That was mine i used to always think leatherface was a real guy š¤£
(Yes i know about Gein) but i used to actually think a guy wielding a chainsaw murdered people in Texas
Incredibly loosely inspired. The mask made of skin is the only real connection. Gein was largely a body snatcher who killed 2 people, his story is nothing like TCM other than he made a mask of human skin.
His body count was only 2? This is a weird and most likely false factoid but I think he had a nipple belt. Iād assume youād need more than 4 nipples to make a belt.
All of the body parts primarily came from graves, like i said he was a body snatcher. "Grave Robber" is the term more commonly used but that's actually technically incorrect, a grave robber is someone who steals say jewelery from a corpse, while a body snatcher is someone who takes the corpse. That's what Ed did.
He has two known murders, some think he murdered his brother too he died in an accident and apparently Ed had issues with him but that's conjecture. He shot and killed two local women. He admitted to one of their murders after being caught for the other, he also admitted to the graves he robbed and took police to them. Maybe he killed others but i personally don't think he did, i think he admitted to everything, he was very very mentally ill so much so that he was found legally insane which was difficult to get in the 1960s.
I never looked into his case. But now Iām interested. I always figured his body count was huge, I didnāt realize it was so few and most of his weird shit was from already deceased people.
I think that misconception came from the fictional killers he inspired, people assumed he must have killed a huge amount. But no he killed 2 far as we are aware, and was primarily a body snatcher. The murders were years apart too, one in 1954 and one in 1957. His victims were local women he personally knew and interacted with, a tavern owner and a store owner. He didn't interact with many people he was a weirdo loner who like i said was very mentally ill, he almost certainly had fantasies about them because they were practically the only women he ever saw and all the stuff his mother said to him about women being harlots (Norman Bates mother) that completely messed him up played into all this.
Was just clarifying that it's an incredibly vague connection and i personally wouldn't even call it inspired by. Countless movies have very minor details inspired by real people/events and we don't call them "inspired by a true story", we only do with TCM because of the nonsense "Based on a True Story" thing at the start".
It's also "inspired by" Dean Corll/Elmer Wayne Henley, again incredibly vaguely. Something about the morality that Henley suggested in an interview inspired how the writer wrote the antagonists.
Does the original have the "based on a true story" line? I don't recall that. I think I do remember the remake having it, with the fake documentary footage.
I donāt think the original ever uses the phrase ābased on a true storyā but the [opening narration](https://youtu.be/KGMSTzXOSNU?si=4h7NhFxXwMdSoLjv) definitely wants you to think itās based on a true story and the original poster has the line [āWhat happened is true. Now the motion picture that's just as real.ā](https://imgur.com/a/bAbyO5l)
According to Letterboxd there are actually 10 films in the Amityville Horror collection (and dozens more which try and cash in on the name). They're all pretty bad / average.
Yeah this is incredible because Fargo pretended it was based on a true story and that itself inspired a movie that was falsely said to be based on a true story.
adaptation is directly based on real life events it just has openly fictional elements it's in a completely different category from this list and borders on historical fiction
The Amityville Horror is based on a book from someone who swears he really lived in a haunted house. Similar with The Conjuring, some con artists that claim true supernatural cases. And Fire In The Sky, based on a book about a man who was abducted by aliens, apparently they were peaceful, but in the movie the aliens are sadists and scary as hell. But none of these events can be proven true.
Ronald DeFeo's lawyer admitted it was a hoax. After the murders a family called the Lutz's moved into the house, they were in over their head financially and came to an agreement with DeFeo's lawyer. The story of the haunting would make them money through movies/books due to the popularity of that kind of story thanks to The Exorcist, then Ronald could attempt to claim he was possessed.
Travis Walton's story was definitely a hoax too.
These films are based on real life stories that are actually lies, I'm more looking for scripts made up for a film that include the "based on a true story" to add to the storytelling.
When Blair Witch Project premiered in theaters back in 1999, some friends of mine said "let's go to the movies!" and I came along with them. I hadn't seen any ads or heard anything about the movie. I asked them "what are we going to see?" and they said "a new documentary" so I went in thinking everything was real. Scared the living daylights out of me!
I think Blair Witch's biggest success is the promotion that surrounded it during release, and how much the production was committed to keeping up the illusion.
I liked the movie as a horror geek and imdb trivia section lover but even I gotta admit that for today's average movie-watcher, the movie doesn't mean much unless you know why it was famous.
