Five horror movies based on true events to watch this Halloween

26 October 2020

Anthony Hopkins in The Rite

1. The Rite

Released in 2011, The Rite follows the real life of Father Gary Thomas, a priest who spent some time in Rome to train as a certified exorcist. He is now one of the 14 Vatican-certified-exorcists, completing his training in 2005.

The film is based on the book of the same name, and follows Father Thomas’ journey in Rome where he sees the unthinkable and finds it hard to keep his faith.

One focus of the film is a pregnant young girl who suffers from demonic possession; as Father Thomas learns more about this case, he only wishes to help, despite being horrified at the same time.

While the film itself is interesting, even more so perhaps when you learn it is based on real events, it is of course haunting and if anything similar to the scenes in the film did indeed happen, it is unimaginable what Father Thomas went through.

Father Thomas has supposedly exorcised five demons from people, and says that he receives requests to perform this awful ritual daily.

2. The Amityville Horror

Focusing on the 2005 release of this film, The Amityville Horror was based on the DeFeo family and the events of November 1974.

A year after the murders have taken place in the house, the Lutz family moves in and becomes almost immediately unsettled in their new home. They supposedly moved out only 28 days after moving into the haunted home.

The film captures the tension, the horror and the disbelief that followed the real-life story, and does it very well considering the circumstances.

The Lutz family showed certain similarities to the previous family, such as the young Lutz girl gaining an imaginary friend named Jodie, which was also the name of the DeFeo’s daughter.

It is shown well what the Lutz family went through during their short stay in their new home, and the mystery that goes hand in hand with the events of the film may not do justice to the real story.

3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

From producer Michael Bay, this 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is truthfully chilling.

A group of friends are horrified when they pick up the wrong kind of hitchhiker. Looking for help, the group finds themselves at an abandoned house – or so they think. In the film, the house turns out to be occupied with not only cannibals, but a chainsaw wielding psycho.

This film was based off the horrific acts of Ed Gein, who was obsessed with his mother to a point where her death sent him off the rails. Known as ‘the Butcher of Plainfield’, he would murder women (and men, potentially) to disturbingly use in the making of a ‘fat suit’, so he could pretend to be his mother…

The film is unmistakably gruesome and knowing it’s a real story might make you want to keep the lights on.

4. The Haunting of Connecticut

This 2009 horror is based on the plight of the Snedeker family (changed to Campbell in the film), and their experiences with their new home which turned out to be a former funeral home.

The family move to a new home in Connecticut to be closer to the University of Connecticut, for their son Philip who is undergoing cancer treatment.

The film then shows the events the family suffered at the home, including Phillip seeing a ghost of a man, and how he would lash out due to this ghost’s demands.

Phillip’s mother, Carmen, eventually sent him away to get help (to either stay with family or to a psych hospital, it is unclear), but this seemed to make things worse for the family.

The ending of this film, however, seems to be a fortunate one, as the screen goes black and text appears, telling the audience that Phillip was cured of cancer overnight and that he is now fine.

5. Veronica

This film may be lesser known by audiences, but it’s horrifying tale is one to watch.

Veronica is based on a Spanish teen by the name of Estefania Gutierrez, who performs a makeshift séance at her high school. Not long after, Gutierrez died in the hospital after stating she saw shadow-like figures, and had multiple seizures.

Just as the real story didn’t end there, neither did the film, as a year later after the teen’s death, her parents called the police after witnessing terrifying paranormal activity, similar to the activity their daughter claimed she witnessed.

When the police arrived, they were of course sceptical, until they too heard the same ‘unhuman’ and disembodied sounds reported by the family.

The film is filled with paranormal events, and with the death of Estefania never solved, the official report for the case deemed the home “a situation of mystery and rarity”.