Buzz
Every movie, whether it's a hit or a miss, sparks some kind of conversation. It could be the standout performances, whether they're terrific or cringe-worthy, the plot gaps or missing elements, or the storyline that either excites or bores. This is also true for films based on true stories. Conversations can get heated over what was omitted or extra scenes that were added to the narrative.
This list features a selection of stories that have served as the foundation for both praised and criticized films. Ultimately, it's up to the audience to determine where these movies belong. Be warned, there may be spoilers ahead!
10. The Haunting in Connecticut
The classic plot of moving to a new house for specific reasons, encountering paranormal activity, and remaining doubtful until the ghost or demon makes its presence known is a familiar trope in horror films. This is also the case in The Haunting in Connecticut, where a family relocates to a Victorian house to be closer to their son's cancer treatment center. Before long, they realize their new home is far from ordinary, as it was once a funeral home where unspeakable events occurred.
The story takes a chilling turn when we realize that there is a disturbing truth behind it. In 1986, the Snedeker family moved to Southington, Connecticut, to be near the hospital treating their son Philip for cancer. Initially, they were thrilled to live in a spacious, affordable house while caring for their child. But their happiness quickly turned to fear as they began experiencing extreme temperature fluctuations, seeing ghostly figures roaming the house, and hearing unexplainable noises. After discovering mortuary equipment and a graveyard in their backyard, they realized their home had once been a funeral parlor. Other unsettling occurrences included water turning red, lights flickering (even when the bulbs were removed), and dishes mysteriously vanishing and reappearing.
Philip was deeply affected by these events and claimed the spirits in the house were speaking to him. After violently attacking his cousin, he was placed in a psychiatric facility for nearly two months. Famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in for help. Their findings suggested that mortuary workers in the past had engaged in necrophilia, unleashing evil in the house.
9. Fire in the Sky
Alien-themed movies are incredibly popular, with hits like Arrival, Independence Day, Aliens, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind among the most notable. While some are better than others, they all share a common theme: encounters with extraterrestrial beings. Fire in the Sky might seem like just another addition to this genre, where a man witnesses something bizarre, investigates further, and ultimately gets abducted by aliens.
This story resonates deeply with Travis Walton, whose real-life experience inspired the film. In November 1975, Walton and his colleagues were driving through Arizona when they noticed something unusual hovering in the sky ahead. Walton exited the vehicle to investigate, and in the blink of an eye, a blinding light emanated from the UFO, striking Walton and propelling him through the air. His coworkers, fearing the worst, fled the scene.
A manhunt was launched over the following five days, with suspicion falling on Walton’s coworkers. The situation took a strange turn when Walton suddenly reappeared in a phone booth, telling a story so bizarre that it was almost unbelievable. Walton claimed he had awoken aboard the spaceship, surrounded by short alien beings who were busy examining him. He also recalled a sensation of suffocation caused by something that felt like a plastic sheet.
Despite the skepticism surrounding his account, Walton has remained steadfast in recounting his experience from 1975. He went on to write a book detailing everything he could remember about the incident. His coworkers also took polygraph tests, and the results were mostly supportive of Walton’s version of events (with one test being inconclusive), suggesting that something truly strange occurred that night in Arizona.
8. The Ghost and the Darkness
This jungle-themed movie received a modest 50 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It follows a British engineer who faces more danger than he anticipated when he is tasked with building a railroad bridge in the East African wilderness. He soon finds himself battling two unusually savage lions after they attack his crew of construction workers.
In 1898, workers in the Tsavo region of Kenya became prey to two maneless lions, famously named 'the Ghost' and 'the Darkness' by the local people. These lions terrorized the area for nine months, with some claiming they were responsible for the deaths of up to 135 individuals. The nightmare came to an end when Colonel John Henry Patterson killed both lions in December 1898. The events sparked numerous articles and books, later inspiring movies, including the one mentioned above.
For years, it was believed that the lions killed so many due to hunger. However, research from 2017 suggests that the lions may have suffered tooth and jaw injuries, which caused them to target slower and weaker prey—humans—rather than larger herbivores.
7. The Perfect Storm
Nominated for two Academy Awards in Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, The Perfect Storm made a huge impact at the box office when it was released in 2000. The film portrays the harrowing tale of fishermen aboard the Andrea Gail, who find themselves trapped at sea during an overwhelming storm.
The real-life story occurred in 1991 when the 'No-Name Storm' struck the ocean, traveling down North America's eastern coast and claiming the lives of 13 people. The storm was so powerful that it lifted an entire house from the ground and carried it into the water. The Andrea Gail, carrying six fishermen, was caught in the storm while swordfishing off Newfoundland. After three days without any word from the crew, the boat's owner grew concerned. The Coast Guard was called to search, but after ten days, the search was abandoned. No distress call was ever made; it was as if the boat had vanished without a trace, leaving only a small amount of wreckage behind.
In 1997, a book detailing the tragic event was released, followed by a movie adaptation three years later. The Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial stands as a tribute to the many fishermen who tragically vanished at sea, with their names engraved alongside countless others who perished in similar circumstances.
6. Alive
Alive is a powerful and harrowing drama that chronicles the survival of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes in the Andes Mountains. Over the next two months, they endure brutal conditions and make unthinkable decisions, including resorting to the consumption of deceased passengers to stay alive.
