Tag: Adapting from Real Life
Black Fly (2014): The Shock of Serial Murder in a Small Town
In the city, people are often scared by serial and spree killers because of the anonymity involved— amongst a large population, a multiple murderer...
Fact Versus Fiction: Trusting a Killer in Happy Face Killer (2014)
In 1990, Keith Hunter Jesperson would turn thirty-five years old. He had recently received two major blows to an already dangerously fragile ego. The...
Rewriting History: Karla (2006) and the Morality of Adaptation
It was July 6th of 1993 when Karla Homolka was convicted on two counts of manslaughter for her involvement in Paul Bernardo’s spree of...
Reality, the BTK Killer, and the Conservative Community in The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
SCRIPTOPHOBIC NOTE: We don't normally do spoiler warnings, however The Clovehitch Killer is a recent release, so be warned!
The Clovehitch Killer (2018) is a great...
The Limitations of Law in Memories of Murder (2003)
During the mid-1980s, serial killers were already a staple of American media— everybody knew the names Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez and...
Paranoia, Marginalization, and Race in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam (1999)
In the summer of 1977, New York City was suffering after a year of young people being murdered. An unknown man - a human...
The Abyssal Sadness of Tony (2009)
Gerard Johnson’s 2009 indie film Tony is about a meek Englishman living alone in a flat on a council housing estate and harbouring dark...
Boredom of the Lower Class in The Snowtown Murders (2011)
In North America, the name John Bunting isn’t particularly well known. But in Australia, his name continues to instil a sense of dread in...
Conservatism and Identity in The Stepfather (1987)
People love real stories about death, murder, and all varieties of human atrocities. This predilection for tragedy extends all the way back into the...
When Serial Killer Becomes Slasher – Ivan Milat, Mick Taylor, and Wolf Creek (2005)
Since the heyday of the big four - Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Chucky - slasher movie fans have continually searched for...
Perspective, Realism, & Fighting the Death Penalty in 10 Rillington Place (1971)
When 10 Rillington Place was released in 1971 the disturbing sting of serial killer John Reginald Christie was still lingering in the United Kingdom’s...
The Visceral Chaos of Angst (1983)
What happens when a person’s psychopathy isn’t exactly definable as typical mental illness? What do we, as a society, do for and with these...
The Cinematic Faces of Ed Gein
In this week’s Serial Killer Celluloid, we’re going to cheat— just a little. Ed Gein isn’t classified as a serial killer. The man was...
Art Imitates Life in Scream (1996)
Sometimes art imitates life. Other times, life imitates art. Suddenly there’s no line between what is fiction and what constitutes reality. In August of...
Patty Jenkins and Levelling the Playing Field in Monster (2003)
The name Aileen Wuornos conjures to most the image of a wild eyed, crazed woman who shouted profanities in court after being condemned to...
Truth, Identity, and Videotapes in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Most people lie in order to get out of trouble. Even if it’s only a white lie, its purpose is usually to absolve the...
The Exploitative Nudity and Visceral Horror of The Hillside Strangler (2004)
Imagine you’re a young woman who recently graduated high school. You plan on moving to Los Angeles looking for your personal version of the...
Necrophilia and Retroactive Vengeance in Ted Bundy (2002)
In the 1970s, Ted Bundy was one of the most infamous names in the newspapers and on television. He committed a series of burglaries,...