The best serial killer movies of all time

Clarice, a young FBI agent, needs help catching a serial killer, so she turns to a creepy psychiatrist who is in a special prison for cannibalism. As Hannibal Lecter begins to manipulate her, he will trap you and keep you on edge until the very end. With an incredible performance of Anthony Hopkins, this unmissable classic is one of the best thrillers of all time.

Considered the first slasher film of the 1970s, it follows a group of friends that fall victim to a deranged family of cannibals in the isolated Texas countryside, unleashing a horrifying chain of events. This low-budget film, capable of offering genuine horror with raw and practical effects, revolutionized the horror genre and has become an absolute classic that spawned countless remakes and cliches.

It plunges into horror when a high school girl's sleepover takes a nightmarish turn. A psychopathic serial killer, freshly escaped, terrorizes the neighborhood with a menacing power drill. The film unfolds as a suspenseful and chilling tale of survival, blending classic horror elements with the intensity of a slasher thriller. As the body count rises, the girls must navigate the terrifying ordeal, creating a heart-pounding narrative that explores the primal fear lurking behind the seemingly innocent setting of a slumber party.

Kristen and James return from a wedding reception and find themselves alone in the house. However, they start to experience strange occurrences, such as knocks on the door and glimpses of masked individuals lurking in the shadows. Shortly, the strangers reveal themselves and embark on a horror game of psychological torment and brutality! With an intense atmosphere and suspenseful sequences: Lock the doors, check the light, and do not watch alone!

A classic horror film that follows a group of teenagers at a summer camp who begin to mysteriously disappear. The movie offers plenty of suspense, gore, and a shocking twist ending that has become iconic in the horror genre. If you are a fan of '80s horror or slasher movies, this one is a must-see. The practical effects, particularly during the death scenes, are impressive and add to the film's overall creepy atmosphere.

When the Chase family moves to an isolated house in the middle of nowhere in Detroit, Arkin is hired to fix the windows and the doors. Later he meets his daughter and his wife that has a debt with dangerous sharks and needs money, but his week payment is not enough to pay her debts. Arkin plots to heist the safe of Michael Chase during the night to raise the necessary money. However, when he arrives in the house, he finds that a sadistic criminal has imprisoned the family and planted traps everywhere. Arkin seeks a way out of the deadly house to save his life.

Frank Zito misses his mother, who was killed in a car accident years before. She was abusive to him, and made money selling her body, but Frank still misses her. He tries to keep her from leaving him, and reform her evil ways, by killing young women and putting their scalps on mannequins which he displays around his apartment. Photographer Anna D'Antoni takes a picture of him in the park, and he pursues and befriends her. Is she the one he has been looking for or just another mother wannabe?

In 18th-century, France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, has an extraordinary sense of smell and an obsession with capturing the essence of beauty through scents. Driven by it, he starts to kill beautiful women to capture their essence to preserve and possess "the beauty" through perfume. It’s a complex story with ambiguous morality, but also dark and poetic.

London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.

Will Graham is persuaded to return to the FBI because of his abilities to catch a serial killer. However, his methods are unconventional and he turns to Hannibal Lecter, another serial killer, in order to get inside the mind of the most wanted criminal. Nevertheless, the degree of exposure to which he finds himself compromises his own health. Don't miss this bloody and nuanced police thriller, disturbing but terrific and of great psychological intensity. Ideal if you like this genre.

Step into a world of comedy and horror as a high-school senior swaps bodies with a deranged serial killer. With less than 24 hours to undo the mystical switch, the clock is ticking! This gender-bending, body-swapping slasher delivers a rollercoaster ride of fun and chills. You won't want to miss this unique twist on the classic genre if you enjoy hilarious horror stories!

With Argento's trademark visual style, linked with one of his more coherent plots, Tenebrae follows a writer who arrives to Rome only to find somebody is using his novels as the inspiration (and, occasionally, the means) of committing murder. As the death toll mounts the police are ever baffled, and the writer becomes more closely linked to the case than is comfortable.

Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American Northeast Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another.

A serial killer brutally slays gay men in New York's S&M bars. The young police officer, Steve Burns, goes undercover to find the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this little society. But the work starts changing him.

A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims. In each case, the murderer is found near the victim and remembers nothing of the crime. Detective Takabe and psychologist Sakuma are called in to figure out the connection, but their investigation goes nowhere. An odd young man is arrested near the scene of the latest murder, who has a strange effect on everyone who comes into contact with him. Detective Takabe starts a series of interrogations to determine the man's connection with the killings.

The movie is based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a woman that suffered an abusive childhood and works as a prostitute. When one of her clients attacks her, she fights back and kills him, setting off a chain of murders. Meanwhile, Aileen meets Selby, a young lesbian who is rejected by her parents, and the two fall in love. An unsettling drama directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Charlize Theron, whose stunning transformation earned her an Oscar for best actress.