This tragic story is not a mere work of fiction but the real-life account of the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. The plane, which was carrying a rugby team, their families, and friends, crashed into the Andes Mountains on October 13. While some passengers perished on impact, others succumbed to the freezing temperatures or their injuries.
To survive, the remaining passengers were forced to harvest the flesh of those who had died, drying it into strips for consumption. After 72 grueling days, two of the survivors made an arduous 10-day journey across the Andes to find help. They encountered a muleteer who provided sustenance and alerted rescuers. Eventually, on December 23, 1972, 16 of the original 45 passengers were rescued.
5. A Nightmare On Elm Street
In 1984, Freddy Krueger, dressed in his trademark green and red sweater, became the stuff of nightmares for moviegoers everywhere when *A Nightmare on Elm Street* hit the screens. Wes Craven, the mastermind behind the film, drew from a deeply unsettling personal experience for inspiration. As a child, Craven awoke one morning to find a drunken man staring at him through his window. The man walked backward toward the door, keeping his gaze fixed on the terrified boy. Though the man eventually vanished without harm, the eerie encounter stuck with Craven and later influenced his work.
The primary influence for the film, however, was a series of mysterious deaths in the 1970s and 1980s, where Cambodian refugees inexplicably died in their sleep. This phenomenon was labeled 'Sudden Nocturnal Death Syndrome.' One particular case captivated Craven’s attention and sparked the creation of a terrifying movie monster who killed people while they slept. In this case, a 21-year-old man refused to sleep for an entire week, fearing something dreadful would happen if he did. He declined sleeping pills from his family, relying solely on coffee to stay awake. Eventually, he succumbed to sleep and died shortly thereafter.
4. Hacksaw Ridge
*Hacksaw Ridge* is a widely acclaimed war film that took home two Oscars after its 2016 release. The movie tells the extraordinary story of Desmond T. Doss, a man who, during World War II, chose to forgo carrying a weapon in battle and, in doing so, became the first conscientious objector in U.S. history to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Desmond Doss, the real man behind the heroic story, was drafted into the US Army Medical Corps in 1942 after he refused to carry weapons. A devout member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, Doss took the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' seriously. His commitment to saving lives, not taking them, caused tension with his fellow soldiers, who mocked him and even threw shoes at him while he prayed. Some of them even threatened his life. This hostility grew due to his refusal to work on Saturdays, believing that the Sabbath should be devoted entirely to prayer and reflection.
During World War II, instead of taking up arms, Doss focused on helping the wounded, including Japanese soldiers. While his battalion retreated under heavy gunfire, Doss stayed on a ridge, offering assistance wherever possible. He saved the lives of at least 75 soldiers. Unfortunately, he was eventually shot by a Japanese sniper, leaving him 90% disabled. Doss endured five years of hospital visits and lost both a lung and five ribs due to tuberculosis. He became deaf in 1976, living in silence for over a decade until receiving a cochlear implant in 1988. Desmond Doss passed away in 2006, a decade before a major film about his life was released.
3. Alison
*Alison* recounts the horrifying true story of a woman who was brutally raped, stabbed multiple times, and left for dead, far away from any help.
On December 18, 1994, Alison Botha was abducted in front of her home in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, by Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger. They raped her and then proceeded to stab her in the abdomen over 30 times. They slashed her throat 16 times and left her to die in a remote area outside of Port Elizabeth, near a desolate road. Despite her severe injuries, Alison, barely conscious, held her head together and kept her intestines from spilling out as she crawled toward the road in search of help. Miraculously, the knife missed her vital arteries, allowing her to breathe through her severed trachea. She collapsed on the road, but a passing car stopped, and the driver called for assistance.
Alison overcame her struggles and has transformed her traumatic experience into a force for good. Now a highly sought-after public speaker, she travels around the globe to share her story of healing—both physically and emotionally—after the violence she endured. Alison is dedicated to empowering other victims of violence, guiding them to conquer their fears and rebuild their lives.
2. Compliance
The film Compliance is a tough watch. It centers around a young woman working at a fast-food restaurant who is wrongly accused of stealing from a customer. The accusation comes through a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer. The girl, named Becky, is escorted to a back room to be searched, where things quickly spiral out of control. The person on the line manipulates the employees into humiliating and assaulting Becky in a shocking and inappropriate manner.
This movie is based on a real-life event that occurred in Kentucky in 2004. An 18-year-old McDonald's worker was detained inside the restaurant, stripped, and sexually assaulted after a person pretending to be a police officer instructed the restaurant manager and her fiancé to carry out the actions. Both the manager and her fiancé were sentenced to five years in prison, and the young victim was awarded a confidential settlement from the company.
1. Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday is a powerful docudrama that recounts the tragic events of January 30, 1972, in Derry, Northern Ireland. The film depicts the real-life story of a protest march that was violently interrupted when British soldiers killed 13 unarmed demonstrators. This heartbreaking event also became the inspiration for the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
On that day, twenty-eight unarmed civilians participated in a march protesting against internment. Most of the victims were shot while trying to escape the soldiers, while others were gunned down as they tried to assist the wounded. Thirteen people were killed that day, and a 14th passed away from his injuries months later. Two more protestors were tragically run over by military vehicles, while several others were beaten with batons and struck by rubber bullets.
In 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged that the actions of the British Army on that fateful day were unlawful. This admission came after years of reports and inquiries that had attempted to downplay the severity of the killings.
