How can one summarize a vast, varied, and ever-expanding genre as serial killer tales? Its history is far more ancient than one could imagine. Mass murders were a reoccurring theme in early American fictional writers’ stories with Gothic influences – mostly because Gothic is a literary genre that inspired many serial killer stories.
If you are into this genre, you can find the greatest blockbusters or biographical films. For instance, if we talk about the genre first film, it takes us back to 1931 when a German film, “M,” was released. It broke through the box office and became the greatest film of all time. So, today’s blog is about serial killer movies on HBO Max because it has so much to offer. Scroll down to find the 10 best serial killer movies on HBO Max.
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The Secret in Their Eyes
Director: Juan José Campanella
Writer: Eduardo Sacheri, Juan José Campanella
Cast: Ricardo Darín,Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago
IMDb Rating: 8.2
Runtime: 2 hrs. 9 mins
It’s an Argentinian crime drama modeled on the Eduardo Sacheris novel La pregunta de sus ojos (The Question in Their Eyes). It gained the title of the second highest-grossing film in the history of Argentine.
It’s a story of a retired lawyer who writes a book about his unsolved murder case and unrequited love for his superior.
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American Psycho
Director: Mary Harron
Writer: Bret Easton Ellis, Mary Harron, Guinevere Turner
Cast: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Runtime: 1 hr. 42 mins
It’s a psychological horror based on a 1991 novel with the same title by Bret Easton Ellis. American Psycho was positively received by the critics and grossed over $34 million against a $7 million budget. It now has a cult following.
A wealthy banker named Patrick Bateman is the focus of this story. A man who views other people only as objects for his own pleasure. He tortures them as his pastime hobby.
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From Hell
Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Writer: Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, Terry Hayes
Cast: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Runtime: 2 hrs.2 mins
The 2001 movie From Hell features a serial killer. It is partly modeled on the same-titled visual novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell about the Jack the Ripper killings. The crowd had varied opinions of the movie, but they did praise Depp and Graham for their work.
In this tale, an unsettling clairvoyant policeman investigates Jack the Ripper’s murders in Victorian-era London.
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The Snowman
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Writer: Jo Nesbø, Peter Straughan, Hossein Amini
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg
IMDb Rating: 5.1
Runtime: 1 hr.59 mins
The Snowman is a psychological thriller based on a novel with the same name. The film was released in the US on October 20, 2017.
Detective Harry Hole looks into a woman’s abduction after discovering her shawl coiled around a sinister-looking snowman.
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Angels & Demons
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: David Koepp, Akiva Goldsman, Dan Brown
Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Runtime: 2 hrs.18 mins
Angels & Demons is a 2009 mystery thriller based on the novel with the same title by Dan Brown in 2000. It’s a sequel to the famous movie “The Da Vinci Code.” The film received favorable reviews from critics earning $485 million globally.
Its story revolves around the Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. He teams up with a nuclear physicist to investigate a murder and stop a terrorist attack against the Vatican in Church.
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Child 44
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writer: Richard Pr, Tom Rob Smith, Johan Melin
Cast: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Runtime: 2hrs.17 mins
It’s an American mystery thriller modeled on the 2007 novel of the same name by Tom Rob Smith. Unfortunately, child 44 didn’t do well at the box office and received mixed responses from the audience.
Its story is about a discredited veteran of the Russian military police officers. He looks into a string of child murders in the Soviet Union during the time of Stalin.
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The Devil’s Reject
Director: Rob Zombie
Writer: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Runtime: 1 hr.47 mins
A follow-up to the 2003 film House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects is a 2005 black comedy horror movie. It is the second installment in the Firefly movie franchise. The film won a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Wide-Release Film.
The Devil Reject follows a vicious rural Firefly family fleeing from the retaliatory Sheriff Wydell. Unfortunately, he is just as relentless as they are, so they must run before he gets them.
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Horsemen
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Writer: Dave Callaham
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci
IMDb Rating: 5.5
Runtime: 1 hr.30 mins
It’s an American psychological thriller released on March 6, 2009. Critics gave average reviews to the film. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching.
Horsemen story follows a recently widowed detective in grievance for his wife’s murder. He investigates the case and discovers a disturbing link between the killing streak and the 4 Horsemen of the apocalypse.
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The Hitcher
Director: Robert Harmon
Writer: Eric Red
Cast: Rutger Hauer, C.Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Runtime: 1 hr. 37 mins
The Hitcher was launched in the United States on February 21, 1986. The film initially received dull reviews with little box office success. However, thoughts changed in later years due to positive reviews of Hauer’s performance. As a result, the movie preceded a 2003 sequel and a remake in 2007.
After escaping the deadly hitchhiker’s grasp, the young man is hunted and falsely accused of the hitchhiker’s atrocities.
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Capote
Director: Bennett Miller
Writer: Dan Futterman, Gerald Clarke
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr., Catherine Keener
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Runtime: 1 hr.54 mins
The focus of this biographical movie, Capote, is writer Truman Capote. Hoffman’s performance received high marks from critics, and the film became a smash hit. Hoffman even took home the Academy Award for Best Actor.
When Truman Capote learns about the Kansas family massacre, he plans to write a story. But as he works, Capote befriends Perry Smith, one of the murderers who received the death sentence.
