Shubhabrata Dutta
While it does provide a unique sense of thrill to know that the horror movie we are watching is based on true events, it goes without saying that a lot of dramatization/fiction is added to make it visually thrilling. These two thrills are entirely different from each other. And what makes for an actual story-inspired horror film is how effectively the makers bring these two thrills together without making it feel unreal. In this article, we bring you such horror movies based on real-life news available on Netflix.
11. The Deliverance (2024)
Lee Daniels’ ‘The Deliverance’ follows Ebony (Andra Day), whose three kids become the targets of an evil force after the family moves into their new house in Pittsburgh. Her emotional distance from the kids, which has resulted from her alcohol addiction and abuse, exposes them to the demonic entity’s antics, and the only way for her to save her children is to face her own demons and accept her sins. The question is: Will it be enough? Or is it too late?
The film is based on the true story of Latoya Ammons, who, along with her children and her mother, moved into a house in Gary, Indiana, in 2011. After being subjected to paranormal experiences borderlining on harm, an investigation was launched involving the cops, the child services, and the Catholic Church. You can watch ‘The Deliverance’ here.
10. The Pope’s Exorcist (2023)
Russell Crowe stars as Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s Chief Exorcist, in this Julius Avery directorial. ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ follows Amorth, notorious for his unsanctioned exorcisms, who looks into the case of the possession of a young boy in Spain. He arrives at the location and is assisted by Father Tomás Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), a local priest, and they work together to help the boy and his family that has just moved into the San Sebastian Abbey. As the investigation progresses, Amorth digs up a centuries-old conspiracy that connects the abbey with the Vatican.
The film is based on two books, both by Father Gabriele Amorth, namely ‘ An Exorcist Tells His Story’ and ‘An Exorcist: More Stories.’ In both these books, he shares his encounters with the devil and other details about demonic entities and the occult. ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ can be streamed here.
9. Run Rabbit Run (2023)
Directed by Daina Reid, this Australian film follows Sarah (Sarah Snook) and her seven-year-old daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre), who claims she is her mother’s sister Alice, who went missing at age seven. She even inhabits the behavioral patterns of Alice while Sarah begins to have hallucinations and nightmares, almost mistaking her Mia for Alice. The film ends on a painful note, but only after getting the audience wondering what the truth is. Has Mia been possessed? Or is Sarah? Or does Mia have the ability to establish contact with the dead? Or is it a case of mistaken identity? It’s up to us to ponder upon.
Writer Hannah Kent, an author, based the screenplay on reports of kids speaking about stuff that can be addressed as proof of either possession or reincarnation. She told Australia’s In Review about a documentary wherein a little boy described his past life in great detail, including his home. All his details turned out to be true. Kent used this and wrote a story from the POV of a parent dealing with a child who misses someone else and not her. To get a better idea, you can watch ‘Run Rabbit Run’ here.
8. The Nun (2018)
The fifth installment in The Conjuring shared universe, ‘The Nun,’ is the spiritual spin-off to ‘The Conjuring 2’ (2016), where we first see the titular demonic entity, aka Valak, who takes the shape of a nun. The film gives the backstory of the character and is set in 1950s Romania, where Saint Cartha’s monastery is shaken by the suicide of one of its nuns. Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) arrive from the Vatican to look into the matter, only to lock horns with the dark force so powerful that nothing short of the very blood of Jesus Christ will stop it from wreaking havoc. As per writer/producer James Wan (director of ‘The Conjuring’ (2013)), the Nun is inspired by a demon that, as per clairvoyant Lorraine Warren, haunted her home. She described it as a “swirling tornado vortex with this hooded figure.” The character of Valak has also been found in many books that date back to the 117th century, including ‘The Lesser Key of Solomon.’ Special mention needs to be made of Bonnie Aarons, who plays the nun/Valak impeccably, although we do not know what the real entity looks like, and that is where her conviction lies. Directed by Corin Hardy, ‘The Nun’ can be streamed here.
