10 Crime Films Based On Real Events

From the assassination of JFK to Bonnie & Clyde, Hollywood have been turning real life crimes into epic cinema since the beginning. Filmmakers have been leaning into stories so wild that it’s disturbing that they’re true as a way of making cinema that really affects the viewer, after all there’s not much scarier than knowing something actually happened.

There’s a certain level of chill that comes with knowing that you're only inches away from the truth in true crime films. You see elaborate ploys, extreme murders, crazy heists and the kind of criminal masterminds that are both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Sometimes it’s fun to be hoisted away on an extravagant made up adventure but the films on this list are chillingly real at times. Despite this, there’s also a fun side to the world of true crime. Tales of excess, daring and genius run rampant throughout the genre.

So here is a list of films that turn into the crime underworld, attempt to dissect and understand criminal circles, shine a light on important moments in history and turn real life madness into entertainment. Sometimes, the best type of escapism is entering a world exactly like your own…

The Zodiac Killer is one of the most famous murderers to ever exist: being linked to at least five murders between 1968 and 1969 in Northern California, he shared ciphers and letters to the authorities and public to name his crimes and threaten more. Despite being the person who revealed his own crimes, the Zodiac killer has still never been discovered all these years later. We only know for certain a few of his murders - and none since 1969 - but he’s been attached to over 35 different deaths.

David Fincher’s 2007 film Zodiac centres around a San Francisco based cartoonist who becomes fascinated by the Zodiac Killer and attempts to track him down. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the aforementioned cartoonist, Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery the journalist and Mark Ruffalo as inspector Dave Toschi, the film is both a wild crime drama and a monster story.

Zodiac is as fun as it is anxiety inducing, being led by dramatic dialogue, Fincher writes it in such an engaging way that its mammoth run time completely flies by. The film is smart and subdued, harking back to some of the great classic police procedurals and dramas of the genre and oozing absolute class.