Does anyone remember that time in the late 2000s when so many scary movies were based on a true story? Imagine going to a theater to see something new, and after a few trailers, there would be one dark and ominous foretelling of a tale of bloodshed at the hands of some savage thing. And then halfway through, it would say, ‘Based on a True Story.’ The only thing wrong is that, based on what you saw in that trailer, it was so clearly not based on anything real. The usual cop-out for this was another tagline, ‘Inspired by True Events.’
Something horror fans have undoubtedly noticed is that for decades the movies they saw came in waves that followed whatever trend brought in the most money. For most of the 2000s, it was remakes, then the so-called, ‘True Stories, then hauntings, etc. The biographical ones were the most sinful.
Nine out of 10 times, they had absolutely nothing to do with historical events. Even if they did, Hollywood peeled away as much authenticity as possible because reality is never as entertaining as fiction. The following movies on this list claimed to be based on fact but couldn’t be any further from reality. Here are 11 horror films that lied about being based on a true story.
11 The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
With the eldest son, Peter, battling cancer, the Campbell family relocated to a Victorian house in Connecticut to be closer to his hospital. Their new home appears to be the fresh start they need, but it comes with a dark past. Many years prior, it was a funeral home whose walls saw many sinister crimes.
The owner’s son was also a clairvoyant who could speak with the dead and allowed demonic entities to cross over. Soon after moving in, Peter starts experiencing supernatural disturbances that only make his problems worse. If the Campbells want to save Peter’s soul, they’ll have to get to the truth of what happened to the previous owners.
Always Stick to Your Story
The Haunting in Connecticut is said to be based on the real haunting of the Snedeker family, as recorded by Ray Garton in his book In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting. Books like this are a diamond dozen, and most tend to be unbelievable. Garton’s book was just that because the man himself disputed the accuracy of his work.
He didn’t need to do that for us to know the events of the movie and book were fake, though, because infamous ghostbusters, The Warrens, were the investigators who handled the Snedeker’s case. Movie fans can believe whatever they want about the famous couple from The Conjuring films, but the pair’s reputation as crooks was a lot more believable in real life, for good reason. Stream The Haunting in Connecticut on Netflix.
10 The Devil Inside (2012)
In the year 1989, Maria Rossi kills three clergymen attempting to purify her soul during an exorcism. Two decades later, she is locked away for her crimes and still very much possessed. Her daughter, Isabella, travels to Italy with two unconventional priests to film a documentary on her mother and to try and exorcise the entity once and for all. The task will soon prove to be more than they bargained for because they didn’t know it could transfer to other hosts. With this revelation, no one is safe.
A Documented Farce
The Devil Inside was written based on an article about the Vatican opening a school for exorcism, something that may have later inspired the 2022 film Prey for the Devil. Utilizing the found footage style, another popular horror trend, this film used the true story angle in marketing and the style to make it appear real. It becomes obvious to the contrary with the use of special effects and the quirk of body transfer.
They may as well not even use the tagline if they were going to use such nonsense. But the worst part in pushing the lie comes at the end of the film when the events that transpired are said to still be under investigation, with the common ending text including a website for more info. The site only led to more promotional material for the movie. Rent The Devil Inside on AppleTV.
9 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Sally Hardesty and her friends are on their way to her grandfather’s grave to make sure it isn’t desecrated when they pick up a hitchhiker. It’s 1974, and the height of the era of love, but their choice proves to be the wrong one when the stranger starts waving a knife around, forcing the passengers to eject him.
But the horror doesn’t end there, because soon they are forced to stop for gas and find their way to a decrepit house. Unfortunately, it’s the home of the Sawyer family, and they have very peculiar tastes. With their butcher Leatherface on the hunt, the friends will be lucky if they can make it out alive.
Stranger Than Reality
One of the earliest films to be “Based on a True Story,” The Texas Chain Saw Massacre benefits from the fictional Sawyer family, a clan of cannibals in rural Texas who dine on any unsuspecting travelers who wander their way. The family didn’t exist, of course. Like many horror films, the events that transpired were inspired by the crimes of Ed Gein, a man notorious for making furniture and clothing from human skin, much like Leatherface.
One thing he didn’t do, though, was kill his victims with a chainsaw. That was a creative decision made for the film that will forever live in infamy. Stream The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Shudder and for free on Tubi.
8 Wolf Creek (2005)
Wolf Creek
- Release Date
- September 16, 2005
- Cast
- John Jarratt , Cassandra Magrath , Kestie Morassi , Nathan Phillips , Gordon Poole , Guy O’Donnell
- Runtime
- 99
While on vacation, Ben Mitchell and his two friends travel through the Australian Outback in a beat-up old car looking to see the sights, but their trip is soon derailed when the vehicle breaks down. Their luck changes with the arrival of Mick Taylor, a gruff native who offers the trio a ride.
