7 modern-day true crimes that won't leave anyone indifferent
7. "The Perfect Patient"
- 2019
- Sweden, Belgium
- Thriller, drama, crime
- Director: Mikael Håfström
- Starring: Jonas Karlsson, David Dencik, Alba August, Magnus Roosmann
- IMDb Rating: 6.7
Swedish journalist Hannes Råstam (Jonas Karlsson) conducts an independent investigation to prove the innocence of violent maniac Thomas Quick (David Dencik), sentenced to life imprisonment in a psychiatric hospital. Quick is accused of dozens of murders based on his confessions alone, and aside from his testimony, there's not a single piece of evidence or witness in the case. This leads the journalist to question the legal validity of the charges against his ward.
The movie is based on real events that took place in Sweden: the case of Sture Bergwall or, as he was called from 1993 to 2002, Thomas Quick was that the defendant was arrested in 1991 for bank robbery, declared insane and sent to an institution where he confessed to 30 murders committed. He was formally charged with eight of them. In 2008, journalists Hannes Råstam and Dan Josefsson launched an investigation to get to the bottom of whether Sture was actually guilty.
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6. "The Golden Glove" / Der goldene Handschuh
- 2019
- Germany, France
- Biography, thriller, crime
- Director: Fatih Akin
- Starring: Jonas Dassler, Marc Hosemann, Philipp Baltus, Uwe Rohde, Dirk Böhling
- IMDb Rating: 6.7
In the 1970s, a serial killer appears in Hamburg. Humble laborer Fritz Honka (Jonas Dassler) brings home prostitutes to spend the night with, but when one day things don't go according to plan, the quiet Fritz starts killing them.
"A very unpleasant movie in a good way, if I may say so. The whole sordid atmosphere is perfectly conveyed. It makes you want to go to the bathroom. But, of course, it becomes very uncomfortable from such films when you realize that these people walk among us, literally your neighbor can be such a person", — Chilipizdrick.
"The movie is based on real events. Thrash in its purest form. Just the way I like it", — Djeran.
"Gross, dirty, but an aesthetically pleasing picture", — Eliii.
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5. "Crazy, Not Insane"
- 2020
- USA
- Documentary, crime, biography
- Director: Alex Gibney
- Starring: Park Dietz, Laura Dern, Richard Burr, Charles Gibson, Bill O'Reilly
- IMDb Rating: 6.9
"Crazy, Not Insane" chronicles the director's observations of the work of psychologist Dorothy Lewis, who spent decades studying the mindset of killers. She has interviewed Ted Bundy and Joel Rifkin, and served as an expert witness in the courts in several high-profile cases.
Nearly all of the killers Lewis has worked with have been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder resulting from childhood trauma. On videotapes of her interlocutors change voices, names, body plasticity and become completely different people.
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4. "Red Rooms" / Les chambres rouges
- 2023
- Canada
- Crime, drama
- Director: Pascal Plante
- Starring: Juliette Gariépy, Elisabeth Locas, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Pierre Shagnon, Guy Thauvette
- IMDb Rating: 7.1
Two young women wake up every morning at the door of the Montreal courthouse for the chance to attend the highly publicized trial of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), accused of particularly brutal crimes that he filmed and sold on the Web. Kelly-Anne's (Juliette Gariépy) interest in the case develops into an unhealthy obsession that drives her to try her best to get her hands on the last piece of the puzzle: a missing videotape of one of the murders.
"A heavy movie, tense plot but not trite, recommended viewing", — partak200808.
"Arthouse in all its glory. Very clever movie and definitely not for everyone. like and nothing happens on the screen, but it was hard to break away. You just completely dive into it and try to make sense of it. Yes, it was dragged out, but in the end it was an interesting psychological movie", — Tikhonov9.
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3. "The Girl in the Picture"
- 2022
- USA
- Documentary, crime, detective
- Director: Skye Borgman
- Starring: Robert Christopher Smith, Sarah French, Mark Chinnery, Chance Wilder Onody, Dana Mackin
- IMDb Rating: 7.3
In 2002, investigative journalist Matt Birkbeck saw a photograph of a father and daughter. The look on the girl's face captured in the image made Birkbeck uncomfortable and he decided to find out who these people were. The man in the photo turned out to be recidivist criminal Franklin Delano Floyd (Robert Christopher Smith), and the girl was his daughter Sharon Marshall (Dana Mackin), whose life her father had made a living hell.
"A terrific and scary story. My applause to the people who collectively unraveled such a complex case", — id498700854.
"What a horrible story, twist after twist, poor Susan has been through so much in such a short life..." — rinayoo2000.
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2. "Holy Spider" / عنکبوت مقدس
- 2023
- Denmark, Germany, France, Sweden, Jordan, Italy
- Crime, drama, thriller
- Director: Ali Abbasi
- Starring: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Sina Parvaneh
- IMDb Rating: 7.3
A serial killer nicknamed Spider appears in the holy city of Mashhad, who wants to "cleanse the streets of harlots". When the number of victims approaches a dozen, journalist Arezoo Rahimi (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) comes to the city from Tehran to find out how the investigation is going and to write an article about the serial maniac who preys on women.
The movie "Holy Spider" is based on the true story of a serial killer. Zar Amir Ebrahimi won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her role as journalist.
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1. "Take Care of Maya"
- 2023
- USA
- Documentary
- Director: Henry Roosevelt
- IMDb Rating: 7.8
As paramedics try to make sense of 10-year-old Maya Kowalski's rare illness, they begin questioning her parents. Suddenly, Maya finds herself in state custody — even as the family desperately tries to bring their daughter home.
"This documentary, I think should be watched by parents, doctors and authorities, as well as those who are sure that in the West there are no lapses and everything is fair... After this movie, I want to believe that the family will succeed, we are waiting for the fall, we will watch the course of events", — ElizabetRock.
"Watched the movie when the trial had just started. I'm a mom myself and couldn't watch without tears. Will continue to watch the trial and hope the family wins the case and gets some peace", — Probender.
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Discuss this news
14It's interesting about Maya, I added.
I watched it myself quite recently, the cast is a bomb in the truest sense of the word. 😂
I had to rewind and watch the ending twice, because I couldn't believe what was happening, it was a very powerful movie. Michael Sheen is above all praise.