#精品长文创作季#
There's no denying that society as a whole has a deep fascination with true crime. True Crime Documentaries, True Crime TV Shows, True Crime Podcasts, basically anything related to hateful criminals will be fascinating. Trying to understand the inner world of criminals allows us to calm down and think.
Unfortunately, there are always crimes that happen to people's hearts, and true crime fans can try to solve them. We're inquisitive creatures by nature, so mysteries and unsolved cases naturally appeal to many of us.
Specifically, stories about serial killers seem to appeal the most to those who enjoy solving crimes. Over the years, there has been an endless stream of TV series and movies on related topics. We know that these criminals are the scum of humanity, but trying to find out their motives and trying to understand their actions fascinate us.
How can one person be so nasty to another, how can one person have such disturbing thoughts, how can one person behave such horrible behavior? We can't help but think about these questions when we watch these kinds of films. Filmmakers apparently have that idea too, so countless thrillers about serial killers have been made over the decades.
Here are 10 classic serial killer thrillers that have stood the test of time:
10《杀手的肖像》(1986)
Long before he played Yongdu in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, Michael Rooker had already played a murderer in the movie "Portrait of a Killer". The film is based on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas and follows Henry about how Henry teaches his roommate Otis (Tom Toles) to kill people randomly.
After Otis' sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) comes to live with them, they go on a killing spree. The ruthless duo targets strangers and attacks their victims in extremely horrific ways. Henry has no mercy for anyone, and will never leave any witnesses.
Any crime thriller based on a true story is bound to be more disturbing, and this film certainly doesn't shy away from the horrific crimes committed by serial killers.
9 "Senhoya" (2003)
It's obviously not safe to travel in the backwoods of the United States, but the two couples in "House of a Thousand Corpses" don't think so.
On the eve of Halloween in 1977, four friends embark on an off-road road trip through the Texas backcountry with the goal of writing a guide to quirky roadside spots in the backcountry of the United States. They discover an attraction called Captain Spaulding and the Museum of Madness, only to be drawn to the urban legend of a deranged serial killer.
As they explore the museum and local lore, they meet a strange hitchhiker named Baby Shirley Moon Zamby) and meet her more disturbing family. This chance encounter was followed by a night of endless abuse and murder.
8 "Born to Kill Maniac" (1994)
Focusing on two serial killers, Oliver Stone's super-violent yet stylized film is both wild fun and a critique of Americans' strange obsession with those who commit heinous crimes.
"Born to Kill Maniac" tells the story of two victims of childhood trauma, Mitch Knox (Woody Harrelson) and Marory Knox (Juliette Lewis), who fall in love and become psychopathic serial killers together.
Their killing spree begins with Marorie's sadistic father, and the two decide to embark on a road trip in which they kill virtually everyone everywhere they go. They strategically left one person behind in each shootout so that the survivors could tell their stories, which made Mickey and Marori the media spotlight.
With the help of Quentin Tarantino's screenplay, the film brilliantly portrays how our society is obsessed with things we can't explain, and how we glorify horrible people in the media.
7 Black Christmas (1974)
Almost ten years before directing the classic holiday film "A Christmas Story," Bob Clark directed the Canadian serial killer horror film "Black Christmas." While both films take place during the Christmas season, they are very different: "Black Christmas" takes place in the dorm room of the Sorority in College Town on the eve of winter break.
As the girls prepare to leave for their vacation, they keep getting calls from an anonymous man who makes the girls unhappy every time he calls. Soon, one of the girls disappeared, and the girls began to fear for their lives. It wasn't until a 13-year-old girl was found dead in a nearby park that police became interested in the case.
The film was one of the first killing horror films, and both the music and the movement of the camera were excellent, leaving viewers in fear of the unknown killer who stalked these sorority sisters.
6 Zodiac Signs (2007)
From the '60s to the '80s, the legend of the zodiac killer haunted Northern California, and almost everyone with access to the internet knew about it. David Fincher has made quite a few crime thrillers, and in 2007 he decided to make a film about the infamous serial killer.
Based on the novel by Robert Greysmith, "The Zodiac" tells the story of amateur cartoonist Robert Greysmith (Jack Gyllenhaal) who is bent on finding a serial murderer. The San Francisco Police Department is mocked by mysterious messages and letters from the killer, and Gray Smith and his colleagues are caught in an endless cycle of analyzing reports and documents in the hope of finding clues to catch the killer.