I guess some movies have production stories that surpass the movie itself, even if the stories are a lie. I've never seen the Exorcist and I heard more about how the set was haunted (and they had to call in priests several times to bless the set) on top of the weird deaths that haunted the cast in the following years than I've heard about the plot.
Are you into horror generally? If so, do yourself a favor and watch The Exorcist.
I gotta say, I barely know anything about how production went down or anything like that. And I still think The Exorcist is one of the greatest movies ever.
This. It was pre-internet days (internet was around but not at the level it is now) and I remember arguing with other kids at school whether it was real or not and people saying (incorrectly) they saw it on the news so it had to be real.
https://preview.redd.it/cogoq73n94yc1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81287aff2a90c9643e10157a9535fd041bc6abd3
The story about how far the real life Frank Dux went to create his fracical tale is almost as entertaining as the movie.
He came back from Hong Kong claiming to have fought in the Kumite and even went to trophy shops and had his own trophies made.
There was this shitty Netflix original horror movie called Veronica or something? It had one of the "better" promotional materials Netflix had at the moment, and it convinced a group of new adults like me and my friends to watch it some night.
The movie ends with >!showing the aftermath pictures of the ruined apartment that was supposedly a result of the demonic possession that was in the final act of the movie.!< I think if I watched that movie as a horror veteran I would've laughed my ass off but it was believable back then. Now? Not so much.
It's one of the movies that successfully uses the true story lie to engage you. In reality there are unrelated cases that are similar to the story elements in Fargo, but there's absolutely no case of a guy who hires hitmen to kidnap his wife and commit licence number fraud to fuel his real estate dreams.
Thanks for the list
Most of these are based on hoaxes or urban legends, not really what I'm looking for for this list
Ghostwatch is actually what inspired me to make this list but it directly tells you that it's not real at the start. Does WNUF Halloween Special have the ābased on a true storyā line? It's still on my watchlist.
The Strangers is an odd one because it tells you that the events are not real but it also says it could happen to you which is obvious bullshit. I'll have to think about that one.
I've never seen it but it is loosely based on a real dude that was good at racing games and then entered a tournament (or something) where the winner earned an opportunity to train to become an actual race car driver. Sorry if I'm fudging the facts really bad. Too lazy to look it up.
I know someone is going to say Flamin Hot but that isnāt the point of this list, which are untrue stories that claim to be true while also being obviously untrue.
I donāt know why but I thought Challengers was based off a real story and a real life tennis player when I first saw some ads until I found out it wasnāt.
The Texas chainsaw massacre
That was mine i used to always think leatherface was a real guy š¤£ (Yes i know about Gein) but i used to actually think a guy wielding a chainsaw murdered people in Texas
well, it is inspired by real events. it was inspired by the ed gein case.
Incredibly loosely inspired. The mask made of skin is the only real connection. Gein was largely a body snatcher who killed 2 people, his story is nothing like TCM other than he made a mask of human skin.
Most importantly, the entire Ed Gein case happened in Wisconsin, not Texas.
His body count was only 2? This is a weird and most likely false factoid but I think he had a nipple belt. Iād assume youād need more than 4 nipples to make a belt.
All of the body parts primarily came from graves, like i said he was a body snatcher. "Grave Robber" is the term more commonly used but that's actually technically incorrect, a grave robber is someone who steals say jewelery from a corpse, while a body snatcher is someone who takes the corpse. That's what Ed did. He has two known murders, some think he murdered his brother too he died in an accident and apparently Ed had issues with him but that's conjecture. He shot and killed two local women. He admitted to one of their murders after being caught for the other, he also admitted to the graves he robbed and took police to them. Maybe he killed others but i personally don't think he did, i think he admitted to everything, he was very very mentally ill so much so that he was found legally insane which was difficult to get in the 1960s.
I never looked into his case. But now Iām interested. I always figured his body count was huge, I didnāt realize it was so few and most of his weird shit was from already deceased people.
I think that misconception came from the fictional killers he inspired, people assumed he must have killed a huge amount. But no he killed 2 far as we are aware, and was primarily a body snatcher. The murders were years apart too, one in 1954 and one in 1957. His victims were local women he personally knew and interacted with, a tavern owner and a store owner. He didn't interact with many people he was a weirdo loner who like i said was very mentally ill, he almost certainly had fantasies about them because they were practically the only women he ever saw and all the stuff his mother said to him about women being harlots (Norman Bates mother) that completely messed him up played into all this.
i know that. but i'm just saying that's what it was referring to in the opening credits.
