Movies That Inspired Real-Life Crimes

Some of Hollywood's best thrillers, horror films, and dramas have been inspired by dark true stories. A short list of movies with factual basis would include such groundbreaking features as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Zodiac," "Monster," and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." Drawing on true crimes lends dramatic weight and intensity to a film; for horror and thriller pictures, the notion that the mayhem on screen actually happened in some shape or form makes it a far more unnerving experience.

While numerous films are based on real-life criminal activity, there's also a shorter but equally significant list of movies that inspired individuals to commit violent acts in the real world. These gruesome and shocking instances of life imitating art include crimes committed by notorious serial killers and mass murderers as well as by individuals who believed that a crime that went unpunished in a movie would yield similar results off-screen. The following movies all inspired real-life crimes.

The following article deals with instances of suicide, sexual assault, mental illness, extreme gore, and child abuse. Reader discretion is advised. 

Would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. spent more than three decades in a psychiatric hospital after attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Hinckley shot Reagan in a warped attempt to win the affection of actor Jodie Foster, inspired to commit the crime after seeing Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver." The film itself drew upon a real-life assassination plot fueled in part by a movie: Arthur Bremer shot and paralyzed Alabama Governor George Wallace after seeing Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."

Released in 1976, "Taxi Driver" stars Robert De Niro as an unbalanced New York cabbie who considers shooting a U.S. senator before attempting to rescue a child prostitute (played by Foster) in a blood-soaked shootout. Hinckley is said to have watched "Taxi Driver" at least 15 times and eventually began to dress and act like De Niro's character. He also became obsessed with Foster, even meeting her briefly, and finally determined that shooting the president would draw them together.

Hinckley fired six shots during his attempted assassination of Reagan, injuring two members of the president's entourage as well as a police officer. Only one bullet hit its intended target, narrowly missing Reagan's heart after ricocheting off his limo. He required lung surgery but quickly recovered. A subsequent trial deemed Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity; he was released in 2022 and has since pursued a controversial career as a musician.

The enduring appeal of Ghostface, the masked antagonist of the "Scream" franchise, is hinged on its unstoppable nature: like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, Ghostface has an almost supernatural ability to wreak havoc and escape capture and even death. To horror fans, that monstrous quality ups those films' fear factor exponentially. Sadly, three people have attempted to recreate this terror in real life, leading to murder.

Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, both 16, were convicted of first-degree murder after stabbing classmate Cassie Jo Stoddart while she house-sat for relatives in 2006. The pair initially told police that they intended only to scare Stoddart, but the prank got out of hand; however, the discovery of a hidden videotape showed the pair planning the crime in disturbing detail. One of the boys speaks directly to the camera, stating (via Oxygen), "We're sick psychopaths who get pleasure out of killing other people. We want to be just like 'Scream.'" Draper and Adamcik are serving life sentences without parole.

Five years prior, Belgian truck driver Thierry Jaradin donned Ghostface garb to murder his 15-year-old neighbor Alisson Cambier while she visited his home. When Cambier rejected Jaradin's sexual advances, he dressed in a Ghostface costume before stabbing the teenager 30 times. He then placed her body on his bed with a rose in her hand and called her father to confess to the killing. Jaradin, who admitted that the "Scream" films had influenced his actions, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In 2004, British citizens were shocked by a murder spree carried out by a man named Daniel Gonzalez, who killed four people and injured two others. Coverage by the U.K. press focused on his confession to police, in which Gonzalez claimed that he committed the killings to find out what it would be like to be Freddy Krueger from "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which he watched numerous times. However, a long history of mental illness — which Gonzalez's mother claimed was ignored by health services — may have been the real motivation for the crimes.

Gonzalez, who struggled with substance abuse and schizophrenia, stabbed four individuals to death over a three-day period before his arrest in mid-September of that year. A jury struck down the defense's argument that Gonzalez was not guilty by reason of insanity and handed down six life sentences. While in custody, Gonzalez attempted to commit suicide by biting his arm. He died in 2007 after slashing his wrists with a broken CD case.

Gonzalez's mother later told BBC News that repeated efforts to get medical attention for her son were disregarded. "We were told we would have to wait for a crisis to occur before he could have the help he needed," she said. A 2009 report by the National Health Service concluded that human error and lack of resources contributed to the lack of urgency given to Gonzales's case by mental health workers.

