAdam BaldwinTom WaldmanModel citizen, devoted father, loving husband and serial killer John Wayne Gacy - a man with over 30 dead men and boys entombed in the crawl space underneath his family house. Based on a true story.
- DirectorTom McLoughlinStarsCharles S. DuttonJay O. SandersBobby HoseaJohn Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo went on a serial killing spree in October 2002 in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
- StarsElizabeth YardleyGeoffrey WansellFred DinenageBrand new and exclusive to Pick, Britain's Most Evil Killers explores the crimes of Britain's 12 most brutal killers.
- DirectorJohn MurlowskiStarsScott Anthony LeetCole WilliamsDusty SorgThe true story of William Bonin a California serial killer.
- DirectorBrian HillStarsOskar ThunbergErik LennbladLeo SigeliusThis chilling film tells the gripping story of the making of a modern Swedish serial killer - taking us to the very heart of events that terrified a nation. Horrific and intriguing in equal measure, this is real Scandinavian noir, a dark tale of murder and lies. In a high-security psychiatric institute sits Thomas Quick, Sweden's most notorious serial killer. A misfit loner who openly confessed to a range of unspeakable crimes including rape, murder and cannibalisation, Quick's story has shocked and haunted the Swedish nation for over 20 years. However, new evidence including testimony from the man himself has taken this terrifying story in an even more disturbing direction. With full access to Quick and those around him, this real life thriller unravels the truth behind a self-confessed serial killer and uncovers a dark tale of murder and lies. The film examines the shocking revelations that were at the centre of this horrifying case; not only what happened but the major impact it has had on both those directly involved as well as the wider community. Looking at what would drive a man to commit such terrible crimes, the film also asks the question of how a monster such as Thomas Quick could have evolved and what contributed to his creation. Not for the faint of heart, the journey to the ultimate truth behind what happened is a tense, twisted odyssey that has forced a nation to come to terms with series of nightmarish crimes that have haunted their society for decades.
- DirectorDavid BeilinsonMichael GalinskySuki HawleyStarsNoreen GoschNancy AllenPaul BonacciAn examination into the cold case of the Iowa boy, Johnny Gosch, who disappeared on his paper route 30 years earlier.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsJason BaldwinDamien Wayne EcholsJessie MisskelleyAn examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.
- DirectorRomuald KarmakarStarsGötz GeorgeJürgen HentschPierre FranckhFritz Haarmann, who has killed at least 27 boys, is questioned by a psychology professor in order to find out whether he is sane and can be held responsible for his crimes. During this interrogation Haarmann reveals his motives and his killing methods.
- DirectorAlexander BulkleyStarsJustin ChambersRobin TunneyRory CulkinAn elusive serial killer known as the Zodiac terrorizes the San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s, while detectives aim to stop him before he claims more victims. Based on a true story.
- DirectorTom HansonStarsHal ReedBob JonesRay LynchA serial killer in San Francisco murders without motive or apparent pattern and taunts the police with phone calls and letters.
- DirectorUlli LommelStarsRudolf Waldemar BremKatja RupéKornelia BojeA young man who works at a nursing home uses the legendary Zodiac killer's M.O. to kill people who neglect their elderly relatives.
- StarsNick FinnisAnn WestSheila KilbrideThe gruesome story behind the Moors Murders.
- DirectorDuncan StaffStarsDuncan StaffAlan BennettIan BradyAn investigation into a collection of photographs owned by murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley that police claimed may have led to the identification of the sites of their victims' graves.
- StarsTom RobertsDan CareyDavid WilsonFred and Rose West were Britain's most prolific serial killers. This series reveals their dark childhoods and how their terrible crimes went unnoticed for decades.
- DirectorHarry BradbeerStarsMartin ClunesKeeley HawesRichard HopeJohn George Haigh, the notorious "acid bath murderer" in 1940s England, becomes the subject of this dramatization.
- DirectorUlli LommelStarsGerard GriesbaumEric GerlemanVictoria UllmannThe B.T.K. killer harasses a news reporter with threatening letters as he ponders about the murders he committed 30 years ago.
- DirectorMichael FeiferStarsCorin NemecKane HodderJen NikolaisenBased on the true story of one of history's most demented serial killers.
- DirectorSteve GethersStarsRichard CrennaDennis FarinaBilly ZaneThe true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killin' cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers, is told in this TV drama. The movie concentrates on the killers story, as well as on the life of Officer Bob Grogan, who investigated their case. Look for the real Bob Grogan as the Washington cop who arrests Kenneth Bianchi!
- DirectorBradford MayStarsEd MarinaroNoelle ParkerBoyd KestnerAmy Fisher's version of the three made-for-TV movies on the case. Her real-life account of her affair with Joey Buttafuoco and her conviction for aggravated assault for shooting Buttafuoco's wife.
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsDrew BarrymoreTony DenisonHarley Jane KozakThe true story of the Long Island teen who shoots and wounds the wife of a man she called her lover.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince ColosimoChopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.
- DirectorUlli LommelStarsAdolph CortezElissa DowlingVictoria UllmannInspired by the true story of the most publicized and deranged serial killer known to everyone as "The Night Stalker."
- DirectorJuraj JakubiskoStarsAnna FrielKarel RodenVincent ReganWith an unquenchable thirst for blood, Countess Elizabeth Bathory was one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
- StarsMichael CaineArmand AssanteRay McAnallyA Scotland Yard police inspector, battling the booze, investigates the Jack the Ripper murders and discovers a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the Queen.
- DirectorJud TaylorStarsMartin SheenHector ElizondoMatt Clark"Out of the Darkness" is a gripping thriller telling the true story of the hunt and capture of David Berkowitz, a.k.a. "Son of Sam" - the infamous serial killer who stalked New York City in the 1970s.
- DirectorAlexandre MoorsStarsIsaiah WashingtonTequan RichmondTim Blake NelsonAn abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure. Inspired by the real-life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks.
- DirectorRobert S. BakerMonty BermanStarsLee PattersonEddie ByrneBetty McDowallA serial killer is murdering women in the Whitechapel district of London. An American policeman is brought in to help Scotland Yard solve the case.