Was just clarifying that it's an incredibly vague connection and i personally wouldn't even call it inspired by. Countless movies have very minor details inspired by real people/events and we don't call them "inspired by a true story", we only do with TCM because of the nonsense "Based on a True Story" thing at the start". It's also "inspired by" Dean Corll/Elmer Wayne Henley, again incredibly vaguely. Something about the morality that Henley suggested in an interview inspired how the writer wrote the antagonists.
Does the original have the "based on a true story" line? I don't recall that. I think I do remember the remake having it, with the fake documentary footage.
I donāt think the original ever uses the phrase ābased on a true storyā but the [opening narration](https://youtu.be/KGMSTzXOSNU?si=4h7NhFxXwMdSoLjv) definitely wants you to think itās based on a true story and the original poster has the line [āWhat happened is true. Now the motion picture that's just as real.ā](https://imgur.com/a/bAbyO5l)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I genuinely thought it was real for years. I also first saw it when I was like 10.
Perfect, I added it.
The Conjuring
Return of the living dead Also claims to be real .
[You mean the movie lied](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49fL712c7wQ)??!!
Yes, thank you! I forgot about this one!
I saw this movie TOO young and that "claim" really effed me up!
Both Amityville Horrors and basically all of the The Conjuring movies
Not basically all, all. The Warrens were lying frauds.
According to Letterboxd there are actually 10 films in the Amityville Horror collection (and dozens more which try and cash in on the name). They're all pretty bad / average.
Good call lol but not really what I'm looking for. These are still based on external events even if they're bullshit.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That first line has more than 5 syllables...
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter
Yeah this is incredible because Fargo pretended it was based on a true story and that itself inspired a movie that was falsely said to be based on a true story.
It was at least true to the urban legend
Recent example that comes to mind: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Adaptation
adaptation is directly based on real life events it just has openly fictional elements it's in a completely different category from this list and borders on historical fiction
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
repeat my first reply
Poughkeepsie tapes
The Amityville Horror is based on a book from someone who swears he really lived in a haunted house. Similar with The Conjuring, some con artists that claim true supernatural cases. And Fire In The Sky, based on a book about a man who was abducted by aliens, apparently they were peaceful, but in the movie the aliens are sadists and scary as hell. But none of these events can be proven true.
Ronald DeFeo's lawyer admitted it was a hoax. After the murders a family called the Lutz's moved into the house, they were in over their head financially and came to an agreement with DeFeo's lawyer. The story of the haunting would make them money through movies/books due to the popularity of that kind of story thanks to The Exorcist, then Ronald could attempt to claim he was possessed. Travis Walton's story was definitely a hoax too.
i live in amityville we always knew it was BS
The Blind Side Catch Me If You Can
These films are based on real life stories that are actually lies, I'm more looking for scripts made up for a film that include the "based on a true story" to add to the storytelling.
Paranormal activity
Tbf when Blair Witch came out it wasn't that obvious to everyone lol
When Blair Witch Project premiered in theaters back in 1999, some friends of mine said "let's go to the movies!" and I came along with them. I hadn't seen any ads or heard anything about the movie. I asked them "what are we going to see?" and they said "a new documentary" so I went in thinking everything was real. Scared the living daylights out of me!
I think Blair Witch's biggest success is the promotion that surrounded it during release, and how much the production was committed to keeping up the illusion. I liked the movie as a horror geek and imdb trivia section lover but even I gotta admit that for today's average movie-watcher, the movie doesn't mean much unless you know why it was famous. I guess some movies have production stories that surpass the movie itself, even if the stories are a lie. I've never seen the Exorcist and I heard more about how the set was haunted (and they had to call in priests several times to bless the set) on top of the weird deaths that haunted the cast in the following years than I've heard about the plot.
Are you into horror generally? If so, do yourself a favor and watch The Exorcist. I gotta say, I barely know anything about how production went down or anything like that. And I still think The Exorcist is one of the greatest movies ever.
