Old style movie projector ()
Horror is a film genre that many paint to be entirely fictional. However, this is far from the truth as a multitude of horror movies have claimed to be based on or inspired by real-life events that have taken place, even when the likelihood seemed rather low. Here are five horror movies that were based on true events.
The iconic 1984 supernatural slasher that brought Freddy Krueger to life, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was inspired by true events, something that a majority of the public is not aware of. Wes Craven, known as the director of other iconic horror movies, such as “Scream” and “Last House on the Left,” in an interview with “Vulture,” spoke about an article he read in the “L.A. Times.” It was about a family of refugees whose son had begun to experience terrifying nightmares. These nightmares were so frightening for the young boy that he tried to stay awake for days on end, claiming that if he slept, the thing chasing him in his dreams would catch him. He eventually fell asleep, his parents feeling relieved when he did. However, that relief was short lived when the boy tragically passed in his sleep after his parents heard him screaming in the night. The appearance of Freddy Krueger, minus the finger-knife glove and appearance of his skin, was based on someone that Wes Craven claims to have seen in his childhood. Craven says that the man he saw was wearing a battered fedora, an article of clothing synonymous with the character of Krueger, and that the man looked at him in a way that Craven described as “frightening and creepy.”
A well-known supernatural film that sparked many sequels, most are aware that the supernatural events that take place in the movie are based on the telling of the Lutz family and their experience residing in the Amityville house located in New York. The events that led to those supernatural occurrences, however, are not as well-known as the supernatural events themselves. On Nov. 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed his six family members while they slept. This brutal act of violence was sparked by an argument between DeFeo Jr. and his father after he struck his mother. One year after this horrific crime was committed, the Lutz family moved into the Amityville home and began to report supernatural and paranormal activities which grew to be so severe that the family escaped the house in the middle of the night after only having lived there for a month. These claims of paranormal activity did have doubts placed on if they were true or not as the next family to live in the house, James and Barbara Cromarty, had no reports of any supernatural activity like the Lutz family had experienced, and even lived within the house for a decade.
A movie that takes place after a proposal gone wrong, “The Strangers” is an underrated addition to the home invasion subgenre of horror along with movies such as “The Purge” and “You’re Next.” At the start of the movie, it claims to be based on true events. It then opens with the ending before transitioning into the plot of the film. While the claim that the events of the movie were based on real life is true, it isn’t entirely ripped from real events. The director, Bryan Bertino, claimed that the movie was loosely inspired by both the infamous Manson Family Murders as well as the unsolved 1981 Keddie Cabin murders. The main twist of the movie, the strangers in masks that knock and ask if a specific person is home, was directly based on an experience Bertino has growing up where people would knock and ask if someone was home and if someone answered, nothing happened but if nobody answered the door, then that house would be robbed. That is a relief compared to the fates that befell the characters in the movie when they answered their door.
A film not for the faint-hearted, “The Girl Next Door” has a happier ending than the real-life tragedy that took place. In the film, the main character, Meg was eventually saved from her captivity. 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was not so lucky; she was held captive by a family friend by the name of Gertrude along with her sister, Jenny Likens. Likens grew up with five siblings, but her mother was eventually incarcerated. This led her father to distribute his children amongst friends and relatives. Sylvia and Jenny’s custody fell to Gertrude. Gertrude was known as a mentally unstable woman and began to act abusive towards Likens and her sister. She became even more cruel after the Likens’ father failed to settle a payment in time. Gertrude tortured Likens, showcasing it off as discipline or even worse, entertainment, for her own children and the neighbors. On Oct. 26, 1965, Sylvia Likens was tragically killed by a group of boys who were sent after her by Gertrude. The older woman forced Likens to write a false letter to her parents about how she ran away with the same group of boys who ended up killing her. After Likens’ death, Jenny Likens was able to survive the torment dealt by Gertrude’s hand and was able to inform police of the truth of what happened to her sister.
An Australian movie that is often tied to the so-called “torture porn” subgenre of films brought on by the popularity of “Saw” and “Hostel,” the events within the movie as well as the main antagonist, Mick Taylor, were all inspired by true events and people. The events of the movie were inspired by real-life Australian serial killers. One of these killers, Bradley John Murdock, earned infamy after one of his victims, Joanne Lees, was able to hide and then escape. Her partner, Peter Falconio, was killed by Murdock. Falconio’s has still never been found. Murdock gained their trust by pulling over the couple to inform them of sparks that were coming out of their car, a tactic that Mick Taylor uses to gain the trust of the main three characters. The other killer that inspired the character of Mick Taylor was Ivan Milat, aka “The Backpack Murderer.” One of his ways of subduing his victims can be seen in the movie as well as the detail of Mick Taylor bringing the keepsakes of his victims back to his home. This is something that Ivan Milat was also known for doing as his victims largely consisted of backpackers and tourists.