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In the 2005 comedy film "Wedding Crashers," Owen Wilson's character gains time with Rachel McAdams' Claire by putting eye drops in the drink of her obnoxious fiancé (played by Bradley Cooper, who used personal experience to craft the villain). He ends up developing debilitating stomach issues as a result. The scene is played for laughs, but ingesting eye drops can actually cause more than the intestinal distress experienced by Cooper's character. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that most brands of eye drops used to reduce redness contain a chemical called tetrahydrozoline, which constricts blood vessels in the eye. If ingested, they create toxicity, which can lead to decreased breathing, a slow heartbeat, and even coma.

In 2009, Sheriffs in Rowan County, North Carolina arrested Jaymee Cruz after her fiancé reported that he saw her put eye drops in his beverage. The man locked himself in the bathroom along with their child and called 911 to report what he had just witnessed. Cruz initially denied the accusation but later admitted that she used the eye drops to try and sicken her fiancé in order to escape the home with their daughter. She also told police that she got the idea after watching "Wedding Crashers."

Australian mass murderer Martin Bryant was a fan of Chucky, the killer doll from the "Child's Play" films, and often spoke about the character prior to committing the deadliest mass murder in Australian history. In an interview with news.com.au, former girlfriend Jenetta Hoani said that Bryant was fond of saying "Don't f*** with the Chuck," a line from "Child's Play 3." "He'd get excited when he said that," she explained. "He would think it was really cool."

Bryant, who struggled with violent impulses and intellectual disability, used semi-automatic rifles to shoot and kill 35 people in Port Arthur, Australia on April 28, 1996. Bryant was captured by police the following day and given 35 life sentences without the possibility of parole. The high death toll and the use of high-powered guns prompted the Australian government to restrict private ownership of such weapons.

If you have been impacted by incidents of mass violence, or are experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.

In 1995, two Oklahoma teenagers went on a cross-state murder spree after watching Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers." Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin Darras spent the evening of March 5 at Edmondson's family's cabin, taking LSD and watching the film several times. The next day, they set out on a road trip that would turn deadly. On March 7, they made it to Hernando, Mississippi, where Darras shot and killed cotton mill manager William Savage with a gun taken from the cabin. The pair then traveled to Ponchatoula, Louisiana, where Edmondson shot convenience store clerk Patsy Byers, leaving her paralyzed. Both were arrested in early June after returning to Oklahoma.

Edmondson (who comes from a family of Oklahoma politicians often referred to as the "Kennedys of Oklahoma," per the Tahlequah Daily Press) told authorities that she was afraid of Darras and that he was obsessed with recreating the murders in "Natural Born Killers." She was charged with second-degree murder and armed robbery and served 11 years of a 30-year sentence, getting released on parole in 2010. Darras, meanwhile, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A 2002 lawsuit by Byers, which alleged that Warner Bros., Oliver Stone, and other production entities were guilty of inciting violence, was dismissed.

Two separate pairs of teenagers drew on the first "Saw" film for very different schemes: One malicious and mean-spirited, the other potentially lethal. Thankfully, the latter, which outlined the torture and murder of three people, was undone by the mother of one of the suspects. But the former — a prank call inspired by Jigsaw's frightening messages to his victims — resulted in a woman's hospitalization.

The former case involved a message left on the phone of Tennessee resident Beverly Dickson in 2007. The message claimed that a friend of Dickson's was trapped inside her house, which would fill with toxic gas unless she freed her with a key. Dickson suffered a stroke as a result of hearing the message. Police traced the call to two 13-year-old girls who spent the previous night leaving prank messages. Both were charged with phone harassment.

The latter case, which occurred in 2009, involved a pair of teenage boys in Salt Lake City that planned to kidnap and then record the torture and murder of two female middle school students and a school police officer. The mother of one of the boys overheard their plans and contacted police. According to court documents seen by ABC News, the boys confirmed to a detective that their plan was informed by the first "Saw" movie and that they were targeting people "who had done harm to others."

"The Collector" is an Oscar-nominated thriller film released in 1965. Terence Stamp stars as a loner who kidnaps a young woman (Samantha Eggar) to make her fall in love with him. The film was a favorite of Robert Berdella, who earned the nickname "The Butcher of Kansas City" for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of several young men, whose bodies he later dismembered. Arrested in 1988 after the escape of one abductee, Berdella told prosecutors that the seed for his crimes was planted after he saw "The Collector." He was given life in prison with no chance of parole but he died of a heart attack in 1992, just a few years into his sentence.

