What do the movies Deranged, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainville have in common? They are all movies based on the same serial killer Ed Gein.
Gein was a deeply disturbed man. He was so disturbed that people could not imagine why he did the things he did. Ed Gein and other serial killers were the inspiration behind the following scary movies.
Deranged (1974)
Deranged was an almost forgotten horror movie that has gained recent popularity by playing on late-night television. The Canadian-American horror movie is based on the life of Ed Gein.
The movie shows the influence Gein’s religious mother had on him by molding him into the woman-hating man he would eventually become—Deranged depicts the actual crimes that Ed Gein committed.
Deranged can be streamed on Sling TV, Amazon Prime Video, Philo, and The Roku Channel
Psycho (1960)
Psycho is a film that also drew inspiration from the Ed Gein story. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) relationship with his mother is very similar to Ed Gein’s relationship with his mother.
The author of the novelPsycho, Robert Bloch, lived just miles away from where the Ed Gein murders occurred. Ed Gein kept dead bodies in his house like Norman Bates kept his mother in the basement. Psycho is considered by many to be Alfred Hitchcock’s best film.
Psycho can be streamed on Tubi for free.
The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs was also inspired by Ed Gein. The Silence of the Lambs drew inspiration from other serial killers like Ted Bundy and Edmund Kemper. When dealing with someone as disturbed as Ed Gein, there are multiple disturbing levels from which to draw inspiration.
The inspiration for The Silence of the Lambs drew from Ed Gein was the creation of a skin suit made from human skin. It is something that Gein did to his victims. The inspiration from Ted Bundy was Buffalo Bill used some of the same tactics Ted Bundy did to capture his victims. Ted Bundy helped investigators solve crimes by learning how serial killers think.
The Silence of the Lambs can be streamed on The Roku Channel, Sling TV, fubo TV, and Philo.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is another movie inspired by serial killer Ed Gein. Ed Gein inspired the character of Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).
Ed Gein, like Leatherface, enjoyed making bodies out of human skin. Ed Gein made furniture out of human bones and skin like in the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre can be streamed for free on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainville (2007)
Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainville is yet another movie inspired by the life of Ed Gein. Whereas other horror movies were inspired by Ed Gein and took bits and pieces of his life and woven those pieces into their story, Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainville sets out to tell its subject’s life story.
Ed Gein was played by none other than Kane Hodder, who is famous for playing Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th movies.
Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainville can be streamed for free on Tubi.
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a film loosely based on serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who was convicted of killing eleven people and confessed to killing hundreds of people. The actual number and credibility is the source of much debate.
Nevertheless, the story of Henry Lee Lucas inspired the making of one of the most disturbing serial killer movies ever made.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer can be streamed for free on Peacock, Tubi, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and Plex
Dracula (1933)
Yes, the iconic Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), the world’s most famous vampire, was inspired by a serial killer. A serial killer less in the modern sense of the word, though.
Dracula, the novel, was written by Bram Stokerinspired by Vlad the Impaler. Vlad the Impaler was a Romanian wartime ruler, and massacred thousands of people by impaling them on wooden stakes.
Dracula can be rented on Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
The Clovehitch Killer asks what you would do if your dad were secretly a serial killer? The movie draws inspiration from the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader. Dennis Rader seemed like an all-American family man. He was a Cub Scout leader and deeply involved in the church. He seemed to the public to be a mild-mannered, polite family man.
But under the surface, he had violent sexual fantasies and murdered people for years before ever being caught. The Clovehitch Killer was a similar story of an all-American family man who kills his victims the same way that the BTK Killer did.
The Clovehitch Killer can be streamed on Amazon Prime, The Roku Channel, and Sling TV with a subscription.
The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers is a chilling home invasion horror movie inspired by the Manson family murders and the Keddie cabin murders.
Whereas the Manson family murders are more infamous and publicized, the Kiddie cabin murders were never solved. The Kiddie murders were a quadruple homicide from April 11 through 12 in 1981.
The Strangers can be rented from Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu and Apple TV.
From Hell (2001)
From Hell is loosely based on one of the most famous and intriguing serial killers in the world Jack the Ripper. There have been countless theories of who and what inspired Jack the Ripper to commit his crimes. Whitechapel London was a cesspool of poverty, corruption, and perversion when the murders took place. A perfect place for a serial killer to blend in and hideout.
Everyone from The Elephant Man to the Salvation Army evangelist William Booth was believed to be the infamous Jack the Ripper killer. Johnny Depp plays Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline attempting to solve the crime. Another great Jack the Ripper movie is the 1988 miniseries Jack the Ripper, starring Michael Caine as the inspector.
From Hell can be rented from Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu and Apple TV.