Best movies like Helter Skelter
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, captivating, detective, psychological, psychedelic, suspense
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Best tv shows and movies like Helter Skelter (2004):
Similar in 76%
The Manson Family (1997)
Plot Summary:
Jim Van Bebber's "The Manson Family" is an extremely violent and bloody horror film that reconstructs the early activities of the Family and their descent into the Tate-LaBianca killings.Van Bebber mixes this with a contemporary sub plot involving tabloid journalist Jack Wilson's quest to film a documentary on the subject.The film is loaded with plenty of sex and full-frontal nudity.The final third of "The Manson Family" is a grueling nightmare with some of the most sadistic and savage murders ever captured on screen.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, bloody, controversial, art house, terrifying, independent film, atmospheric, rough, bleak
Similar in 85%
Anatomy of a Psycho (1961)
Plot Summary:
The crazed brother of a condemned killer sent to the gas chamber swears vengeance on those he holds responsible for his brother's execution.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 611
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, suspense, grindhouse, independent film, psychological, tense, atmospheric, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
B.T.K. (2008)
Plot Summary:
A story based on real-life serial killer Dennis L. Rader, who systematically tortured and killed his victims for over two decades and evaded the police for over 30 years, all while leading a seemingly normal life as a husband, father, security officer and church president.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, serious, rough, bleak, bloody, grindhouse, surprise ending
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Similar in 84%
Nightstalker (2002)
Plot Summary:
A stylish horror film based on the life of Richard Ramirez, aka the Nightstalker, who terrorized people in Los Angeles during the 1980s.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: suspense, slasher, scary, rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, realistic, detective
Similar in 83%
Gacy (2003)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story of serial killer a model citizen, loving father and husband and serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a man with over 30 dead men and boys entombed in the crawl space underneath his house which he shared with his family.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, rough, suspenseful, slasher, scary, suspense, dark, psychological horror, crime thriller
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Similar in 77%
The Grim Sleeper (2014)
Plot Summary:
Journalist Christine Pelisek helps law enforcement investigate the alleged serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 583
Genere: Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, captivating, scary, rough, mind bending
Similar in 80%
Lonely Hearts (2006)
Plot Summary:
In the late 1940's, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez were America's notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers". Their lethal scam was simple; they would swindle and then viciously murder lovelorn war widows who would answer their personal ads in which Ray would describe himself as a sexy Latin Lover. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, suspenseful, suspense, brutal, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 88%
The Onion Field (1979)
Plot Summary:
Greg Powell, a disturbed ex-con, recruits Jimmy Youngblood (Smith) a petty thief, as partner in crime. Powell panics when they two of are pulled over by two cops for tail lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith goes along with his crazy scheme. They drive out to a deserted onion field in Bakersfield, where one cop is killed and the other escapes. The film explores the consequences.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: neo noir, atmospheric, psychological, realistic, rough, serious, disturbing, detective, bleak, emotional
Similar in 76%
The Lost (2006)
Plot Summary:
A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, suspenseful, realistic, rough, slasher, erotic, sexy, depressing
Similar in 83%
Starkweather (2004)
Plot Summary:
In 1958 Nebraska 19 year old garbageman Charles Starkweather goes on a murder spree with his 14 year old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate killing 11 people in three months, introducing America to spree killing.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 861
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, detective, road movie
Similar in 77%
Helter Skelter (1976)
Plot Summary:
The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: disturbing, slasher horror, spooky, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, talky
Similar in 84%
The Hunt for the BTK Killer (2005)
Plot Summary:
After 31 years at-large, detectives in Wichita, Kansas hone in on the serial killer known as BTK.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, detective, suspense, creepy
Similar in 77%
Zodiac Killer (2005)
Plot Summary:
A young man who works at a nursing home uses the legendary Zodiac killer's M.O. to kill people who neglect their elderly relatives.