Elsewhere, the John Fowles novel that the "The Collector" was based on served as inspiration for Leonard Lake, who carried out a string of kidnappings, sexual assaults, and murders in California during the 1980s. Lake and his accomplice Charles Ng routinely videotaped their victims in a secret bunker built in a woodland cabin before killing them. Lake kept a journal in which he referred to his actions as "Operation Miranda" — the name of the female protagonist of "The Collector." Lake killed himself with a cyanide capsule after his arrest, while Ng is on death row in California.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Indianapolis man Johnathan Cruz received three consecutive life sentences in 2016 following a four-day rampage that he claimed was inspired by the film "The Purge." Cruz, who was 19 at the time, was charged with 17 counts in total, including three for murder and two for robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. A witness at Cruz's trial said that he told her he had been "purging," which prosecutors claimed was a direct reference to the 2013 film "The Purge," a movie about a nationally sanctioned day of lawlessness in the United States.

Police obtained an electronic search warrant to examine Cruz's phone, finding a text message reading (via ABC News), "I Purge every night now... since im dieing someone else Has to." Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for Cruz, though he avoided that fate by pleading guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A man named Elijah Brooks, who stole the car that was used during the spree, got 20 years, while another co-conspirator, Steven Clark, was sentenced to 16 years for his part in one of Cruz's robberies.

Police in Wichita Falls, Texas received a phone call on February 22, 1980 from a babysitter who claimed that the 4-year-old girl she had been hired to watch was dead. The girl, Khonji Wilson, was found in a car with seven stab wounds. Her heart had been removed and was discovered In the car wrapped in a washcloth. Police searched the home of her mother, Patricia Frazier, and found a blood-soaked mattress and the knife used in the murder.

Frazier, who had a history of mental illness, told psychologist Dr. Leon Morris that she killed her daughter because she believed she was possessed by demons. The doctor later testified that Frazier's actions were fueled in part by a viewing of "The Exorcist" on television. "Frazier did not know what she was doing because she was suffering from delusions of being manipulated by supernatural forces," Morris said (via UPI).

When the case went to trial in late 1980, Frazier's defense sought to declare their client innocent by reason of insanity. The jury was unable to reach a verdict in the 1980 trial, but a second trial in 1981 resulted in Frazier's acquittal due to her mental status. A hearing was ordered by State District Judge Keith Nelson to determine whether Frazier should be institutionalized, but she was ultimately remanded into the custody of her mother.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

In 1995, Saskatoon teenager Sandy Charles murdered a seven-year-old boy named Johnathan Thimpsen after becoming obsessed with "Warlock," a 1989 horror-fantasy film about a witch hunter trying to stop a son of Satan from destroying the world. Charles watched the film around 10 times, his mother confirmed after the murder. In the world of the movie, a person who drinks the boiled fat of a virgin will be able to fly. This is what led Charles and an eight-year-old accomplice (who wasn't named due to his age) to lure Thimpsen into a remote area in the lakeside community of La Ronge, where he was stabbed and bludgeoned to death. Charles then reportedly removed strips of flesh from Thimpsen's body and cooked them.

Revisiting the horrific crime in a 2013 report, Canada's Global News confirmed that "Charles was found not criminally responsible for his actions and has remained in psychiatric facilities since then." The Los Angeles Times' coverage of the trial noted that Charles ultimately did not consume Thimpsen's flesh. "I just wanted to stay the way I am," he told authorities. The crime shocked Canada to its core and led to nationwide calls for violence in films and TV to be reined in, with the Toronto Globe and Mail warning parents that "a violent movie could be a precipitating event" for an impressionable youngster.

Teenage murder suspect Mark Branch panicked a western Massachusetts community in 1988 after a murder seemingly inspired by Jason Voorhees, the masked killer in the "Friday the 13th" film series. Branch was the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of 18-year-old Sharon Gregory, who was found stabbed to death in her home in Greenfield on October 24, 1988. Police focused on Branch after interviews with Gregory's friends and neighbors yielded a wealth of disturbing information about him, including an apparent obsession with horror movies. "He rented strictly gore, period. The gorier, the better," a video store clerk was quoted as saying.

Branch was reportedly the subject of a psychological profile written by Gregory, who was a freshman psychology major. According to Greenfield Police Chief David McCarthy, retrieving the report was part of Branch's motive, but so was his need to live out his horror fantasy. "He was so entrenched with Jason that he had to have the final chapter in his own feelings," McCarthy said (via UPI).

By the time police intensified their search for Branch, he had disappeared. His car was found abandoned in a woodland area with traces of blood inside, but he was nowhere to be seen. Greenfield went into unofficial lockdown as manhunts failed to locate him. The town canceled its annual Halloween parade and asked parents to keep kids indoors after sundown. In late November 1988, Branch's body was found in a wooded area, hanging from a belt. The death was ruled a suicide.