A Glean movie guide
True Crime: The Best Films Based on Real Events
Real stories. Real stakes.
From cold cases to cartel kings, these dramatizations bring infamous crimes to life.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Zodiac
A meticulous and haunting obsession with the hunt for an unidentified serial killer.
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the answers, an amateur cartoonist from the initial sightings races against time to prevent what he believes is another murder.
- 02
Memories of Murder
A masterfully atmospheric procedural following detectives struggling with South Korea’s first serial murders.
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.
- 03
Spotlight
A gripping, grounded look at the journalists who exposed a massive institutional cover-up.
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
- 04
Goodfellas
The definitive mob epic detailing the rise and fall of a real-life Lucchese family associate.
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
- 05
Killers of the Flower Moon
A sprawling, tragic account of the systematic murders of the Osage Nation in the 1920s.
When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.
- 06
Monster
Charlize Theron delivers a transformative performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos.
In 1989, prostitute Aileen Wuornos befriends and enters a relationship with a young woman named Selby. Determined to straighten out her life, Aileen's limited education lands her back on the corner. She's raped by a trick, who she kills. A string of murder and robbery follows that ultimately leads Aileen to becoming America's first female serial killer.
- 07
Dog Day Afternoon
A frantic, high-stakes hostage situation based on a real-life Brooklyn bank heist gone wrong.
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
- 08
Judas and the Black Messiah
A tense and tragic exploration of the FBI’s infiltration of the Black Panther Party.
Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers on the orders of FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends—falling for a fellow revolutionary en route—a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.
- 09
Capote
A fascinating look at Truman Capote’s psychological journey while researching the Clutter family murders.
A biopic of writer Truman Capote and his assignment for The New Yorker to write the non-fiction book "In Cold Blood".
- 10
All the President's Men
The quintessential investigative thriller about the reporters who brought down a presidency.
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
- 11
I, Tonya
A sharp, darkly comedic perspective on the infamous 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan.
Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the sport is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
- 12
Snowtown
A brutal and unflinching depiction of Australia’s most notorious serial killer.
Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.