Serial Killers: 177

The horror film, The Mangler (1995), was directed and written by Tobe Hooper and Harry Alan Towers. It is based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name from his collection Night Shift (1978). The movie takes place in Gartley’s Blue Ribbon Laundry, where Bill Gartley owns a laundry press known as the Mangler. Trouble ensues when Sherry, Gartley’s niece, cuts herself while trying to avoid being crushed by an old ice box being carried past. This results in blood splattering onto the ...

Assassins (1995), an American action thriller film directed by Richard Donner, features a screenplay written by The Wachowskis and Brian Helgeland. Protagonist Robert Rath, plagued by guilt over his past deed of killing mentor Nicolai, is ready to hang up his deadly profession. However, his plans are halted when he finds out that fellow assassin Miguel Bain has taken out one of Rath’s assigned targets. Despite admiring Rath, Bain also wishes to eliminate him in order to claim the title of the world’s greatest ...

Citizen X (1995) is an American television film based on the true story of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. The film follows detectives in the 1980s as they work to capture an unknown serial killer responsible for the murder of women and children. Despite bureaucratic obstacles, forensic specialist Viktor Burakov leads an eight-year hunt for the perpetrator after a body is discovered on a collective farm in 1982. As they continue their search, seven more bodies are found in nearby woods, all showing signs of mutilation and murder. In total, 53 lives were taken, with 52 victims under the age of 35. Burakov’s rise to ...

In David Fincher’s Seven (1995), a crime thriller set in an unnamed city consumed by violence and corruption, veteran detective William Somerset is approaching retirement. He is joined by his new partner, the passionate yet quick-tempered detective David Mills, who recently moved to the city with his wife Tracy. On Monday, they are summoned to investigate the death of an obese man who was forcibly overfed until his stomach burst, with the word ‘gluttony’ scrawled on the wall. Somerset finds it too extreme for his final case and requests a different assignment, but is denied. The next day brings another ...

Natural Born Killers (1994) is an American crime movie directed by Oliver Stone. One scene shows Mickey Knox and his wife Mallory stopping at a diner in the New Mexico desert. As she dances to music from a jukebox, two rednecks show up and begin harassing Mallory in a sexual manner. Despite initially seeming to enjoy the attention, Mallory eventually beats one of the men severely. Joining in on the violent act, Mickey and Mallory proceed to kill everyone else in the diner except for one customer, to whom they confidently reveal their names before leaving. Seeking refuge in the desert, the couple takes a moment to ...

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) is an American meta supernatural horror film written and directed by the renowned filmmaker himself. Living in Los Angeles, California, Heather Langenkamp resides with her husband Chase and their young son Dylan. Heather, best known for her portrayal of Nancy Thompson in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, later shifted her focus to television. One night, she has a dream about her family being attacked by animated Freddy Krueger claws from an upcoming film in the series, where two workers meet a gruesome fate on set. Waking up to an earthquake, she notices a cut on Chase’s finger identical to the one she saw in her ...

Kalifornia (1993), an American road thriller film directed by Dominic Sena, follows the story of Brian Kessler and Carrie Laughlin. Brian, a graduate student and journalist, has recently secured a book deal after his article on serial killers gained attention. In order to gather material for his book, Brian and Carrie plan to travel from Kentucky to California, stopping at notorious murder sites for Carrie’s photographs. However, with limited funds, Brian decides to post a ride-share ad on campus. Meanwhile, Early Grayce, a violent parolee who has just lost his job, is pressured by his parole officer to attend a ...

Trauma (1993), an Italian giallo horror film directed by Dario Argento, follows Georgia Jackson, a chiropractic nurse in Minneapolis. During a rainstorm, Georgia stays late at her practice to meet a new patient. However, she believes she may have seen the patient before. That same night, troubled Romanian immigrant Aura Petrescu escapes from a psychiatric hospital and is later found by police and returned to her parents’ home. The next evening, Aura’s mother Adriana – who poses as a psychic – holds a séance for locals desperate to uncover the identity of the ‘Head Hunter’, a notorious ...

Ricochet (1991), an action crime thriller directed by Russell Mulcahy, follows the story of Nick Styles. Nick, a rookie police officer and law student in Los Angeles, meets Alice and falls out of touch with his childhood friend Odessa, who has turned to drug dealing in South Central. While patrolling a carnival, Nick and his partner Larry Doyle come across hitman Earl Talbot Blake and his accomplice Kim. A tense standoff ensues when Blake takes a hostage after killing drug dealers. Stripping off his equipment and uniform, Nick relies on a hidden gun in his athletic supporter to shoot Blake in the knee and ultimately ...

In Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), an American slasher film, the town of Springwood, Ohio is plagued by the return of Freddy Krueger. After killing most of the children and teenagers in the town, he targets the only surviving teenager, John Doe, in a dream. When John wakes up outside the city limits with no memory of who he is or how he got there due to a head injury, he is taken to a shelter for troubled youth. At the shelter, three residents – Spencer, Carlos, and Tracy – plan to runaway from their problems to California. However, when John’s amnesia becomes apparent through a newspaper clipping found in his pocket by Dr. Maggie ...

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is an American psychological horror thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally, adapted from Thomas Harris’s 1988 novel of the same name. Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee, is tasked with interviewing Hannibal Lecter, a highly-intelligent former psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer, at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Her boss Jack Crawford has sent her to gain insights into another psychopathic serial killer named ‘Buffalo ...

Pacific Heights (1990) is an American psychological thriller directed by John Schlesinger and written by Daniel Pyne. During their time in San Francisco, unmarried couple Drake Goodman and Patty Palmer purchase an expensive 19th-century Victorian house in the exclusive neighborhood known as Pacific Heights. As they settle into their new home, they also rent one of the building’s first-floor apartments to the Watanabes, a friendly Japanese couple. However, things take a dark turn when Carter Hayes visits to view the remaining vacant unit. Despite driving an expensive ...

Director Jeff Burr and writer David J. Schow released Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990). During a chase, Leatherface takes the life of Gina as her sister Sara watches from a nearby window. Later on, a couple named Michelle and Ryan are passing through Texas and come across the Last Chance Gas Station where they meet hitchhiker Tex and the owner Alfredo. A fight breaks out between Tex and Alfredo when Tex catches Alfredo peeping at Michelle in the restroom. As Michelle and Ryan drive away, they witness what appears to be Alfredo shooting Tex with a ...

Directed by Mick Garris, Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) is an American made-for-television slasher film that serves as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It delves into the early life of Norman Bates and his struggles with mental illness before the events depicted in the original film. This installment marks both the third sequel and final film in the Psycho franchise, with Anthony Perkins making his last appearance as Norman Bates before his death in 1992. Now married to a psychiatrist named ...

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) is an American slasher film co-written and directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard, and starring Donald Pleasence and Danielle Harris. On October 31, 1988, the infamous killer is believed to have met his end after being shot down a mine shaft by Sheriff Ben Meeker and the Illinois state police. However, he miraculously survives and returns to Haddonfield one year later in search of his niece Jamie Lloyd. Jamie, who has been admitted to the Haddonfield Children’s Clinic for ...

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) is an American gothic slasher film directed by Stephen Hopkins and written by Leslie Bohem. In June 1989, a year after the last installment, Alice and Dan have begun dating without any sign of Freddy Krueger. After a steamy encounter, Alice has a shower and envisions herself in a nun’s habit labeled Amanda Krueger at an unusual asylum. She encounters patients who attack her, but she wakes up unharmed. The following day, Alice graduates from high school with her new group of friends: Greta, a hesitant aspiring ...

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), an American supernatural slasher film directed by John Carl Buechler, follows Tina Shepard’s journey. After witnessing her alcoholic father’s abuse towards her mother, a young Tina flees in a boat to Crystal Lake. Her father chases after her, leading to his accidental death when Tina’s telekinetic abilities are unleashed and destroy the dock he’s standing on. Years later, as a teenager, Tina is still grappling with guilt over her father’s passing. In an attempt to help her heal, her mother Amanda brings her to the lake house where it all took ...

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1993) is the fourth installment in the popular American fantasy slasher film franchise. Following the events of the previous film, Kristen, Kincaid, and Joey have been released from Westin Hills and are trying to live their lives as normal teenagers with their families. Despite this, Kristen is still afraid that Freddy Krueger will return, and she summons Kincaid and Joey into her dream where they visit his old boiler room. In an attempt to calm Kristen’s fears, Kincaid and Joey show her that the boiler is cold. The next day, Kristen meets up with her boyfriend Rick Johnson and their friends – Rick’s ...

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), an American slasher film directed by Dwight H. Little and written by Alan B. McElroy, follows the story of Michael Myers, who has been in a coma for a decade after the explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital. On October 30, 1988, during his transfer from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, Michael wakes up upon hearing about his niece living in Haddonfield. He kills the ambulance crew and returns to his hometown with the intention of killing her. Dr. Loomis, who also survived the explosion, ...

Opera (1987) is a renowned Italian giallo, co-written and directed by Dario Argento. The story follows Mara Cecova, the lead in an innovative performance of Verdi’s Macbeth at the Parma Opera House. During a heated disagreement with the director outside the theater, Cecova is tragically struck by a car and left injured. In her place, the young understudy Betty steps into the role of Lady Macbeth. Despite her initial hesitation, Betty’s debut proves to be a triumph. However, on the night of her opening, an unknown individual sneaks into the opera house and watches her performance from an unoccupied box. When ...