Three movies on Netflix based on real serial killers
A killer on-screen may be born out of an imaginative space. But more often than not, they have real-life inspirations hiding right behind. When it comes to Netflix, you’ll find plenty of stories lurking in the corner like stalkers shadowing you at midnight. But nothing beats the movie slate based on real serial killers that summon surreal chills down the spine.
The true crime catalogue on Netflix has always been fascinating on its own. In fact, acknowledging the subscribers’ appetite for this genre, the platform tends to keep the options full.
Yet, some of them may slip our eyes when they are originally released. But as long as Best of Netflix is here to the rescue, nothing can keep the audience in the dark.
So, in case you’re running out of time to catch up with the episodic series based on the true malevolence of society, check out these three movies on Netflix based on real serial killers instead.
Three movies on Netflix based on real serial killers to watch right now
Woman of the Hour (Anna Kendrick, 2023)
Serving as the directorial debut for Hollywood veteran Anna Kendrick, Woman of the Hour on Netflix is a haunting crime thriller based on Rodney Alcala, who appeared on the American television game show, The Dating Game, in 1978. Alcala was arrested and identified as a serial killer who murdered innumerable women and girls before he was arrested in 1979.
Woman of the Hour stars Kendrick as one of the contestants from the show, Sheryl Bradshaw, who crossed paths with Alcala in The Dating Game. The chilling story covers his footprints of crime from 1971 through 1979, making the film a must-watch in the genre.
The Good Nurse (Tobias Lindholm, 2022)
Another equally terrifying crime thriller film available for streaming right now on Netflix is The Good Nurse. The 2022 Netflix movie is based on serial killer Charles Cullen and his fellow nurse, who ends up suspecting him while working together in a hospital. Starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne as Amy Loughren and Charles, respectively, The Good Nurse is set in 2003.
It revolves around the tenure of Amy’s job at the Parkfield Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, in the ICU, when detectives start tailing Cullen, surrounding the sudden death of an elderly patient under their care. Cullen was already convicted of minor charges back in 1995. Although Amy was not exactly doubtful of her fellow nurse, she began noticing a sceptical pattern in the deaths of those patients who were given insulin despite being non-diabetic.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (Joe Berlinger, 2019)
To wrap up the serial killer movie marathon, we have Joe Berlinger’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The biographical crime drama is inspired by the notorious murderer, Ted Bundy’s ex-girlfriend’s memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy. The title is taken from the presiding judge’s comments before sentencing the infamous killer to death.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile opens in 1969 Seattle, when Bundy first met Liz Kendall and covers the story from her perspective. The film touches upon their dating era to the period when newspaper reports started flooding about the carnage he unleashed, killing multiple young women, leading up to the events of his death sentence. While showbiz has talked about Bundy’s horrific streak several times in the past, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile remains one of the most haunting examples available on Netflix.