‘Based on a true story’ tagline movies have no shortage in Hollywood. They keep on making movies based on real life events and most of them work big time. It should be also noted that some of the ‘based on a true story’ movies do fake things in order to make it more presentable. Here, we are going to discuss two movies that were based on true terrifying events that you would find it really hard to believe. Let’s have a look at 4 movies based on true terrifying events.
Psycho
Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in the year 1960. The movie tells the story of the strong and out of the world bond of possessiveness between a mother and a son. The movie is actually inspired by the life of an American murderer named Ed Gein. He lived in his farmhouse at Plainfield and people considered him as odd, even though, he was harmless. But many suspected that some creepy events were going on at his property. People started going missing from the locality and the true face of Ed was revealed when deputy sheriff’s mother Jeanne went missing.
Ed’s farmhouse was searched as he was the primary suspect. You won’t believe what happened after the search. Nine masks made from human skin, four noses, many decapitated heads, leggings made from human skin, and many more terrifying things were found from his house. The police reported that his house and interiors except his dead mother’s room were filthy and untidy. Ed was annihilated by his mother’s death and this is said to be the main reason behind his crimes. He used to wear clothing made from the female skin so that he could feel much closer to his deceased mother.
The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes, directed by Wes Craven was released in the year 1977. The movie received average reviews during its release, but later gained the status of a cult horror classic. The movie tells the story of a family getting lost during a road trip in an atomic testing zone. But they later discover that the place was inhabited by a disfigured cannibalistic family and the family has finally found their new prey. You may be now wondering how the movie could be based on true events. But actually, it is. The movie is based on Alexander Sawney Bean and his family. He was the head of a Scottish clan and his family included 14 children and 32 grandchildren (all were from incest!).
The whole family lived in a cave and never had any sort of communication with the outside world. Many people who passed through this area were reported missing and Sawney Bean and his family were the culprits. They used to cut their victim’s body into pieces and had a habit of pickling their limbs for consuming in the future! More than a thousand people (including women and children) were said to be consumed by Sawney Bean and his family. Their cannibalism was revealed when a man escaped from their cave and reported everything to the authorities. An Army lead by the King (King James) captured the family and massacred them brutally.
An American Haunting
An American Haunting, directed by Courtney Solomon was released in the year 2006. The movie tells the story of a family (Bell family) being haunted by an entity and it focused on his youngest daughter. This movie is based on true incidents and lets’s discuss the ‘Bell Witch’. One day (1817), John Bell was inspecting his cornfield and he came up with a disfigured animal (head of a rabbit and the body of a dog). He shot it and it just disappeared. That evening, the family heard anomalous beating voices and the children complained that their bed covers were pulled out by some strange forces.
Betsy, the youngest daughter used to wake up with slap marks on her body and face. The locals came to know about the mysterious happenings and they named the entity the ‘Bell Witch’. Later, the entity started haunting John and it made him extremely ill. The entity continued to haunt him mercilessly throughout his illness. On December 28, 1827, John finally met his demise. The family found a small container with poison in it. The Bale Witch visited John’s widow after a year and said that it would return after 7 years. After 7 years, it did make a visit and said that would return after 107 years (1935) to meet John’s nearest successor and that successor was Charles Bailey Bow. It’s not sure whether the Bell Witch made its promised visit.
Borderland
Borderland, directed by Zev Berman was released in the year 2007. The movie told the story of three college students who took a break from their studies and heads out for the weekend. One of the students was kidnapped a cult, in order to be used in a ritual sacrifice. The remaining two students try to rescue their friends and what follows is an unpleasant event of horrific violence and intense scenes. The movie is actually inspired by the real life of Adolfo Constanzo. He was born in Miami and grew up in Porto Rico. He was later baptized as Catholic and he also served as an altar boy. His mother frequently visited Haiti to learn Voodoo and he used to accompany her during her trips.
They later moved back to Miami and the teenager Constanzo joined a religion called Palo Mayombe (the rituals usually involved animal sacrifice). The adult Constanzo moved to Mexico and started a highly profitable business casting spells to bring good fortunes. The rituals involved expensive animal sacrifices and the animals include snakes, zebras, lion cubs, etc. His clients later became wealthy drug dealers and hitmen and this resulted in demanding more violent rituals. Constanzo then started hunting down humans to carry out his special rituals and he mainly used their bones and brains for these rituals. Constanzo was shot dead by one his followers upon his request as he doesn’t want to get arrested.
