Summary
Serial killers have been the objects of fear and caution, and for good reason. Both in real life and in movies, serial killers hide in plain sight, taunting the police with encrypted letters or untraceable phone calls, even leaving behind messages at crime scenes.
Although some of the most notorious serial killers have been the focus of, or the inspiration, for both film and television, the selection of movies below has taken the serial killer concept and brought their original stories to the screen. Brimming with nail-biting tension and intense unease, here the best serial killer movies you’re able to find.
10The Black Phone
2021
A serial killer movie with a novel, refreshing take, 2021’s The Black Phone is a harrowing and deeply unsettling thriller that injects supernatural elements into the story. Ethan Hawke deserves praise for his sinister portrayal of the serial killer and how the film delivers a compelling plot with shocking twists.
Set in 1978 in an unassuming neighbourhood, the movie follows a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Grabber’, who has been kidnapping and murdering young boys. Finney Shaw becomes his next victim and is locked away in a basement. However, he receives helpful advice from the ghosts of the killer’s past victims, who contact him through a disconnected telephone.
9The Good Nurse
2022
A true crime thriller directed by Tobias Lindholm, 2022’s The Good Nurse is a dramatisation of a real-life serial killer, Charles Cullen. The movie shows how Amy Loughren, a nurse, connected the dots and realised that her fellow nurse, Cullen, had been murdering patients even before becoming her colleague.
Starring Jessica Chastain as Loughren and Eddie Redmayne as Cullen, the movie sold us by building a nicely developing friendship between Cullen and Loughren, and how our perception of Cullen gets skewed once Loughren’s suspicions begin to hold water.
8Memoir Of A Murderer
2017
Memoir of a Murderer is apsychological thrillerthat puts you in the shoes of a retired serial killer, Byeong-soo, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. When a string of murders starts happening around town, he begins to question if he’s responsible or if it’s the suspicious police officer, Tae-joo, as his memory lapses affect his judgement.
Since Byeong-soo has Alzheimer’s, it instantly strikes him as being an unreliable narrator. We start to question if what we’re seeing through Byeong-soo’s eyes is the true version of events. All in all, Memoir of a Murderer has a gripping, twist-filled plot, rich dialogue, and a level of suspense like you’ve never experienced.
7Cure
1997
A noir psychological thriller written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997’s Cure is an underrated film that’s been credited for starting theJapanese horror filmtrend in the late ’90s. Suspenseful and eerie, Kurosawa scores high points for his atmospheric locations and camerawork, with a well-paced storyline that hooks you in immediately.
Detective Takabe is confronted by a string of killings that puzzle him since all of these murders are committed by people who have no recollection of their actions. Enlisting the help of his psychologist friend, Sakuma, Takabe finds a major suspect, who he discovers has been hypnotising his victims into committing murder. However, nailing the perpetrator down is half of the work, as Takabe and his colleagues fail to realise whether they’ve fallen into this hypnotism as well.
6American Psycho
2000
American Psycho is a dark comedy thriller inspired by a book of the same name and serves as one of Christian Bale’s performances. Set in the ’80s, Bale plays Patrick Bateman, an investment banker consumed with surface appearances, and obsessed with outdoing his colleagues while secretly hating everything about them and his life.
you’re able to tell that Bateman is deranged, but whatever sanity he has left decays rapidly throughout the film as he goes on a murder spree, though we question whether it’s real or what Bateman secretly wants to do. American Psycho is a commentary on masculinity and the shallowness of yuppie culture that’s still relevant today.
5Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer
2006
Possibly the most unusual serial killer film ever, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a film based on a book by Patrick Süskind. It tells of a man, Jean, with a superb sense of smell, and though his talent helped him nab a job at a local perfumer, he quickly turns to kill several women in a mission to create the perfect perfume.
Set in France in the 1700s, the film is also a commentary on the state of society, and you see this in a few scenes where the jarring juxtaposition between the wealthy and the poor is noticeable. Although Jean’s actions are undeniably cruel, his deranged quest is a reflection of the lack of love and care in his life, to the point he had to artificially create it through a perfume bottle.
4I Saw The Devil
2010
One of the most iconic classics in South Korean film history, I Saw The Devil presents a twisted cat-and-mouse thriller. Starring Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun and Oldboy’s Choi Min-sik, the film is brilliantly acted with a dark, gritty atmosphere, as well as being unapologetic about the gory reality of senseless murder.
The film follows secret service agent, Soo-hyun, whose fiancee becomes the victim of a violent serial killer, Kyung-chul. Overcome with the need for revenge, Soo-hyun tracks Kyung-chul down and plays demented mind games with him, intent on making him suffer for as long as possible.
3The Silence Of The Lambs
1991
The Silence of the Lambs is a film that has stood the test of time and achieved its well-deserved cult status. The movie is noted for its dialogue, cinematography and Anthony Hopkins' intense, yet fantastic performance as serial killer Hannibal Lecter.
The film’s plot follows rookie FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling and her hunt for the deranged serial killer, ‘Buffalo Bill’, who skins his victims. To get anywhere in the case, Starling is tasked with interrogating equally demented cannibalistic serial killer, Hannibal Lecter, to get into the mind of ‘Buffalo Bill’. Lecter was once a psychiatrist, and the pair have some of the best dialogues in movie history, with Starling finding herself being psychoanalysed in turn.
2M
1931
Despite being made nearly a century ago, the German 1931 thriller M could be said to be far ahead of its time. M was very nearly banned due to Nazi interference, but it thankfully managed to weasel out unscathed, presenting an intriguing narrative that’s not been replicated in serial killer thrillers since.
The film shows a part of Berlin that’s been the hunting ground of a serial killer, one who only targets young girls. When little Elsie Beckmann disappeared on the way home from school, both the policeandthe Berlin criminal underworld set out to bring the killer to justice. The movie’s final sequence is its best, where the killer stands before a kangaroo court, delivering a masterful speech on his compulsive need to kill.
1Se7en
1995
One ofDavid Fincher’s finest works, Se7en is a mystery thriller that has one of the bleakest endings in film. Starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, Fincher strikes gold with his eerie, gritty settings and camerawork, bolstered by a gripping script that pulls you into the unfolding horror before you.
The story centres on two detectives, Somerset and Mills, who investigate a series of grisly murders that they realise are done to emulate the seven deadly sins. A storytelling masterpiece, Se7en keeps you in a state of wariness, fear and unease, before punching you in the gut with its terrifying ending.