7. Unspeakable Acts (1990)
This biographical drama is directed by Linda Otto. It is based on the eponymous 1986 book by Jan Hollingsworth, who speaks about the harrowing real case of child abuse at a Miami daycare in 1984. The film follows child psychologists Laurie (Jill Clayburgh) and Joseph Braga (Brad Davis) [their real names have been used] as they try to decipher the words coming out of the mouths of the victims, who can barely speak owing to their young ages, about how Frank (Gregory Sierra) and Ileana Fuster (Bess Meyer) [real names] abused them at the couple’s Country Walk daycare in Miami, Florida. And yes, it includes sexual abuse. You can watch the film here to find out whether the culprits were brought to justice.
6. Incantation (2022)
Directed by Kevin Ko, this Taiwanese supernatural folk horror flick focuses on a cursed woman named Li Ronan who realizes that the curse has now befallen her six-year-old daughter, Dodo. Ronan had broken a religious taboo six years ago in a Yunnan village that worshipped a deity known as Mother Buddha. With Dodo’s health declining, Ronan realizes that she has to lift the curse and asks the viewers to chant an incantation. Will it be enough?
‘Incantation’ is based on a real tragedy that took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Republic of China), in 2005. In it, six members of the Wu family were believed to have been possessed by malevolent entities, including “Third Prince,” “Jade Emperor,” “Queen Mother,” and “Seven Fairies.” They beat each other for days, refusing to eat and forcing each other to eat their feces and urine to get rid of the evil spirits. They also drank talisman water. This continued for a month, during which the eldest daughter starved to death. Their relatives downstairs and neighbors were too scared to help them. You can watch ‘Incantation’ here.
5. Veronica (2017)
Directed by Paco Plaza, this Spanish horror flick follows 15-year-old Veronica (Sandra Escacena), whose interest in carrying out a séance using an Ouija board to talk to her dead father’s spirit takes a sinister turn. She ends up summoning a demonic entity that possesses her, posing a threat to the lives of her three very young siblings. Her supernatural state was observed by a police officer who then mentioned his experience in a 1996 police report.
The film is loosely based on the 1991 Vallecas case, considered one of Spain’s most infamous cases of paranormal activity. As per the story, Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro (1973–1991), hailing from Vallecas, Madrid, participated in an Ouija board ritual at school. A teacher broke the board, but those present noticed smoke making its way inside Estefania through her nose. The following six months were filled with hallucinations, seizures, visions, and other paranormal stuff, and she was found dead in her bedroom on July 14, 1991. It is also said that the evil spirit that had gotten hold of Estefania was that of her grandfather, who promised to make living impossible for the entire family, even from his grave. To add to all this, we have the police reports of three officers who made it very clear that they, too, were subjected to paranormal activities during their investigation, including weird noises, doors swinging open, and stains appearing in different places all over the house. While Estefania’s family experienced supernatural phenomena even after her death, they stopped after the family moved to a different place. You can watch ‘Veronica’ here.
4. Things Heard & Seen (2021)
Based on the novel ‘All Things Cease to Appear’ by Elizabeth Brundage, ‘Things Heard & Seen’ is directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini and stars Amanda Seyfried and James Norton. It follows Catherine (Seyfried), who moves into her new farmhouse in upstate New York with her husband George (Norton) and daughter Franny. However, the house seems to hide a dark secret that makes her feel ill at ease, especially after she comes across a Bible carrying the names of the previous owners of the house, some of which have been scratched out and marked as “damned.” Slowly, her marriage, too, begins to fall apart while the feeling of a negative presence grows stronger and stronger. Catherine ends up dead, but not. Perplexed?
