Homicide and murder are crimes that have shaken society since ancient times Whether with a specific premeditated objective, the product of an impulse or a mere whim, there are many cases of individuals who have decided or have killed another person.
Generally, murderers and homicides kill one or more people during the crime, the crime being a situation that only takes place on one occasion.
However, in some cases there are murderers who commit multiple crimes, the so-called serial killers. Jack the Ripper or Charles Manson are two widely known cases. In order to learn about the how and why of their crimes, a series of films and documentaries about serial killers stand out.
A serial killer is a person who intentionally, with premeditation and treachery carries out at least three homicides in a specific period of time that can vary enormously, and the murders can be separated by hours, months or even years.
These types of individuals usually lack a personal connection with the victim, the murder being generally the product of chance, the appearance of aggressive impulses in the murderer or the presence of certain characteristics in the victim that remind him of phenomena or people in his life. Sometimes the crime is carried out for ideological reasons. It is not uncommon for them to be psychopaths or to suffer from antisocial personality disorder, with common elements being the total or partial absence of empathy, a high level of capacity for seduction and manipulation, a strong need for power and the presence of feelings of superiority.
The way these individuals act and the way they commit the crimes tends to have a pattern that is repeated throughout the murders, including rituals and methods of execution and torture of the victims.
10 films and documentaries about serial killer cases
Below we present a series of films and documentaries that deal with specific cases of serial killers Most of them deal with real cases and events, although some of the films contain material that is solely based on them or on novels that have dealt with the subject.
1. Manson, portrait of a murderer (Tom Gries)
Charles Manson is undoubtedly one of the best-known serial killers, although he did not physically participate in the crimes.
In this film based on his story, you can see how a sect of murderers was formed that would be known as “the Family” through which a large number of murders would be committed, one of the best known being the murder of actress Sharon. Tate and four other people at the actress’s house.
2. The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer (Tom Spain, Arthur Ginsberg)
Richard Kuklinski, also known as Iceman because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to make police tasks more difficult, He was a dangerous serial killer who killed more than a hundred people Born into an aversive family environment with a father and mother who mistreated him and his siblings, he began his criminal career at thirteen years of age. Later he would be known for attacking and murdering numerous pedestrians or anyone who bothered him.
Over time he would become a murderer at the service of different families belonging to the mafia. He was characterized by his extreme lack of empathy with his victims, whom he eliminated with great cruelty and later disposed of the bodies. In this documentary we can see interviews conducted with this murderer during his stay in prison, where he would die in 2006.
3. Monster (Patty Jenkins)
This film released in 2003 is based on the story of Aileen Wuornos, guilty of the death of at least seven men She did not know her parents, her father having committed suicide in prison and having been abandoned by her mother. She was left in the care of her grandparents, who she claimed had mistreated and sexually abused her as a child. Later she would begin to practice prostitution, and over time have various problems with the law.
Her first victim was an ex-convict, whom she declared that she had killed in self-defense after he had raped her. Later he would kill a total of six more men, according to his statements also in self-defense, although the evidence collected and the state of the bodies did not seem to support that idea. She was executed in 2002.
4. Arropiero, the wanderer of death (Carles Balagué)
A documentary focused on the figure of Manuel Delgado Villegas, known as Arropiero This man is considered the biggest serial killer in Spain, having confessed to a total of 48 murders throughout the country and even in France. Of all of them, seven were tested and twenty-two were considered credible.
Declared unchargeable due to mental illness, he spent 25 years in psychiatric institutions until he was released against the opinion of various professionals. He died begging, due to lung problems resulting from his smoking.
5. Citizen
Film focused on the investigation of the murders carried out by the figure of Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Butcher of Rostov. He is considered the worst serial killer in the Soviet Union, having been accused of killing after torturing and raping at least fifty-two women and children.
6. I Survived BTK (Marc Levitz)
Documentary focused on Dennis Rader, the self-proclaimed BTK (Bound, Torture, Kill) killer because he first tied up and then tortured and later murdered his victims. He attacked a total of twelve people after finding the sensation of ending a human life satisfying, of which two managed to escape alive. In the documentary you can see his statements before the court and the victims’ relatives.
7. Zodiac (David Fincher)
Based on the case of the Zodiac Killer, who has been confirmed to be responsible for the death or attack with intent to kill four men and three women in the United States.. He left cryptic coded messages with which he mocked the police The individual in question was never found, his identity being still unknown.
This documentary tells us about another of the best-known serial killers, Ted Bundy This man murdered numerous women of different ages, having been blamed for fourteen deaths but the real number could reach one hundred. Ted Bundy had a tendency to attack women with long, dark hair, apparently representing both his ex-girlfriend and his mother, who had abandoned him.
The high level of charisma that he was capable of displaying and his high capacity for manipulation stands out, legally defending himself in the process against him. He was sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair.
9. The Mud Boy (Jorge Algora)
This recent film is based on the crimes of Cayetano Santos Gordino or Petiso Orejudo, the youngest serial killer in Argentina. This young man killed four children (the first of them when the perpetrator was barely nine years old), in addition to trying to kill seven more people and setting fire to as many buildings.
In the film, a young man named Mateo has visions regarding the deaths of said children, leading the police to believe that he is the murderer.
10. The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme)
Although in this case we are not looking at a film that is not based on any real case, it has been added to the list because the author of the original novel that would give it life was based on many profiles of serial killers to create the characters of Hannibal Lecter (inspired, among others, by Ted Bundy) and Buffalo Bill (the latter inspired by the murderer Ed Gein).
In the film, investigator Clarice Starling pursues serial killer Buffalo Bill for which he requests the help of another criminal locked up in prison, Hannibal Lecter, with the help of which he intends to help understand and find the murderer.
