Shubhabrata Dutta
It is a fact that horror movies that are based on true stories offer a dramatized version of what actually happened. However, it is how the makers manage to balance between truth and drama that makes such a film effective. They have the license to take some things for granted, and so do we, as it gives horror movies that are of a scary/appealing quality whose effect remains with us for at least a day or two, keeping us awake at night. In this article, we bring you such horror movies based on real life that you can stream on Peacock and Paramount+.
6. The Amityville Haunting (2016)
Directed by Geoff Meed, this is yet another horror film that addresses the Amityville case that sent shivers down the whole country, be it for its paranormal angle or not. The film is inspired by Jay Anson’s 1977 book ‘The Amityville Horror,’ which itself addresses the 1974 case wherein Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed all the six members of his family (parents and four siblings) whom he was living with in Amityville. During his trial, Ronald stated he had no memory of the heinous deed. The event is one of the most talked about unexplained events, especially in pop culture, having been the source material of many movies.
The film follows the Benson family that moves into the same house (112 Ocean Avenue- actual address) where the murders occurred. Soon, paranormal events start to happen, and people start dying. Will Tyler Benson, the “man of the house,” be able to protect his family? To find out, you can watch ‘The Amityville Haunting’ on Peacock.
5. The Fields (2010)
This one will give you low-budget ‘In the Tall Grass’ vibes (if you have seen that). When a kid named Steven is sent to his grandparents’ Pennsylvania farmhouse by his parents, who need some private time to sort things out, the kid has no idea what’s waiting for him. Taking to the cornfields nearby, he finds solace in his imaginative world, unbeknownst to the sinister presence hiding among the corn. Meanwhile, the Manson family serial killers are also making the headlines. Is it them who are using the cornfield for cover, or is it someone else?
This Tom Mattera and Dave Mazzoni-directed indie has a connection to the real world. Writer B. Harrison Smith experienced similar stuff, like shadowy figures and other eerie occurrences, during his stay as a kid at his grandparents’ farm in Easton, Pennsylvania, one summer. This experience is what he extended into the plot of ‘The Fields.’ The cast includes Tara Reid, Cloris Leachman, Bev Appleton, Joshua Ormond, and Faust Checho. You can watch the film on Peacock.
4. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
What do you do when a stranger calls? You disconnect the call. What do you do when the same stranger calls again and again? You contact the authorities and make sure that they take the necessary steps. But what would you do when they tell you that the call is coming from inside the very house you are in? You have two options: hide or confront. In ‘When a Stranger Calls,’ babysitter Jill Johnson (Carol Kane) finds herself in the same situation, and her stranger is later revealed to be a man called Curt Duncan (Tony Beckley) who has blood on his hands and his mind. While Jill escapes his clutches, the children she was babysitting are mercilessly killed by him. It is up to Detective John Clifford (Charles Durning) to track down this murderer. Seven years pass, and Duncan returns and calls Jill, now a mother, one more time. Time is fleeting, and Clifford cannot lose him again.
Directed by Fred Walton, the film, or rather the first part, is based on a true story that is more tragic than the one we see in the movie. 13-year-old Janett Christman was babysitting Gregory, a little boy, at the Romack residence in Columbia, Missouri, on the night of March 18, 1950. The Columbia police department received a distress call at around 10.30 pm asking them to “come quickly!” Unfortunately, the call was too short to be traced, and the police were too clueless to help. At around 1.35 pm, Gregory’s parents returned to find Janett dead in a pool of blood and a cord around her neck. Gregory was asleep upstairs, safe and sound. The killer was never found. You can watch the film on Peacock.
3. Orphan: First Kill (2022)
A prequel to ‘Orphan’ (2009), William Brent Bell’s ‘Orphan: First Kill’ sets the record straight about how Leena Klammer’s background. In the first film, she infiltrated a household pretending to be a young girl and soon wreaked havoc. In this film, she escapes a psychiatric facility in Estonia and lands in America, pretending to be the missing daughter of a wealthy family. As their “Esther” starts heaving strangely, we realize that what we have been expecting is slowly revealing itself. However, Leena is in for a surprise, and her new family has some disturbing secrets of its own.
Both films are based on the horrifying case of Barbora Skrlová that came to light in 2008. In the case, the search for a 13-year-old missing Czech boy named Adam exposed 33-year-old Barbora, who was posing as the kid to hide from the police and avoid testifying in a 2007 child abuse case. With a gripping narrative and Isabelle Fuhrman’s brilliant performance, ‘Orphan: First Kill’ works both as a worthy sequel and a powerful standalone horror film. You can watch it on Paramount+.
2. An American Crime (2007)
Directed by Tommy O’Haver, ‘An American Crime’ is based on the horrifying and tragic true story of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens, who was tortured (including rape and starvation) by her nanny/caregiver Gertrude Baniszewski for three months before her death (which can easily be addressed as murder) on October 26, 1965. The film is notorious for its harrowing depiction of the events that unfolded, with Elliot Page playing Sylvia and Catherine Keener playing Gertrude Baniszewski. Keener’s brilliant portrayal of the hateful real-life character won her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Primetime Emmys and the Golden Globes. A truly scary documentation of humanity at its worst, ‘An American Crime’ is not for the faint-hearted. If you think you are up for it, you can watch it on Peacock.
1. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Directed by Jung Bum-shik, this South Korean found-footage horror film follows a production team led by Ha-Joon who is a YouTube channel owner, which goes to the abandoned Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital to broadcast a live horror show. This is after Ha-Joon gets to know about the disappearance of two boys who had gone there to shoot. But when one member after another begins to disappear, Ha-Joon, who is controlling the shoot from a base camp, realizes that he has disturbed dark forces that don’t like the gesture at all. The cast includes Wi Ha-joon, Park Ji-hyun, Oh Ah-yeon, Moon Ye-won and Park Sung-hoon.
The film is based on the real Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, considered one of the most haunted places in South Korea. However, it is not the haunting that led to its shutdown in the 1990s but its terrible sanitary and sewage conditions. Since then, it has become a go-to spot for tourists, production crews, and ghost hunters. The hospital was ultimately demolished in 2018. Considering how abandoned buildings have often been portrayed in horror films, the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital has garnered an eerie reputation. It is up to you whether to believe it. You can watch the movie on Peacock.