He seems friendly enough, but they soon find out the hard way that they should never trust strangers from foreign countries when they wake up as his prisoners. With nowhere to turn in a place they know nothing about, it’ll take everything they have to survive in this cat-and-mouse game where they are severely outmatched.
The Truth x 3
Now, there are bits and pieces of the truth. Mick Taylor is not just based on a real-life killer, but a combination of several mixed with Steve Irwin. Wolf Creek is also based on real killings as well. The first was a series of killings committed by Ivan Milat in New South Wales known as the backpacker murders.
The second was the murder of Peter Falconio at the hands of Bradley Murdoch. It doesn’t count as a true story when mixing different variations of truth, so not many viewers bought the tagline, and even fewer bought tickets to the movie. But it all’s well that ends well because now the film is a cult classic with a sequel and a short-lived series to its legacy. Stream Wolf Creek for free on Tubi.
7 Hostel (2005)
Hostel
- Release Date
- January 6, 2006
- Cast
- Jay Hernandez , Derek Richardson , Eythor Gudjonsson , Barbara Nedeljakova , Jan Vlasák , Jana Kaderabkova
- Runtime
- 95
Here’s another example of a movie with just nuggets of the truth, as well as another prime example of why you should never go too deep on vacation in a foreign country. Paxton and his friends travel to Europe for dirty escapades and find themselves in the company of two attractive young women when they stay at a local hostel.
They find what they are looking for, but the costs prove higher than they are willing to pay when each of Paxton’s friends starts to disappear. What they didn’t know when they checked into the hostel was that they were immediately flagged as cattle for torture and murder by a group that deals in such for exorbitant money.
Sometimes Fiction is Safer
Before it was one of the most famous horror movies ever made, Hostel was originally going to be a documentary about a website where one could pay $10,000 to go to Thailand and shoot someone in the head. Director Eli Roth learned of this site through a friend and got as far as the section requiring his credit card information but decided not to proceed out of fear of putting himself in real danger. With that, the documentary was scrapped, but in its place came one of the most disturbing films in cinema. Stream Hostel for free on Plex and PlutoTV.
6 The Strangers (2008)
After attending the wedding of his brother, James and his girlfriend Kristen stay at his family home for what he hoped would be a romantic night, but that quickly fizzles after she rejects his marriage proposal. However, that’s not even the worst thing that happened that night. Looking to talk things out and resolve their issues, things go from bad to worse with the arrival of masked figures looking to cause harm.
The couple has no idea who they are or why they are there. But they have no intention of letting the two leave alive. No one will ever know what happened on this night, but we, the viewers, see it all.
Late Night Inspiration
The Strangers is credited as the chilling ‘true story’ that popularized the home-invasion subgenre. The tagline was plastered over all the promotional material, and many believed what transpired in the film happened in real life. Fortunately, the events were only a work of fiction from director Bryan Bertino, inspired by another worrisome occurrence from his childhood.
While living in a secluded house, the younger director was home alone with his siblings when in the middle of the night a group of people knocked on the door asking for someone. They moved on when told that said person did not live there, but it was later learned that they were going door to door in the area to see which houses were empty before burglarizing them. It may not have been a good idea to answer the door, but what could have happened otherwise could have formed the basis for an even darker film. Stream The Strangers on Shudder.
5 The Wicker Man (1973)
The Wicker Man
- Release Date
- December 6, 1973
- Cast
- Edward Woodward , Christopher Lee , Diane Cilento , Britt Ekland , Ingrid Pitt
- Runtime
- 88 Minutes
Devout Cristian Seargent Neil Howie is dispatched to a Pagan Island to investigate the disappearance of a teen girl when he arrives just in time for the people’s May Day festival. To his dismay, he discovers their religious practices and quickly finds himself shunning them for their practices. This also doesn’t help with his search as they prove to be uncooperative and odd.
But the longer Howie stays on the island, the more he learns of their customs and begins to suspect that not only is the missing girl possibly still alive, but she may be in store for a horrible fate. But the very same fate could be awaiting him as well.
Falsifying and Entire Island
One of the earliest culprits of fabricating the truth, The Wicker Man opens with the caption, “The producer would like to thank The Lord Summerisle and the people of his island off the west coast of Scotland for this privileged insight into their religious practices and for their generous co-operation in the making of this film.”
It’s the perfect setup to make the audience believe they are about to see something horrific, but the island on which the movie is set does not exist. However, the titular Wicker Man does have a basis in truth. During the Gallic War, Julius Caesar described in detail the Gallic people’s practice of locking human beings into a giant being of wood to be set to flame as an appeasement for the gods, but even this claim has been challenged for centuries.Rent The Wicker Man on AppleTV.
4 Paranormal Activity (2007)
Arguably the biggest found footage movie ever, Paranormal Activity follows a couple documenting a series of strange occurrences in their home that progressively become more dangerous. Katie Fetherston has been living with a presence attached to her for her entire life, and recently, it has taken to making itself more known. As she and her boyfriend Micha attempt to capture it on video, its influence over her continues to grow to the point of putting her life at risk. However, this is only the beginning of a much larger story.
