H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer is a 2004 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. [1] The film relates the true life story of American serial killer H. H. Holmes. [2] Produced over a four-year period, the film highlights locations such as Holmes' childhood home in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, and the courtroom in Philadelphia where the "trial of the century" was held.
The film focuses on Dr. Holmes' entire life (1861–1896). [3] It consists of reenactments, expert interviews, and period photography. [4] The film is narrated by Tony Jay. [5]
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two.
Barry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City (1996–2002). Bostwick has also had considerable success in musical theater, winning a Tony Award for his role in The Robber Bridegroom.
Willard Tobe Hooper was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time.
Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes, was an American con artist and serial killer, the subject of more than 50 lawsuits in Chicago alone.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a 1986 American psychological horror crime film directed and co-written by John McNaughton about the random crime spree of a serial killer who seemingly operates with impunity. It stars Michael Rooker in his debut as the nomadic killer Henry, Tom Towles as Otis, a prison buddy with whom Henry is living, and Tracy Arnold as Becky, Otis's sister. The characters of Henry and Otis are loosely based on convicted real life serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole.
John McNaughton is an American film and television director, originally from Chicago, Illinois, whose works encompass the horror, thriller, drama and comedy film genres. His films include Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), The Borrower (1991), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), Normal Life (1996), Wild Things (1998), Speaking of Sex (2001) and The Harvest (2013).
Ju-On: The Grudge is a 2002 Japanese horror film written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. It is the third installment in the Ju-On series and the first to be released theatrically. It stars Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Takashi Matsuyama, and Yui Ichikawa.
Daniel Sallis Huston is an American actor, director and writer. In 1989, Huston directed Mr. North, which starred his half-sister, Anjelica Huston. Huston was nominated for Best Male Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2003 for his performance in the independent film Ivans Xtc.
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, California. In 2015, the festival celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and has been credited as being the largest and longest running horror film festival in the United States. The 2016 Screamfest was from October 18 through the 27.
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 historical non-fiction book by Erik Larson presented in a novelistic style. It tells the story of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago from the viewpoint of the designers, including Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted, and also tells the story of H. H. Holmes, a criminal figure in that same time often credited as the first modern serial killer.
The Last Horror Movie is a 2003 British found footage horror film directed by Julian Richards. On 24 August 2003 it premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival and stars Kevin Howarth and Mark Stevenson. The Last Horror Movie was released onto DVD through Fangoria's Gore Zone label on 7 December 2004.
Albert Fish is a 2007 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. The film relates the life story of American serial killer and cannibal Albert Fish. In addition to interviews, period footage and photographs, the film also recreates many of Fish's crimes in numerous reenactment scenes. The film is also Tony Jay's final work, having died seven months prior to its release.
Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance is a documentary film by John Borowski about the life and death of serial killer Carl Panzram. It is Borowski's third film.
John Borowski is an American independent filmmaker and author. The focus of his work has been on late nineteenth and early twentieth century serial killers, initially in a trilogy of documentaries on American criminals, more recently on particular international criminals, on the commerce that has grown up around such crimes, and on other niche artists.
Needle is a 2010 Australian independent supernatural horror film starring Michael Dorman, Jessica Marais, Travis Fimmel, Trilby Glover, and Ben Mendelsohn, and directed by John V. Soto. Needle is structured as a murder mystery, with six distinct clues pointing to one of ten suspects; the trailer is intentionally misleading.
August Underground is a 2001 American exploitation horror film directed by Fred Vogel, and written by Vogel and Allen Peters. The film stars Vogel as a serial killer named Peter, who kidnaps and kills several innocent people, while his unnamed accomplice, played by Peters, films and documents the murders.
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files is an independent documentary film about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer during the summer of his arrest. The film was directed by Chris James Thompson and stars Andrew Swant as Dahmer in fictionalized re-enactment segments which are interwoven with interviews of the medical examiner assigned to the case, the lead detective, and Dahmer's next door neighbor.
Russell "Russ" Emanuel is an American director, producer, and independent filmmaker, having directed such actors as John Heard, Tarah Paige, Robert Picardo, Vincent Pastore, Glynnis O'Connor, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, William Devane, Dan Grimaldi, Vinny Vella, Michelle Lee (actress), Larry Pine, Marina Sirtis, Sean Kenney (actor), Heather McComb, Armin Shimerman, Rico E. Anderson, Eileen Dietz, Kelli Maroney, Gary Graham, Laurene Landon, and Olivia d'Abo.
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film is a 2009 American documentary film directed by Andrew Monument, based on the 2004 book of the same name by Joseph Maddrey. The film examines the appeal of the horror film genre to audiences and how the genre has continually evolved to reflect changing societal fears in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Michael Mongillo is an American feature film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the 2007 mockumentary Being Michael Madsen, the 2017 supernatural mystery Diane, and the 2021 sci-fi thriller The Changed.