American serial killer films

2008 film directed by Christopher Nolan

1991 film directed by Jonathan Demme

Psycho is a 1960 American horror film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam. The plot centers on an encounter between on-the-run embezzler Marion Crane (Leigh), shy motel proprietor Norman Bates (Perkins) and his disturbed mother. A private investigator (Balsam), Marion's lover Sam Loomis (Gavin) and her sister Lila (Miles) investigate her disappearance.

2019 musical film directed by Todd Phillips

1995 film by David Fincher

2004 film directed by James Wan

2005 film directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez

2022 superhero film by Matt Reeves

Scream is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore. Set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, the plot follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and her friends who, on the anniversary of her mother's murder, become the targets of a costumed serial killer.

1992 film directed by Paul Verhoeven

Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it with producer Debra Hill. It stars Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P. J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis. The film follows escaped mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a mental institution for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield; 15 years later, he returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis pursues him.

2000 film directed by Mary Harron

2007 film by Tim Burton

1971 film directed by Don Siegel

Scary Movie is a 2000 American parody film. It was directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans, alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film stars Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, and Dave Sheridan. The film, a parody of the slasher film genre, most notably the I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream franchises, follows a group of teenagers who accidentally hit a man with their car, dump his body in a lake, and swear to secrecy. A year later, someone, wearing a Ghostface mask and robe, begins hunting them one by one.

1999 film by Tim Burton

2023 film directed by Martin Scorsese

2007 film by David Fincher

2002 film directed by Gore Verbinski

1984 film directed by Wes Craven

2001 film by Ridley Scott

2011 film by David Fincher

Misery is a 1990 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by William Goldman. It is based on Stephen King's 1987 novel and stars James Caan as famed novelist Paul Sheldon, who is held captive by Annie Wilkes, an obsessive fan. The supporting cast includes Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, and Lauren Bacall.

1994 film directed by Oliver Stone

1980 film directed by Sean S. Cunningham

1997 film directed by Wes Craven

2006 film by Darren Lynn Bousman

2003 film directed by Patty Jenkins

1997 film directed by Jim Gillespie

2002 film directed by Brett Ratner

2007 film directed by Quentin Tarantino

2011 film directed by Wes Craven

1943 film by Alfred Hitchcock

1991 film by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

2000 American slasher film

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen. The plot follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider audience and to act as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate. Although the character of Leatherface and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer Ed Gein, its plot is largely fictional.

1995 film by Tim Robbins

2005 film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

2009 film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

2010 film by Kevin Greutert

1973 film directed by Ted Post

1997 film by Clint Eastwood

1955 film by Charles Laughton

1981 film directed by Steve Miner

1982 film directed by Steve Miner

2009 film directed by Peter Jackson

2023 film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

The Black Phone is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson from a screenplay he wrote with C. Robert Cargill, based on the 2004 short story by Joe Hill. It is the first installment in the Black Phone franchise. It stars Mason Thames as Finney, a teenage boy abducted by a serial child killer known colloquially as the Grabber. When Finney encounters a mystical black rotary phone in captivity, he uses it to plot his escape by communicating with the ghosts of the Grabber's slain victims. Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, and James Ransone also feature in the principal cast. Derrickson and Cargill produced The Black Phone in association with Blumhouse Productions CEO Jason Blum. Universal Pictures oversaw the film's commercial distribution, and funding was sourced through a pact with Blumhouse and tax subsidies from the North Carolina state government.

Five Nights at Freddy's is a 2023 American supernatural horror film based on the video game series of the same name created by Scott Cawthon. It was directed by Emma Tammi and written by Cawthon, Tammi and Seth Cuddeback. The film stars Josh Hutcherson as a troubled security guard who starts a job at a condemned pizzeria where he discovers that its animatronic mascots are possessed by the spirits of murdered children who were abducted by a serial killer decades prior. It additionally features Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson and Matthew Lillard in supporting roles.

1947 film by Charlie Chaplin

1925 film by Lon Chaney, Edward Sedgwick, Rupert Julian

2022 film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

1985 film by Jack Sholder

2003 film directed by Marcus Nispel

1984 film by Joseph Zito

2001 film by Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

2015 film directed by Daniel Espinosa

1998 horror film directed by Danny Cannon

2013 film by Park Chan-wook

2017 film directed by Christopher B. Landon