Brundage based her novel on her own experiences while living in an old home in upstate New York. Her two daughters, aged three and six, told her stories about ghosts in their house, including those of three girls who were killed in a fire, providing details that they had no way of knowing and weren’t old enough to make up. One night, she saw her youngest daughter laughing at something that was moving around the room. She was inspired by the 1982 murder of Cathleen Krauseneck, a 29-year-old mother whose lifeless body was found in her house in Brighton, Rochester, New York, on February 19, with her 3-year-old daughter Sara left all alone in another room. Cathleen had an axe lodged in her head. Her husband, Jim Krauseneck, was indicted for her murder on November 1, 2019, more than 37 years after he killed his wife. You can watch ‘Things Heard & Seen’ here.
3. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Directed by Joe Berlinger, ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’ tells the story of one of the world’s most dangerous serial killers, Ted Bundy (Zac Efron), from the POV of his former girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall (Lily Collins). She started dating Bundy in 1969, and the news reports of kidnapping and murders began spreading in 1974. Despite multiple convictions, escapes, murders, and arrests, Ted denied his involvement in the crimes to Elizabeth till she showed him a photograph of one of his victims whom he beheaded.
The film is based on Elixabeth’s memoir ‘The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy.’ It shows how Elizabeth’s struggle to cope with the fact that the man who was helping her raise her daughter was the one who had been kidnapping, torturing, and killing so many just like her. If you want to know Ted Bundy from a new angle, you can watch ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile’ right here.
2. The Good Nurse (2022)
Directed by Tobias Lindholm, this film stars Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne as nurses Amy Loughren and Charles Cullen, respectively, at the Parkfield Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. When one patient after another starts dying mysteriously at the hospital, the detectives are contacted. They find out that Charles has a criminal history, and upon further investigation, Charles is revealed to have killed the patients by administering them with high doses of insulin. Amy agrees to talk to Charles and make him confess and does so successfully.
The film is based on Charles Graeber’s 2013 true-crime book of the same name. In reality, both Amy Loughren and Charles Cullen worked together in the ICU at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, New Jersey. From 1988 to 2003, Cullen killed numerous patients across multiple medical centers in New Jersey. Only after realizing that something was wrong as patients kept dying due to improbable causes was the New Jersey State Police alerted. The police, who had already harbored doubts about Cullen, put a wire on Loughren and asked her to talk to him and see if he knew anything. Eventually, Cullen confessed his acts to Loughren. He was arrested on December 12, 2003, and confessed to killing 40 people, although researchers state that the number can go up to 400. Cullen was given 18 life sentences. You can watch ‘The Good Nurse’ here.
1. The Ritual (2017)
Directed by David Bruckner, this British horror flick follows a group of four college friends who set off on a hiking trip in a Swedish forest to honor the memory of their friend who was killed during a robbery. In the endeavor, they come across a sinister tribe that intends to sacrifice them to a jötunn (a negative supernatural entity in German mythology) named Moder in return for immortality. The cast includes Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton. The film is based on Adam Nevill’s 2011 novel of the same name.
This scary film is based on an even more frightening and spooky true story that dates back to 1978. Named the case of the Yuba County Five, the story involves five men (hailing from Yuba County, California), four of whom had intellectual disabilities, and the fifth one had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after his service in the army. All of them were aged 24-32 and went to see a college basketball tournament at the California State University, Chico, on the night of February 24, 1978. The next day, they had their own basketball qualifier for the Paralympics as a part of the Gateway Gators, a disabled team supported by the locals. Unfortunately, the five guys never returned from Chico. Several months after their abandoned yet perfectly working car was found in the Plumas National Forest in California, search and rescue efforts led to the discovery of 4 of their corpses that had turned to bones.
They were found near a trailer camp around 20 miles from their car. All the food and heating paraphernalia in the trailer had been left untouched, and it seemed as if the guys deliberately starved to death unless someone or something killed them. The body of the paranoid schizophrenia-diagnosed guy was never found. A witness even stated that he saw the abandoned car on the night of February 24, along with the people in it, as well as a woman with a baby. To this day, there is no proper explanation of why the five guys went to the woods and how they died. You can watch ‘The Ritual’ here.
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