A ‘True Story’ That Spread Like Wildfire
Made on a shoestring budget, the first film in what would become a hit franchise was marketed as a true story, utilizing unknown actors and their real names to add to the allusion of the found footage concept to give it the image of realness. It felt real too, which is why word of the film spread from the ground up before making its way to theaters for a wide release.
There was no doubt that this was fiction. After all, there never is. But the story was so simple and the scares so well executed that fans had an easy time immersing themselves into the illusion. Whatever the rest of the series became, this first installment is a classic for a reason and is one fans will go back to for decades to come. Stream Paranormal Activity on Max.
3 The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Last House on the Left
- Release Date
- August 30, 1972
- Cast
- Sandra Peabody , Lucy Grantham , David Hess , Fred J. Lincoln , Jeramie Rain , Marc Sheffler
- Runtime
- 84
Teen girls Mari and Phyllis travel to see a rock concert but take a detour in search of cannabis. Led by a man named Junior back to his apartment, they are apprehended by the young addict’s father and company and taken into the woods to be brutally assaulted and humiliated.
Left for dead, Mari manages to make it back home to her parents, but in a cruel twist of fate, the couple takes in the gang when their car breaks down not long before Mari arrives. It’s a cruel twist of fate that the violence continues, but for the angry and wrathful parents, it’s a path to vengeance for their beloved daughter.
Not-So-True but Based in Reality
Wes Craven made The Last House on the Left, claiming it to be based on a true story, and in the ’70s, most people would believe anything. The film was extremely alarming and caused walkouts across the country. The promotional material even warned us as much and advised that no one under the age of 30 should see it.
In Cravens’s defense, he may not have known that the movie wasn’t based on true events because he based it on the Ingmar Bergman film The Virgin Spring, which was itself inspired by an old folk ballad. True or not, the movie still resonates because it depicts violent crimes towards women all too common today, making this harrowing tale all the more important. Stream The Last House on the Left on Prime Video or for free on Tubi.
2 Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Cannibal Holocaust
- Release Date
- June 21, 1985
- Director
- Ruggero Deodato
- Runtime
- 1hr 35min
- Cast
- Robert Kerman , Francesca Ciardi , Perry Pirkanen , Luca Barbareschi
In 1979, a film crew traveled to the Green Inferno to document the indigenous cannibalistic tribe of the Amazon Rainforest. They never returned. Six months later, a new film crew travels to the same destination to learn what happened to them. It doesn’t take long for them to find evidence of their grisly fate. A struggle soon breaks out to recover the footage they shot before their demise, all of which was captured on their final reels. But should the world see what happened?
An Infamous Marketing Ploy
Cannibal Holocaust is arguably the most important found footage film ever made because it put the genre on the map, particularly with its extreme marketing strategy. To sell the found footage aspect, the actors were encouraged to go all in on their roles by signing contracts forbidding them to appear in a public or promotional capacity for one year to make viewers believe they had actually died.
It worked because, before long, everyone was talking about this highly controversial movie that supposedly documented real-life murder and cannibalism. It backfired on director Ruggero Deodato, though, because he was charged with murder not long after the film’s release. The actor ultimately broke their contracts and came out of hiding to clear his name. Cannibal Holocaust now lives in infamy, but it’s weird to think that it almost cost someone their life. Stream Cannibal Holocaust on Peacock and Kanopy.
1 The Blair Witch Project (1999)
A group of documentarians travels into the gloomy Black Hills Forest of Burkittsville to film a movie about a local legend. It should have been a simple assignment. It should be a fun camping trip in the woods if nothing else. That changes when they find themselves going in circles for hours, unable to find their way out. It doesn’t help that they lose their map.
It certainly doesn’t help that they’re finding strange objects near their camp when they wake up. And it also doesn’t help that they are slowly turning on each other and hearing noises in the dead of night. It most definitely doesn’t help when one of them goes missing. Some legends are just that, legends, and perhaps they should stay that way.
Marketing That Destroyed Lives
The Blair Witch Project is without a doubt the most famous found footage film of all time, and like Cannibal Holocaust, went to great lengths to push its claim of being a true story. It made missing posters for the cast, listed them as dead on websites and newspapers, and made plenty of other news material to push the notion.
They pushed it so hard that the actors were believed to have died, derailing their careers significantly and ending one of theirs entirely. The only part of the film based on anything truthful was the Blair Witch myth, which was inspired by the famous Bell Witch that inspired many other movies. Movies these days don’t try so hard to sell themselves, especially when it can ruin actors’ lives in such a negative way. However, without such extremes, it’s debatable that this movie never would have become as legendary as it is today. Stream The Blair Witch Project on Mubi.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
