From legal thrillers to period pieces many movies draw inspiration from actual events.
Some of your favorite movies were actually inspired by dark true stories. From abductions
to bear attacks to strange disappearances, here are movies you didn't know were based
on some messed-up actual events.
Everyone knows that Psycho was loosely based on infamous American killer Ed Gein, but the
1960 slasher wasn't the only Alfred Hitchcock movie inspired by true events. The Master
of Suspense also once explained that his voyeuristic masterpiece, Rear Window, was influenced by
two killings that sent shockwaves across Great Britain.
The first occurred in 1910, when Dr. Hawley Crippen claimed his wife had left England
for the US. Naturally, Crippen's neighbors were suspicious when the doctor's girlfriend
suddenly moved in, and they grew even more concerned when she started wearing his wife's
jewelry.
This little twist inspired a moment in Rear Window when Jimmy Stewart's character realizes
his neighbor probably wouldn't have gone on vacation without taking her wedding ring along,
a fact that makes him suspect her husband of foul play. Dr. Crippen was ultimately caught
after the police found his wife's body parts in his basement.
The second crime that influenced Rear Window was the 1924 case of Patrick Mahon, who was
cheating on his wife with a co-worker named Emily Kaye. When Kaye revealed she was pregnant,
Mahon killed her and disposed of the body in a particularly gruesome way.
Of course, everything fell apart when a family friend discovered women's clothing and a bloody
knife in Mahon's luggage, and when the cops showed up at his seaside cabin, they found
a few bags full of human flesh. Evidently, Mahon hadn't finished tidying up just yet,
and thanks to his laziness, the man was soon swinging from the gallows. Sure, it's a pretty
grisly story, but on the plus side, the case inspired cops to start wearing rubber gloves
when cleaning crime scenes, and it gave Hitchcock the idea of a killer disposing of a body piece
by piece.
With his red-and-green sweater and iconic claw glove, Freddy Krueger slashed his way
into the hearts of horror fans everywhere with A Nightmare on Elm Street. Over the course
of the ever-growing franchise, Krueger has invaded the dreams of countless teens, dropping
clever quips and bloody bodies with equal abandon.
"I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy."
But while this supernatural serial killer was a product of Wes Craven's twisted imagination,
the writer-director was actually inspired by several real-life incidents.
Craven once said in an interview that Freddy was partially inspired by an encounter with
a strange man outside his window as a boy, but what really kicked Elm Street into high
gear was a series of mysterious deaths during the '70s and '80s. Cambodian refugees were
inexplicably dying in their sleep, and this was happening so often that the Center of
Disease Control began digging into the cause of "Asian Death Syndrome." Craven was particularly
affected by the story of a 21-year-old man who refused to sleep for a whole week, afraid
of what might happen if he slipped into dreamland.
Sadly, when the man finally fell asleep, he inexplicably passed away..
A little-seen movie from 1986, River's Edge was a controversial and critically-acclaimed
film that starts when a psychopathic teenager kills his girlfriend and dumps her body near
the edge of a river.
"Didn't think you'd make it today. Where's Jamie?"
"I killed her."
The guy starts bragging to his friends about his dirty deed, but instead of telling the
cops, the local teens decide to check out the body, keeping the killing a secret and
treating the dead girl like some sort of carnival attraction.
In real life, the story played out almost exactly the same way. A 16-year-old named
Anthony Jacques Broussard brutally assaulted and killed 14-year-old Marcy Renee Conrad,
and then tossed her into a ravine in California. Similar to the film, Broussard told his buddies
about the crime, and soon, the local youths were all gathering around Conrad's corpse.
Believe it or not, this went on for two whole days before the police discovered what was
going on, and even though he was just 16, the killer was tossed behind bars for life.
A Few Good Men was inspired by Aaron Sorkin's Broadway play, and the story follows a Navy
lawyer who defends two Marines accused of killing a comrade during a "Code Red." The
lawyer argues the death was accidental and that the defendants were following orders
from the higher-ups. As a result, the Marines are dishonorably discharged but manage to
beat the murder rap.
In real life, the story that inspired Sorkin centered on a Marine named William Alvarado.
Alvarado's job was to stand guard at the edge of the base at Guantanamo Bay, keeping an
eye on Cuban soldiers on the other side of the perimeter. Unfortunately for Alvarado,
he wasn't very popular in his platoon, as his fellow Marines believed he'd ratted on
a guard who'd fired his weapon into Cuban territory.
"I want the truth!"
"You can't handle the truth!"
As a result, ten guys blindfolded, gagged, and beat Alvarado, and during the assault,
he lost consciousness after his lungs started filling up with liquid. Unlike the character
in the movie, Alvarado survived the assault, and seven of the men involved accepted dishonorable
discharges. However, the three remaining Marines took their chances in court, where they claimed
they were just obeying their commanding officers. The trio actually got off pretty light, avoiding
serious penalties, and at least one of the defendants was honorably discharged.
Brie Larson won a much-deserved Oscar for Room, a heartbreaking film about the love
between a mother and her kid. In the film, Larson plays a young woman named Joy who's
been abducted, imprisoned, and abused by a man known only as "Old Nick." As a result,
she gives birth to a son named Jack, and together, the two live in a one-room shed, cut off from
the rest of the world until Jack finally escapes and brings the police.