IMDB Rating: 2.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: slasher, rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, scary, bleak
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Similar in 75%
Kemper (2008)
Plot Summary:
A film based on the true story of Ed Kemper, a serial killer who murdered ten in Santa Cruz, CA during the late sixties and early seventies.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 599
Genere: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, slasher, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, scary
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Similar in 82%
Bundy: An American Icon (2009)
Plot Summary:
Bundy, starring Corin Nemec in the title role and co-starring Kane Hodder, details the dark psyche and previously unexplored motivations of the man who became known as one of the most notorious serial killers to leave behind a legacy of evil.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, slasher, suspenseful, disturbing, scary, realistic
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Similar in 83%
The Boston Strangler (1968)
Plot Summary:
Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story, the film follows the investigators path through several leads before introducing the Strangler as a character. It is seen almost exclusively from the point of view of the investigators who have very few clues to build a case upon.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, disturbing, rough, suspense, detective, suspenseful, slasher, psychosexual thriller, retro
Similar in 77%
Rampage (1987)
Plot Summary:
Rampage delves into the subject of legal insanity, so often the default defense in modern-time gruesome crime trials. Alex McArthur plays an outwardly normal guy who goes on incredible killing and mutilating sprees until (and even after, when he escapes for a short time) he's captured. When he comes to trial, the liberal DA (Michael Biehn) is torn between his own leftist leanings and the reality of the heinous crimes for which the accused is being tried. He must argue for the death penalty.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: christmas horror, cult classic, action thriller, independent film, psychological, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Son of Sam (2008)
Plot Summary:
This chilling tale recounts the late 70's in New York City, when a serial killer on the loose dubbed "Son of Sam" creates havoc. When arrested, "Son of Sam" tells police he was influenced by a satanic cult. New York would never be the same.
IMDB Rating: 1.8
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychological thriller, slasher
Similar in 81%
Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (2007)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the true story of one of the most gruesome killers in American history. Now, years after inspiring "Psycho's" Norman Bates, "The Silence Of The Lambs'" Buffalo Bill and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's" Leatherface, the story of real life serial killer Ed Gein is told once again. Nicknamed "The Butcher Of Plainfield," Gein was responsible for a rash of gory murders that sent shock waves through his rural Wisconsin town, and across America, in the late 1950's. Prepare to enter the evil mind and twisted world of "The Butcher Of Plainfield.".
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, scary, rough, serious, slasher, suspenseful, suspense, realistic
Similar in 88%
B.T.K. Killer (2005)
Plot Summary:
Veteran Boogey Man and Zodiac Killer director Ulli Lommel continues his long tradition of delivering tense thrills with this relentless look at the life of the elusive, Kansas-based serial killer known to authorities only as "B.T.K." before his arrest.
IMDB Rating: 1.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, scary, bleak, realistic, slasher
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Similar in 85%
Ed Gein (2000)
Plot Summary:
The true story of Edward Gein, the farmer whose horrific crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. This is the first film to Gein's tormented upbringing, his adored but domineering mother, and the 1957 arrest uncovered the most bizarre series of murders America has ever seen.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, rough, suspenseful, slasher, suspense, dark, psychological horror, scary, serious
Similar in 79%
Dahmer (2002)
Plot Summary:
On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, one of the world's most infamous serial killers, was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to 937 years in federal prison. This movie is based on events from his life. Certain characters and events are fictional.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, scary, slasher, stylized, rough, suspense, suspenseful, dark, controversial
Similar in 90%
In Cold Blood (1967)
Plot Summary:
A 1967 film based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: black and white, disturbing, suspense, neo noir, bleak, tense, controversial, road movie, detective, inspirational
Similar in 85%
The Riverman (2004)
Plot Summary:
A series of interviews are conducted with convicted serial killer Ted Bundy in hopes of gaining insight into the Green River Killer who is terrorizing Seattle.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, mystical, detective, realistic, suspense
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Similar in 75%
The Zodiac (2005)
Plot Summary:
An elusive serial killer known as the Zodiac terrorizes the San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s, while detectives aim to stop him before he claims more victims. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 158 min
Plot tags: rough, psychological, bleak, scary, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, detective, independent film, realistic
Similar in 75%
Ted Bundy (2002)
Plot Summary:
Docu-drama based on the life of Ted Bundy, a serial killer who killed at least 19 young women during the 1970's (though some sources say as many as 30 to 35 were murdered). Set from his college student years, to his first victims, his capture, escape from prison (twice), his final killing spree to his trial, conviction and execution.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: scary, disturbing, rough, suspenseful, suspense, slasher, controversial, cult classic, frightening, twisted
Similar in 83%
The Gray Man (2007)
Plot Summary:
Early 20th century. Albert Fish, a seemingly benevolent father and grandfather who reared his family by himself after his wife deserted them, turns out to be a serial child molester and murderer. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing
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Similar in 75%
Citizen X (1995)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, Hungary
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: detective, suspense, tense, suspenseful, psychological, intense, factual, serious, realistic, grim
Similar in 84%
Resurrection (1999)
Plot Summary:
A seasoned police detective and his partner have just uncovered a string of unusual murders that lead them to a serial killer, who believes that he is the descendant of Judas.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: scary, detective, tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, psychotronic, psychological, suspense, neo noir
Similar in 76%
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989)
Plot Summary:
The true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killing cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers, is told in this TV drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 754
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful