10 People Who Copied Movies In Disturbing Ways

When life imitates art - with some very dark consequences.

The Town
Warner Bros.

Movies can inspire us to confront our fears and try new things, they can make us feel happy and hopeful, and they allow us to forget about our problems for a few, blissful hours, as we're transported to completely different worlds.

In other words, movies generally have a positive influence on people - and hell, even when a film is absolute trash, it still gives us something fun to talk about with our friends, family, and similarly disappointed online strangers!

But of course, there are always exceptions, and on very rare occasions, a movie's influence can be highly negative, inspiring tragic accidents, violent behaviour, and even murder. It could be a group of thugs basing their illegal acts on a crime they saw on the big screen, or a person getting themselves killed by trying to copy a dangerous move they saw in a recent Hollywood hit.

For whatever reason, some people see a particular scene or character that should definitely not be copied in real life, and yet, they decide to do so anyway, often with disturbing, horrific, or deeply saddening results.

10. Wedding Crashers Inspired A Woman To Poison Her Fiancé

The Town
New Line Cinema

A raucous comedy like Wedding Crashers isn't exactly the kind of movie you'd think would inspire an attempted murder, and yet, that's exactly what happened in a 2019 incident.

In June of that year, a North Carolina woman was arrested after spiking her fiancé's soda with eye drops, all in an effort to gain sole custody of their daughter. The woman told the authorities that she got the idea directly from Wedding Crashers, which contains a scene where Owen Wilson's character pulls a similar stunt.

The movie obviously plays this sequence for laughs, with the victim merely falling ill. But in reality, the consequences would've been far more severe - possibly even fatal - if the woman's fiancé had actually downed the deadly concoction.

Fortunately though, he caught her in the act, and immediately dialled 911 after locking himself - and his daughter - in the bathroom.

Contributor
Contributor

WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.