Room was based on a novel by author Emma Donoghue, but it turns out, the book was inspired by
the real-life case of Elisabeth Fritzl, an Austrian woman who was locked in a cellar
at age 18. Even worse, her captor was her own father, Josef Fritzl. This monster kept
Elisabeth imprisoned for 24 years, and during that time, she gave birth to seven children.
The horror show ended when Elisabeth's oldest child became gravely ill. Josef Fritzl was
forced to take her to the hospital, and soon after that, the police put the puzzle pieces
together. The 42-year-old Elisabeth was finally freed and united with her children, and as
for Fritzl, he was put away for life.
Written and directed by the Coen Brothers, Hail, Caesar! pulls double duty as a satirical
love letter to old Hollywood and a story based on real-life Hollywood legends. The biggest
connection between Hail, Caesar! and Hollywood history is Josh Brolin as Eddie Mannix, a
fictionalized version of a very real Hollywood fixer.
Just like the onscreen Eddie, the actual Mannix was a movie studio fixer who covered up scandals
for MGM. However, while the fictional Mannix comes off as a likeable guy, the real Mannix
was downright despicable. It's believed he violently beat his mistress, had his gangster
friends threaten actors, and perhaps even played a part in the addictions of Judy Garland
and the death of George Reeves. That, and much more, made the real Mannix far less likable
than the Coen Brothers creation.
Martin Scorsese's Silence is a 17th-century period piece following two Jesuits who travel
to Japan in hopes of rescuing their mentor, Father Ferreira. During their quest, the priests
find themselves in the same exact scenario as their tormented elder when they're arrested
by an official tasked with wiping out Christianity in Japan.
Even though Silence is a work of fiction, it draws a lot of inspiration from an actual
case from 1633, when a Portuguese priest also named Father Ferreira was arrested for his
missionary work. Similar to what happens in the film, the real-life Ferreira was hung
upside down and partially buried in a ditch. Eventually, the priest exchanged his Christianity
for Shinto, and then went to work for the Japanese government, writing pamphlets against
the Church and interrogating Catholic missionaries.
Shortly after Ferreira's conversion, a group of priests arrived in Japan hoping to save
his soul. One of these Jesuits - an Italian named Giuseppe Chiara - served as the basis
for Andrew Garfield's character. Unfortunately for Chiara, he wound up in the same situation
as Ferreira. After recanting his faith, Chiara adopted a Japanese name, got married, and
dedicated himself to translating scientific tomes before passing away in 1685.
Directed by Elliott Lester, Aftermath finds Arnold Schwarzenegger abandoning the action
movie one-liners and, instead, flexing his dramatic muscles. The superstar plays a construction
worker named Roman Melnyk who loses his wife and daughter in a tragic plane crash. Crushed
by the loss, he decides to get revenge on the air traffic controller he blames for his
family's death.
Sadly, Roman Melnyk is based on a Russian man named Vitaly Kaloyev. In 2002, Kaloyev's
wife and two kids were flying from Moscow to Barcelona when their plane crashed into
an oncoming airliner. As a result, 71 people died, 45 of whom were children. Grief stricken,
Kaloyev rushed to the crash site where he personally discovered his daughter's corpse.
Initially, some suspected that a Swiss air traffic controller named Peter Nielsen was
to blame, although he was eventually cleared of any negligence. Kaloyev wasn't convinced,
though, and the situation only got worse when Skyguide - the company Nielsen worked for
- offered Kaloyev money so he wouldn't go after them in the courts. Infuriated, Kaloyev
tracked Nielsen down, and after showing up at the guy's house, the grieving father stabbed
Nielsen to death.
One of the most nightmarish movies ever made, The Night of the Hunter stars Billy Chapin
and Sally Jane Bruce as John and Pearl, little kids with a horrible secret. Their dad is
a convicted bank robber, but before he was sent to prison, he told the two where he'd
stashed his loot.
Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones who know about the money. The Reverend Harry Powell,
a woman-hating serial killer with "love" and "hate" tattooed across his knuckles, is looking
for the cash, so he marries the kids' mom before dumping her in the river.
"Would you like me to tell you the little story of right hand, left hand?"
The preacher then turns on the children, threatening them to reveal the location of the loot and
setting off a game of cat-and-mouse, complete with Bible verses and switchblades.
Directed by Charles Laughton, the movie was based on a novel by Davis Grubb, who was inspired
by the real-life case of Harry Powers. A Depression-era conman from West Virginia, Powers would place
ads with matrimonial bureaus and wait for desperate women to send him letters. He would
then pen flowery notes, building himself up as a hard-working, God-worshiping entrepreneur
in need of a wife. Of course, once he gained their trust, Powers would strangle the women
to death and try to steal their savings.
Powers killed two women and three kids before the cops finally caught up with the man dubbed
"Bluebeard of Clarksburg." When the public learned about his crimes, thousands of angry
West Virginians formed a lynch mob and stormed the jail. The police, however, managed to
spirit him away, and justice took its course in 1932, when Powers was executed.
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