The evil clown, also known as the killer clown, is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by the DC Comics supervillain Joker starting in 1940, and again by Pennywise in Stephen King's It. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by sufferers of coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
Eyeball is a 1975 Italian giallo slasher film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi.
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools such as knives, chainsaws, scalpels, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Rampage is a 1987 American crime drama film written, produced and directed by William Friedkin. The film stars Michael Biehn, Alex McArthur, and Nicholas Campbell. Friedkin wrote the script based on the novel of the same name by William P. Wood, which was inspired by the life of Richard Chase.
Split Second is a 1992 science fiction action horror film directed by Tony Maylam and Ian Sharp, and written by Gary Scott Thompson. A co-production between the United States and the United Kingdom, the film stars Rutger Hauer as a burnt-out police detective obsessively hunting down the mysterious serial killer who killed his partner several years prior. The film also features Kim Cattrall, Alastair Neil Duncan, Pete Postlethwaite, Ian Dury, and Alun Armstrong.
Copycat is a 1995 American psychological thriller film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, and Dermot Mulroney. The score was composed by Christopher Young. The film follows a criminal psychologist and a homicide detective who must work together to find a serial killer who is committing copycat crimes modeled after notorious murderers.
Donald Sumpter is an English actor who has appeared in film and television since the mid-1960s. His credits include Doctor Who episode The Wheel in Space (1968), The Black Panther (1977), Bleak House (1985), The Queen's Nose (1995-1998), Great Expectations (1999), Nicholas Nickleby (2001), Enigma (2001), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), The Constant Gardener (2005), Being Human (2009-2010), Ultramarines: The Movie (2010), Black Mirror (2011), Game of Thrones (2011-2012), Endeavour (2018), Les Misérables (2018), and Chernobyl (2019).
Robert William Pickton, also known as the Pig Farmer Killer or the Butcher, is a Canadian serial killer, serial rapist, former pig farmer and possible cannibal who is suspected of being one of the most prolific serial killers in Canadian history. After dropping out of school, Pickton left a butcher's apprenticeship to begin working full-time at his family's pig farm. He is believed to have begun his murders in the early 1990s after inheriting the farm. Arrested in 2002, he was convicted in 2007 of the second-degree murders of six women and was also the subject of a lengthy investigation that yielded evidence of numerous other murders.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a 2007 American pseudo-documentary horror film written, directed, edited, and co-developed by John Erick Dowdle. It is about the murders of a serial killer in Poughkeepsie, New York, told through interviews and footage from a cache of the killer's snuff films.
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California from at least the late 1960s to the early 1970s. His identity remains unknown. His crimes, letters and cryptograms to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels, television and more.
Child's Play is an American slasher media franchise created by Don Mancini. The films mainly focus on Chucky, a notorious serial killer who frequently escapes death by performing a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into a "Good Guy" doll. The original film, Child's Play, was released on November 9, 1988. The film has spawned six sequels, a television series, a remake, comic books, a video game, and tie-in merchandise. The first, second, and fourth films were box office successes with all of the films earning over $182 million worldwide. Including revenues from sales of videos, DVDs, VOD and merchandise, the franchise has generated over $250 million. It also won a Saturn Award for Best Horror Franchise.
Green River Killer is a 2005 American crime film by Ulli Lommel starring George Kiseleff, Jaquelyn Aurora, Georgina Donovan, Shannon Leade, Naidra Dawn Thomson, and Shawn G. Smith. It is based upon the crimes of serial killer Gary Ridgway.
New York Confidential is a 1955 film noir crime film directed by Russell Rouse starring Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft and J. Carrol Naish. Produced by Edward Small for release by Warner Bros., the film was inspired by the 1948 book New York: Confidential! by Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer.
Long Pigs is a 2007 comedy-horror mockumentary film about two documentary filmmakers who follow a serial killer who has a taste for cooking with human flesh. The story is conveyed via found footage. Acting and special effects were provided by Chris Bridges, whose other credits include Saw III, 300, and the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
Bride of Chucky is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the Child's Play franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, and Nick Stabile. Unlike the first three films, Bride of Chucky takes a markedly humorous turn towards self-referential parody. It also departs from the Andy Barclay storyline of the first three films, focusing mainly on series villain Chucky, a doll possessed by a serial killer, and his former lover and accomplice Tiffany, whose soul is also transferred into a doll.
Tyrese Darnell Gibson, also known mononymously as Tyrese, is an American actor and singer. His self-titled debut album, released in 1998, featured the single "Sweet Lady". The record peaked at number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. His second and third albums, 2000 Watts and I Wanna Go There, were released in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The latter contained the lead single "How You Gonna Act Like That", which became Gibson's highest-charting single, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. His fourth album, Alter Ego, explored hip hop, while he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for his fifth album, Open Invitation (2011). Gibson's sixth album, Black Rose (2015), debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his highest-charting album. He has sold over 4 million records in the United States.
House of Bodies is a 2013 American horror film directed by Alex Merkin and written by Eddie Harris. It stars Terrence Howard, Peter Fonda, George Katt, Alexz Johnson and Queen Latifah. The film was released worldwide on Netflix on April 19, 2013.
Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood is a 1985 Japanese horror film written and directed by Hideshi Hino. The second film in the Guinea Pig film series, it is based on a manga by Hino, and stars Hiroshi Tamura and Kirara Yūgao. The film's plot concerns a man dressed as a samurai who drugs and kidnaps a woman, and proceeds to take her to his home, where he dismembers her and adds her body parts to a collection.
Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder is a 2012 Canadian non-fiction book written by Lee Mellor and published by Dundurn Press. It documents the lives of sixty Canadian serial killers, with the earliest being Edward H. Rulloff and the most recent being Russell Williams. The book uses Katherine Ramsland's interpretation of what constitutes a serial killer—someone who has killed at least two people on two occasions, and who attempted to or likely would have killed again—as outlined in her 2007 book The Human Predator. Cold North Killer's own definition of what constitutes a Canadian serial killer includes both Canadians who committed murder abroad and non-Canadians who committed murder in Canada.
Bosco is an upcoming American biographical drama film written and directed by Nicholas Manuel Pino. It is based on the book Chasin' Freedum by Quawntay Adams. It stars Aubrey Joseph, Nikki Blonsky, Tyrese Gibson, Theo Rossi, Thomas Jane, and Vivica A. Fox.
