Topic: Serial Killer Movies

[addicted2dvd]

After getting this set of documentaries...

America's Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil will strip the covers from a world of profiling, forensic science and painful investigation as we expose history's most brutal serial killers. There is a darkness in humanity that has manifested itself in a lust for blood throughout the ages.  The Old Testament and ancient myths catalog murder and revenge as part of the fabric of life in ancient times.  Cain slew Abel...Romulus slew Remus.  Unleashing the beast within is a possibility for all of us.  The decision to kill from passion or premeditation has defined our world....past, present and future. Wars have terrorized entire populations for thousands of years.  The American West was home to ruthless killers who were idolized in fiction and folklore.  Evil evolved to a hideous new form with the genocidal dictators of the 20th Century such as Hitler, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung who ordered the death of tens of millions.  But in the middle of the 20th Century a new and chilling phenomenon emerged in the post-war Western society...the serial killer.  As if fashioned from our nightmares, they terrify and fascinate us.  Lurking behind masks of bland normality, the serial killer often evaded capture for years, decades or eternity. These are America's serial killers. PROGRAMS: 1. The Monster Within and Among Us – The Case of Jack the Ripper 2. Killers Without Conscience – H.H.Holmes and Jane Toppan 3. The Bogeyman's Gonna Eat You – Albert Fish, the Vampire of Brooklyn 4. Serial Killing Begins Again – The Boston Strangler, Ed Gein and the Lipstick Killer 5. Men Who Like To Kill – The Zodiac, the Son of Sam, Charles Manson and Ted Bundy 6. Homosexual Serial Killers – John Wayne Gacy and the Highway Killers 7. Buddy Serial Killing – The Hillside Stranglers and the Beltway Snipers 8. The Many Faces of Serial Killers – The Gainesville Ripper, the Unabomber and others 9. To Catch a Serial Killer – The Green River Killer and BTK 10. Why Serial Killers Kill – The Night Stalker and Jeffrey Dahmer

I thought it presented a good opportunity to do a review thread of Serial Killer movies (like the comedy one I just started... to go with the stand-up set I got). So I went to IMDB to see what people tagged with the Keyword of Serial Killer. Which gave me a nice selection of movies from my collection. But there was some that was tagged as Serial Killer I never seen (or haven't seen in years) that the overview don't give an indication of serial killer. So I was wondering if anyone here agreed with any below.

I am looking for more then just a serial killer appearing in the movie. The serial killer needs to be the main focus of the movie... whether it is from the serial killer pov... or about tracking and catching the serial killer or what have you. I am sure you get the idea.

- Along Came a Spider(It has been a while... but I thought this one was just about a kidnapping?)
- The Dead Zone (It has been a while... I remember a small part being about a serial Killer... but don't think it was enough for such a marathon)
- The Fugitive (It has been a while... but wasn't this about a single murder?)
- Funny Games (2007) (Never Seen)
- Hot Fuzz (Never Seen)
- The Talented Mr. Ripley  (Never Seen)
- V is for Vendetta (Never Seen)

Also I am not sure if I want to include movies such as Halloween... where  it is technically about a serial killer... but it is more of a horror movie meant to terrify. And I am thinking more Suspense/Thriller for this thread then horror... what do you think?

[Jimmy]

Don't do horror you always do that and I don't see slasher movies as serial killer movie. Do you see Chucky or Jason or Leatherface as serial killer in the same way you see John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy? Me not since a serial killer most of the time looks like a normal guy in real life...

BTW The Dead Zone is certainly not about a seria killer...

It's your chance to watch American Psycho if you haven't yet

[addicted2dvd]

Don't do horror you always do that and I don't see slasher movies as serial killer movie. Do you see Chucky or Jason or Leatherface as serial killer in the same way you see John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy? Me not since a serial killer most of the time looks like a normal guy in real life...

Seems you agree with what I was trying to say.

BTW The Dead Zone is certainly not about a seria killer...

Thought I remembered that right.

It's your chance to watch American Psycho if you haven't yet

Nope... haven't gotten around to that one yet.

[Kathy]

How about a romantic comedy story about a serial killer? So I Married an Axe Murderer 

[addicted2dvd]

I would... but.... but.... I don't have that one! 

 

[Dragonfire]

I think Along Came a Spider is kidnapping...with maybe one murder sort of as an afterthought.

Kiss the Girls is more serial killer.. the villain kidnaps women and when he gets bored with them kills them.
Fugitive is mostly one murder..though something else gets uncovered that involves more deaths.  I think.

[addicted2dvd]

Thanks Marie... I thought I was remembering right on those. 

[Najemikon]

Hot Fuzz... not sure. I would say not.

Do you have Mr Brooks? I really liked that. And Copycat. I'm not sure it's a traditional serial killer movie but it shares themes.

[Antares]

Just watch Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and you won't need to watch anything else.

[addicted2dvd]

Don't have neither one of the last couple suggestions.

[samuelrichardscott]

Just watch Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and you won't need to watch anything else.

Agreed. The serial killer movie starts and stops here.

Also check out Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. More of a slasher film but it's a nice twist on the genre and a lot of fun.

[Dragonfire]

Mr. Brooks would be an excellent choice.

Hmm... Hot Fuzz might sort of fit.  Not a traditional serial killer...but..hmm..  I can't remember for sure now.  I need to watch it again.

[Najemikon]

Just watch Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and you won't need to watch anything else.

That's like saying the only Western you need to see is Red River! You shouldn't just dismiss the other stuff. I like Mr Brooks because it has an irreverent Dexter type edge.

[Antares]

Just watch Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and you won't need to watch anything else.

That's like saying the only Western you need to see is Red River! You shouldn't just dismiss the other stuff. I like Mr Brooks because it has an irreverent Dexter type edge.

What I meant is that it captures the essence of a serial killer so well, that all other films pale in comparison. It is such a disturbing film.

And if I was going to use your analogy it wouldn't be Red River for Westerns, it would be Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West. 

[addicted2dvd]

Thanks for all the heads up... can any of you tell me if either of these fit?...

- Funny Games (2007) (Never Seen)
- The Talented Mr. Ripley  (Never Seen)
- V is for Vendetta (Never Seen)

I don't think anyone mentioned any of those yet.