True Crime Movies

[Derek]

El Traspatio/Backyard -- If you were rather let down by Jennifer Lopez's "Bordertown" and want to see a well done movie about the Juarez, Mexico femicide, then rent that.

Of course it doesn't implicate the Juarez Drug Cartel but that's understandable, considering if it did then the cartel would place a bounty on the director and starring actor's heads.

 

[STANDREID]

Thanks Derek. I think there are something like 4 movies about these events.

 

[LisRho]

151-Der Dirnenmorder von London (1976-Gr.-1:27) Jack the Ripper

152-Dunsmore (2003-U.S.-1:28) Based on the unsolved Ken Rex McElroy murder

153-Boys Don't Cry (1999-U.S.-1:58) About the Brandon Teena Brandon slaying

154-Bully (2001-U.S.-1:53) Based on the killing of Bobby Kent

155-Dragnet 1966 (1969-U.S.-1:40) Inspired by serial killer Harvey Glatman

156-Manson (2009-U.S.-1:30) The leader of the serial killing cult

157-The Virgin of Juarez (2006-U.S.-1:30) A serial killer stalks the border town

158-Boston Strangler: The Untold Story (2008-U.S.-1:30) Perhaps a serial killer has been found or maybe not

159-Natural Born Killers (1994-U.S.-1:58) Said again to be inspired by Starkweather/Fugate

160-Murder In New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story (1992-U.S.-1:40) A teacher seduces her student into committing murder

BBM

I can't get into this one, as I actually grew up with Pame. She was one year ahead of me in school, but being from Windham, that didn't make much difference. I think when we graduated Center School, now Windham Middle School, there was about a 100ish kids a class. We then went onto Pinkerton Academy, as Windham didn't have a high school then (they do now).

Anyway, Pame wasn't anything like they presented her in that movie. I was shocked actually, but I am going to guess that a lot of these movies and/or books are like that when you knew the principals involved.

She was extremely intelligent, generous, helpful, friendly. It was actually her best friend back then that was more like what was portrayed in the movie. Yes, she loved hair bands, but it was the 80s, we all loved hair bands.

That said, oh she was totally guilty. No doubt about that. Those tapes where, just still leave me speechless.

I didn't know Greg, he was enough older than me, and not from Windham, for me to have never run across him. Also, my parents sold our house in Windham and built one in North Londonderry my senior year, so I transferred from Pinkerton to Londonderry that year. Though that was the year after Pame graduated.

I have always felt though, the absolute media frenzy that was here was what has caused NH to change the way investigations are run. The reality was, we all knew Pame was at minimum suspected, those of us that knew her were probably all in denial until trial and the playing of the tapes, but things weren't really under wraps at any point.

 

[SwampMama]

Also, what about " If you really loved me"? It was about David Brown who manipulated and convinced his 13 year old daughter (Cinnamon) to kill his wife Linda (Cinnamon's stepmom) so that he could collect the big insurance payout (almost a million)and also so he could continue his relationship with his wife's little sister (Patty) who was also underage. He also manipulated Patty to assist in the killing of her own sister with his sick, twisted lies although Cinnamon took the rap for it.

He manipulated Cinnamon by telling her that Linda was going to kill him and that she should kill Linda since she was underage and they wouldn't convict her and further convince Cinnamon to take an overdose of pills and leave a suicide note after shooting Linda. She could have easily died of the pills he gave her and maybe he wanted it that way. Cinnamon went off to jail for it after the murder and kept his secrets but finally saw the how she was used, manipulated and discarded while her dad and Patty bought a huge new house and had a baby together (which they also lied to Cinnamon about).
This was a made for TV movie based on the book by the same name by Ann Rule. It was just unbelievable how this man could so cold heartedly use his daughter. WOW !

 

[STANDREID]

I've dropped cable so I'll likely miss some in the future.

 

[LisRho]

Also, what about " If you really loved me"? It was about David Brown who manipulated and convinced his 13 year old daughter (Cinnamon) to kill his wife Linda (Cinnamon's stepmom) so that he could collect the big insurance payout (almost a million)and also so he could continue his relationship with his wife's little sister (Patty) who was also underage. He also manipulated Patty to assist in the killing of her own sister with his sick, twisted lies although Cinnamon took the rap for it.

