Top 10 Most Historically Accurate Horror Movies
#10: “Wolf Creek” (2005)
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The “ripped from headlines” sentiment of true crime can often be a solid basis upon which to craft a horror screenplay. 2005’s “Wolf Creek” did just that, with writer-director Greg McLean taking inspiration from real-life serial killings that took place in Australia back in the late ‘80s to mid ‘90s. They were known as the “backpacker murders,” and dealt with a mass grave of hikers found in the Belanglo State Forest. This grisly history ties into “Wolf Creek’s” reputation as violent and effective exploitation, the sort of film that sticks with you, long after the credits have rolled.
#9: “The Birds” (1963)
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Although it’s true that Alfred Hitchcock did adapt a 1959 short story by Daphne du Maurier with his 1963 film “The Birds,” the director was also inspired by a real-life avian attack. August of 1961 saw a strange phenomenon overtake the city of Capitola, California. Hundreds of Ardenna grisea, otherwise known as the sooty shearwater bird, descended upon the city’s denizens in a strange and aggressive daze. A theory exists that perhaps some of these birds ingested a neurotoxin called domoic acid that somehow infiltrated the waters, plankton and small fish living in the bay. As a result, these normally docile birds became either insistent and pecky with their interactions with humans, or simply found it difficult to get out of their own way.
#8: “Shadow of the Vampire” (2000)
This underseen horror film may be fiction, but its inspiration is tied to historical fact. “Shadow of the Vampire” is a movie about making movies, specifically the 1922 silent horror classic, “Nosferatu.” Actor Max Schreck was, according to those that knew him, a quiet and solitary man. He was fond of walking in the woods, a daydreamer with a wicked sense of humor that left an impression upon both his co-stars and cinema in general. “Shadow of the Vampire” takes this knowledge and runs with it for all the film is worth. Was Max Schreck an actual vampire? No… no he was not. However, the film has great fun tapping into Schreck’s naturally spooky reputation, and turning the horror factor up to eleven.
#7: “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” (2005)
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The glut of horrific exorcism movies hasn’t abated since 1973’s “The Exorcist,” and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. But what about the glimmers of truth found within such films? “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is based upon the real-life tragedy of Anneliese Michel, a young woman struggling with her mental health, who was subjected to sixty-seven exorcisms prior to her death in 1976. “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” documents well the physical and mental struggles, not only of fictional exorcism, but of the real-life problems that plague humanity’s mental health on a daily basis. As a result, the film feels doubly scary, and doubly effective.
#6: “Winchester” (2018)
The 2018 horror film “Winchester” may not have succeeded critically, but it attaches an interesting question to a very real historical figure. Specifically, what if Sarah Winchester’s seemingly endless renovations to her San Jose mansion was due to supernatural guilt? Winchester was the widow of rifle maker William Winchester, and urban legends have long associated these renovations with an attempt to distance the Winchester name from rifle victims and their vengeful ghosts. These are just legends. However, “Winchester” presents this theory with enough gravitas and dread to make us think twice about the very real and very strange mansion.
#5: “Fire in the Sky” (1993)
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“Fire in the Sky is based upon the accounts of Travis Walton, a one-time forest worker whose book, “The Walton Experience,” detailed his alleged abduction by aliens. It’s difficult for us to dispute the authenticity of “Fire in the Sky” to Walton’s claims, because we weren’t there at the scene. However, the film does accurately demonstrate themes of violation, fear and absolute helplessness found within Walton’s claims. Not only that, but it does depict the absolute media circus that surrounded Walton’s disappearance and reappearance, including the initial criminal investigation when he was still missing. While the movie certainly picks a side, it does feature its fair amount of skeptics, who will likely continue to denounce Walton’s claims for the rest of his life.
#4: “Snowtown” (2011)
It doesn’t seem unfair to say that Australian films like “Wake in Fright” and the aforementioned “Wolf Creek” walked so that “Snowtown” could run. This 2011 picture ties into the Australian film industry’s unique and often visceral creative voice, while at the same time adapting historical precedent into the mix. “Snowtown” is based upon the Snowtown murders that took place in Adelaide back in the ‘90s. These rash of violent killings were committed by a group under the thrall of one John Bunting, and whose targets were either the mentally infirm, those from the LGBTQ community or anyone Bunting believed could be marginalized in this way. “Snowtown,” as a result, isn’t easy viewing, nor does it shy away from the grotesque details at hand.
#3: “The Girl Next Door” (2007)
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Don’t look for the mood to be lightened at all with the next movie on our list. Far from it. In fact, 2007’s “The Girl Next Door” just may be one of the most depressing and downer horror movies full stop. This is made doubly troubling given that the film, adapting Jack Ketchum’s 1989 novel, is based upon a stranger-than-fiction true story of death and torture. The details of Sylvia Likens are beyond the pale, and “The Girl Next Door” doesn’t shy away from any of the cold, hard facts. The film also ties into the peer pressure and mob mentality that made it possible for Likens’s caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski, to enlist her own children into her despicable, reprehensible crimes.
#2: “The Conjuring” franchise (2013-)
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It doesn’t really matter what you think about Ed and Lorraine Warren, because “The Conjuring” and its two sequels have done a great job at blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The franchise does wonderfully succeed at representing the obvious affection the Warrens had not only for their supernatural outings, but for each other. “The Conjuring” is primarily out to give its audience their ticket money’s worth in demonic possession fights ‘n frights. All three films do largely avoid discussing the many criticisms of the Warrens as being frauds, yet simultaneously capture the pair’s genial reputation with all of those who encountered them during their line of ooky, spooky work.
#1: “10 Rillington Place” (1971)
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“10 Rillington Place” may stride the line between traditional crime thriller and horror, but there’s no denying how the film perfectly establishes the injustices surrounding the case of John Christie. Christie was one of the United Kingdom’s most notorious serial killers, an otherwise mild mannered gentleman who was accused of multiple, horrendous murders. What’s worse was that Christie allowed an innocent man, Timothy Evans, to hang for the former’s crimes. “10 Rillington Place” spares no expense at detailing not only Christie’s methodology and obsessions, but also the cosmic injustice of Evans’s trial and execution. Trust us when we say you’ll likely be shaking your first in anger at the screen if you watch this one.