Genuine book recommendation "Zodiac" classic good book ¥50.5 to buy
5 The Seven Deadly Sins (1995)
David Fincher is another movie about a brutal serial killer. "The Seven Deadly Sins" tells the story of the murder squad rookie detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and his old partner Somerset (Morgan Freeman) in their desperate quest to hunt down a sadistic serial killer known as Anonymous.
The murderer justified his crimes, saying that it was a forgiveness for the world's ignorance of the seven deadly sins. For every horrific crime scene the detectives visit, they discover one of the seven deadly crimes. From overeating, the causes of death of the deceased are all related to the crimes that Anonymous believes they have committed.
Somerset conducted extensive research on these crimes in order to understand Anonymous's motives, but Mills did not see the need to understand the inner world of a murderer. The film is both thrilling and heartbreaking, and it teaches us that you can never truly understand a person who can commit such an act of violence without remorse.
【Dangdang】 Seven Deadly Sins ¥25.85 Purchase
4《沉默的羔羊》(1991)
The infamous character of Hannibal Lecter has been produced in many versions in film and television, but none are as iconic as Anthony Hopkins' portrayal in The Silence of the Lambs.
The film tells the story of Clarice Sterling, a young FBI cadet (Jodie Foster), who catches another serial killer with the help of manipulative and cannibalistic murderer Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins). The serial killer Sterling wants to catch is Bison Bill, a ruthless killer who will skin his victims.
She realizes that she was handpicked to carry out this task because she is a woman and all of Buffalo Bill's victims are young women, so she deliberately provokes an emotional reaction from Lecter. All interactions with Lecter are mind games.
This is one of the best serial killer movies because it really gives the viewer a glimpse into the inner world of the killer and allows us to both see things from the killer's point of view and at the same time make us try to understand the killer's mindset from the perspective of a law enforcement officer.
The Silence of the Lambs Xinhua Bookstore genuine ¥25.5 Buy
3 "American Psycho" (2000)
Mary Harlan's American Psycho is a must-see for movie buffs, horror fans, and true crime lovers alike, revealing the thrilling and unsettling life of a serial killer who is also a wealthy bank investor in New York City.
Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is just like his other egotistical colleagues and friends. He has a strict morning regimen, loves vanity, pursues material comforts, and is extremely competitive. However, unlike his colleagues and friends, he uses these traits as a cover to disguise his true face, a person who is completely inhuman.
Bateman despised everyone in his inner circle and hated everything they represented. His hatred of these people and all that they have is expressed in intense indignation, which eventually leads to a string of murders.
This film does a good job of illustrating all the evils of toxic masculinity, and in a departure from the agnosticism of other serial killer movies, in which we know exactly what his motives are and why he does them.
He was motivated by jealousy, power, and a deep hatred of those who represented these characteristics. He succumbs to his violent desires instead of finding a healthy outlet for them.
2 "Psycho" (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock is known as a master of suspense, and his black-and-white horror thriller Psycho is yet another reminder of why he is a master of the art.
The story takes place at the Bates Motel and tells the story of a secretary named Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) in Phoenix, who is tired of her life and takes $40,000 from her employer that should have been in the bank and uses it as a chance to start over. At the motel, she meets Norman Bates, the motel manager who is apparently manipulated by his mother.
Considered by many to be an absolute must-see, this legendary Hitchcock film has inspired countless spin-offs, remakes, sequels, and prequels. The name Norman Bates has become synonymous with serial killers, and the film itself has been paroded and paid homage countless times over the past 63 years.
1 Memories of Murder (2003)
Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder is a gripping thriller about South Korea's first true serial killer case. In 1986, three women were brutally murdered. Until 1991, the killer committed 10 killings in a small village in Hwaseong.
The film starts with a bit of comedy, as police officers Park Doo-man (Song Kang-ho) and Cho Yong-koo have little experience with crimes of this nature, so the way they solve the case is quite comical. As a police detective from Seoul is sent to help solve the murder, the film turns into a tense thriller that keeps people fidgeting until the end credits start rolling.
Bong Joon-ho's emotional performances by the directors and leading actors portray the impact of the murder on the village and the price paid by the three police officers who handled the case. Koreans at the time were not used to such violence and vicious crime, which made the sense of devastation and fear even more shocking.