He manipulated Cinnamon by telling her that Linda was going to kill him and that she should kill Linda since she was underage and they wouldn't convict her and further convince Cinnamon to take an overdose of pills and leave a suicide note after shooting Linda. She could have easily died of the pills he gave her and maybe he wanted it that way. Cinnamon went off to jail for it after the murder and kept his secrets but finally saw the how she was used, manipulated and discarded while her dad and Patty bought a huge new house and had a baby together (which they also lied to Cinnamon about).
This was a made for TV movie based on the book by the same name by Ann Rule. It was just unbelievable how this man could so cold heartedly use his daughter. WOW !

I never saw the movie, but I read the book. This case always fascinated me.

 

[jaleigh]

Fascinating case. Pure evil walks the earth.

 

[STANDREID]

I finally got around to seeing Changeling the other day and was surprised at its trueness to the actual case. When I first heard about the film, I thought it was one of those "inspired by" movies like Psycho. I would probably put it somewhere around 20 on my list.

The one thing I did notice though was that Northcott's mother, Sarah, was left totally out of the events. If I recall, she was considered an accomplice and received a life sentence. They also left out the assertion that Mr. Northcott rented the boys out to local pedophiles for sexual abuse and then killed them off when they became too old to be attractive to the child molesters. It is understandable that they omitted this because there is some suspicion that this account might be apocryphal.

 

[Nefriahaia]

There was a well done miniseries about Steven Stayner in 1989, IIRC it came out right before he died in the motorcycle crash. "I Know My First Name is Steven."

 

[rpipergirl]

I just saw In Her Skin tonight and it was chilling. It was about the murder of 15 year old Rachel Barber in Melbourne,AU by her former neighbor Caroline Reed-Robertson out of jealousy and IMO mental illness. In the UK it's called I Am You.

 

[STANDREID]

I'll keep an eye out for that one.

 

[STANDREID]

I don't know if it's a new one or not but there's a JtR program scheduled on the Discovery Channel this evening, the 123rd anniversary of Annie Chapman's murder.

 

[STANDREID]

It was a repeat.

 

[CanManEh]

Is the lovely bones based on any real events ?

 

[CanManEh]

what about Wolf Creek was it based on anything ...?

and my original question..the lovely bones..?

 

[claudicici]

"Lovely bones" is based on a novel by Alice Sebold.She wrote a biographical novel before that called "Lucky".Alice Sebold was raped and left for dead when she went to college.
So even though "Lovely bones" is not based on actual events Alice Sebold certainly has the authority to write about a little girl that was raped and killed.It's a story about what could have been her and how she imagined life after death.I don't know if anything in the family situation resembles her true life story,she doesn't really get into it in "Lucky"
"Lucky" is an incredible book to read.
It's about dealing with her emotional scars and finally overcoming the traumatic event.

 

[STANDREID]

what about Wolf Creek was it based on anything ...?

I believe is was supposedly inspired by Milat.

 

[STANDREID]

101-And the Sea Will Tell (1992-U.S.-2:59) Murder of Mac and Muff Graham

102-A Cry In the Dark (1988-Au.-2:00) Lindy Chamberlain is suspected of killing her daughter

103-Autofocus (2002-U.S.-1:54) Unresolved slaying of Bob Crane

104-Compulsion (1959-U.S.-1:43) Based on Leopold and Loeb

105-Bluebeard (1944-U.S.-1:13) Loosely inspired by Henri Landru

106-Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975-U.S.-2:24) The doctor accused of killing his wife

107-Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil (1997-U.S.-2:35) Jim Williams suspected of murdering Danny Hansford

108-Wolf Creek (2005-Au.-1:44) Loosely patterned after Ivan Milat

109-The Bronx is Burning (2007-U.S.-6-00) David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz competes with the Yankees for press coverage

110-Butterbox Babies (1995-Cn.1:34) Lila and William Young's baby farming operation results in infant deaths

I thought I had it listed.

 

[STANDREID]

The one thing I did notice though was that Northcott's mother, Sarah, was left totally out of the events. If I recall, she was considered an accomplice and received a life sentence. They also left out the assertion that Mr. Northcott rented the boys out to local pedophiles for sexual abuse and then killed them off when they became too old to be attractive to the child molesters. It is understandable that they omitted this because there is some suspicion that this account might be apocryphal.

I think that Northcott may have created the story hoping he could use it as leverage in acquiring a lighter sentence. That is, he could scare some public officials who might fear that he had something on them or something on someone they knew. At any rate, it didn't work.

 

[STANDREID]

There was a well done miniseries about Steven Stayner in 1989, IIRC it came out right before he died in the motorcycle crash. "I Know My First Name is Steven."

Was Steven's brother Cary, who became a serial killer, in it?