LISTS: SERIAL KILLER MOVIES
In honor of the release of "Longlegs", journey on over to the dark side with us as we countdown the top 25 serial killer films in cinema history, from the cheeky to the downright horrific and grotesque.
by Nate Lemann
We countdown a list of the top "Serial Killer" films in cinema history. We are looking at films that center around the exploits or the pursuit of a serial killer(s). Mass killings or one-time events are not considered. We will also draw the line on including "Slasher" films, except in the rare instances where the killer transcends the "Slasher" genre and/or is more focused on the serial killing aspects of the killers. So strap in for a ride on the twisted side and let the dark passenger take the wheel…
25. RED DRAGON (2002) - DIR. BRETT RATNER
Fitting we start with a Thomas Harris adaptation. While Ratner's films can not match the direction and style of Mann's 1986 adaptation of the "Red Dragon" novel, this film arguably has a more stacked cast (seriously, look it up) and better script, with Fiennes really magnificent in the role of the big heavy here.
24. FRESH (2022) - DIR. MIMI CAVE
Stan and Edgar-Jones lead this meet-cute turned horror show in a film where I won't ruin the twist but suffice-it-to-say, has one of the better left turns in recent movie memory. Check it out on Hulu as soon as you can.
23. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET - DIR. TIM BURTON
Depp and Burton team-up once again for a very underrated musical adaption of the famed play, breathing quirky life into the serial killer drama, as one can only expect Burton to provide.
22. PEARL (2022) - DIR. TI WEST
While we are going to be largely staying away from the "Slasher" genre for this list (with some notable exceptions), "Pearl" is a very different beast as we are steeped in the killer's point of view, drawing some level of sympathy for this deranged and deluded monster.
21. MONSTER (2003) - DIR. PATTY JENKINS
As is true in real life, you don't often find yourself settling in for a female serial killer film but Patty Jenkins' depiction of true-life killer Aileen Wuornos's decent into madness and murder is a truly gripping tale anchored by an Academy Award-winning turn by Charlize Theron.
20. IDENTITY (2003) - DIR. JAMES MANGOLD
James Mangold's underrated psychological thriller may have a groan-inducing twist but it is a very taut and complex puzzle piece movie with some really great performances by a stacked cast, all looking to survive the night in a motel while being stalked by a famed serial killer.
19. HANNIBAL (2001) - DIR. RIDLEY SCOTT
While this sequel suffered in comparison to its 1990 predecessor, Ridley Scott delivers a very propulsive and tense global manhunt thriller, as Hannibal’s rampage across Europe and the U.S. is told with haunting and quite disturbing set pieces and imagery.
18. LONGLEGS (2024) - DIR. OSGOOD PERKINS
Osgood Perkin’s latest is a very sinister and disturbing manhunt thriller as newbie FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) has some otherworldly connection to a bizarre series of bloody family tragedies that seem to be the work of a quite bizarre doll maker going by the name of “Longlegs” (Nicholas Cage), a performance so odd and disturbed, it will haunt your dreams for days.
17. SPLIT (2016) - DIR. M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN
M. Night’s sleeper hit was an announcement of a great director returning to form. The story centers around a split personality killer (played by the awe-inducing James McAvoy) who has kidnapped three teenage girls, preparing them for a meeting with a personality so horrific that even the others speak of him in reverence. Prepare for an unsettling third act.
16. I SAW THE DEVIL (2010) - DIR. KIM JEE-WOON
This South Korean film is quite disturbing to the point it was almost not allowed to be released in its home country. That should preview the horrors you are in store for in this epic tale of revenge as a secret agent hunts down a serial killer who ruined his life.
15. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011) - DIR. DAVID FINCHER
The first entry on our list from the godfather of the "Serial Killer" genre, David Fincher’s adaptation of the famed serial killer novel was marketed as the “feel-bad-movie” of the 2011 holiday season and boy did they undersell how messed up this tale of serial killing hunting turned out to be.
14. BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) - DIR. BOB CLARK
Another "Slasher" entry for our list, Bob Clark’s original version of this story has more in common with a serial killer fable than a tried and true "Slasher", pre-dating the birth of that genre. It taps into the female paranoia of being stalked and hunted by predatory men in a very twisted way.
13. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) - DIR. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Nolan’s landmark superhero-crime epic may not seem like a traditional serial killer thriller, but the first half of this film is very much is one, with a killer with as much planning acumen as the famed John Doe character. While the second half becomes something else entirely, Ledger will forever be haunting in his first half streak of terror across Gotham.
12. HALLOWEEN (1978) - DIR. JOHN CARPENTER
The granddaddy of the "Slasher" genre is very much a disturbed serial killer tale, only entering the supernatural in its final moments. There may not be a more iconic killer in all of cinema history as Michael Myers, a truly haunting picture of detached sadism.
11. THE BATMAN (2022) - DIR. MATT REEVES
This Batman story is very much inspired by “Se7en” and Dano gives a chilling performance as an incel creep who has felt so beat down upon by society that he takes horrifically drastic action to find “justice”, just like his idol…Batman!
10. MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003) - DIR. BONG JOON-HO
Before becoming a household name in the West, director Bong Joon-ho delivered this haunted story of two 1980s detectives struggling to hunt down a terrifying serial killer and rapist who has evaded authorities for too long.
9. HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986) - DIR. JOHN MCNAUGHTON
I have a confession to make: I’ve never been able to finish this quite disturbed film; that is how grotesque and violent this character study is. Rooker is horrifying and announced himself as a brave and talented actor, even if you can’t stomach watching the whole film.
8. BADLANDS (1973) - DIR. TERRENCE MALICK
My favorite depiction of the “spree killer” stereotype is the very well-made tale of two young lovebirds (Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek) who take their taboo love to extremes, eventually going on a violent killing spree to preserve their falsely idealized love.
7. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) - DIR. CHARLES LAUGHTON
This Robert Mitchum-starring film was uniquely dark for the time, following the story of a killer disguised as a preacher who has gone so far as to murder children. A brave picture for the time and one with haunting imagery that hasn’t aged a day.
6. MANHUNTER (1986) - DIR. MICHAEL MANN
Michael Mann’s adaptation of “Red Dragon” was the public’s first introduction to the Hannibal Lector mythos, telling Harris’s prequel story with so much style and flare that his work birthed the modern blockbuster "Serial Killer" genre of the 1980s and 1990s.
5. AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) - DIR. MARY HARRON
Harron’s impressive adaptation of the famed Brett Easton Ellis novel is a biting satire of 1980s Wall Street yuppie culture, anchored by a outragoiusly committed Christian Bale performance. Psychotic? Yes. Entertaining? Even more so.
4. PSYCHO (1960) - DIR. ALFRED HITCHCOCK
The Rosetta Stone of the "Serial Killer" genre is Alfred Hitchcock’s timeless masterpiece of a innkeeper with one too many skeletons in his closet. There was nothing like this psychological horror before it was released and almost every director has been chasing after it ever since. Fun Fact: Osgood Perkins, director of our No. 18 entry "Longlegs", is the son of this film's iconic star, Anthony Perkins.
3. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) - DIR. JONATHAN DEMME
Jonathan Demme’s 1990 juggernaught hit reinvented the genre, with not one, but two iconic serial killer performances from Anthony Hopkins and Ted Levine as Hannibal Lector and Buffalo Bill, respectively. Hopkins' performance, in particular, transcended the film and the genre, becoming one of cinema’s most iconic villains every depicted.
2. SE7EN (1995) - DIR. DAVID FINCHER
David Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker shocked the world with this audacious and purly evil serial killer thriller. Aside from a perfection reinvention of the neo-noir and timeless performances by the trio of Freeman, Pitt, and Paltrow, this film entered the iconic territory with its extremely bleak third act and one of the most chilling performances committed to film by Kevin Spacey as the mastermind John Doe.
1. ZODIAC (2007) - DIR. DAVID FINCHER
Our number one film is quite different from all the others on our list in its grim realism and almost too-normal depictions of the crimes of the famed Zodiac killer. What sets this film apart is its focus on the toll the obsession with serial killers can have on the cops and reporters who look to hunt down these all-too-real monsters. There is nothing supernatural or overpowering about this killer. The mundanity of the pursuit is even more fascinating to observe than if the cops were grappling with a supervillain killer; it is more haunting and chilling to view it as reality.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Cruising (1980), Prisoners (2013), Natrual Born Killers (1994), The Stranger (2022), Disturbia (2007), From Hell (2001)
Our full list of the top 50 serial killers can be found here on Letterboxd.
Think we missed anything from our list? Let us know in the comments.
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