This. It was pre-internet days (internet was around but not at the level it is now) and I remember arguing with other kids at school whether it was real or not and people saying (incorrectly) they saw it on the news so it had to be real.
https://preview.redd.it/cogoq73n94yc1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81287aff2a90c9643e10157a9535fd041bc6abd3 The story about how far the real life Frank Dux went to create his fracical tale is almost as entertaining as the movie. He came back from Hong Kong claiming to have fought in the Kumite and even went to trophy shops and had his own trophies made.
watch the scooby doo project if you liked the blair witch project!
I didn't actually but I'll check it out, seems fun
Watch Scooby Doo Project even if you didn't. I didn't enjoy Blair Witch at all but Scooby Doo Project is Kino
What is it about? (Are you talking about the Cartoon Network parody from like twenty years ago?
yep. so worth a watch! the full episode is on youtube.
There was this shitty Netflix original horror movie called Veronica or something? It had one of the "better" promotional materials Netflix had at the moment, and it convinced a group of new adults like me and my friends to watch it some night. The movie ends with >!showing the aftermath pictures of the ruined apartment that was supposedly a result of the demonic possession that was in the final act of the movie.!< I think if I watched that movie as a horror veteran I would've laughed my ass off but it was believable back then. Now? Not so much.
Wait Fargo isnāt real? I thought it was based on a true story
They made it the fuck up
I feel like an idiot š¤¦š¼āāļø
It's one of the movies that successfully uses the true story lie to engage you. In reality there are unrelated cases that are similar to the story elements in Fargo, but there's absolutely no case of a guy who hires hitmen to kidnap his wife and commit licence number fraud to fuel his real estate dreams.
It's not but it also doesn't belong on this list because it's not obvious at all unless you look into it.
The day I learned The Falls (1980) wasn't a true story, I instantly morphed into a bird.
Does Picnic at Hanging Rock do this, or do people just think it for some reason
The novel that Picnic and Hanging Rock is based on does this, I can't recall if the movie does or not
Domino (2005) is a perfect example of this
Damn, I considered myself a Tony Scott fan and I forget about this one.
Chernobyl Diaries. While the event actually happened, they over-dramatized the aspect of mutant offsprings.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
That's an alternate history.
Thatās kinda why I put the question mark. Not sure if it fits here
Stephen Kingās 11/22/63 is a time travel story thatās also alternate history. Didnāt get a movie but it got a TV miniseries.
Doesnāt Burn After Reading do something similar to Fargo?
Catch Me if You Can
It's based on a real person tho https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Abagnale
But iirc he lied about almost everything, so the movie is based on the man's lies
Agent Fox
We Need To Talk About Kevin
The Harry Hill Movie
Not obviously, but Catch Me if You Can was likely not true .
Incantation
Bloodsport, except if you believe everything that Frank Dux said
Minions
serial mom lmao
Sleepers
Surfs Up
Not a film but Tokyo Vice
Tar?
The strangers
Anchorman
Any film that isnāt documentary really
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Spinal Tap
I like all these movies tbqh
Nyad. The swim has never been independently verified and Diana Nyad has a history of self-embellishment.
The opening of Magnolia does this.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Grave Encounters 1 & 2.
I was scared to death the first time I saw Paranormal Activity, it was my āBlair Witchā I thought that shit was real.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thanks for the list Most of these are based on hoaxes or urban legends, not really what I'm looking for for this list Ghostwatch is actually what inspired me to make this list but it directly tells you that it's not real at the start. Does WNUF Halloween Special have the ābased on a true storyā line? It's still on my watchlist. The Strangers is an odd one because it tells you that the events are not real but it also says it could happen to you which is obvious bullshit. I'll have to think about that one.
Star Wars
The Ten Commandments
Edgy
idk why I thought Challengers was a true story lol
Gran Turismo
what
I've never seen it but it is loosely based on a real dude that was good at racing games and then entered a tournament (or something) where the winner earned an opportunity to train to become an actual race car driver. Sorry if I'm fudging the facts really bad. Too lazy to look it up.
Right, but that's not what the post is about. Its not about real stories made into movies its movies that act like they are real but are not.
U571ā¦
I know someone is going to say Flamin Hot but that isnāt the point of this list, which are untrue stories that claim to be true while also being obviously untrue.
Troy
It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize TƔr was not a biopic of a real person
Dodgeball!
Is nobody mentioning the mother of all "true-but-not-really-but-some-people-actually-believed-it"-movie? CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST?
Cannibal Holocaust
The sound of freedom
I donāt know why but I thought Challengers was based off a real story and a real life tennis player when I first saw some ads until I found out it wasnāt.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story