Best Serial Killer

The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological thriller directed by Jonathan Demme and adapted from the 1988 novel by Thomas Harris. The film follows Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee played by Jodie Foster, as she consults imprisoned psychiatrist and serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony...

Se7en is a 1995 American neo-noir psychological thriller directed by David Fincher. The plot centers on two detectives, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, as they track a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as motifs in his crimes. The film is noted for its dark, rain-soaked urban atmo...

Zodiac is a 2007 psychological thriller directed by David Fincher that chronicles the investigation of the Zodiac killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, the cartoonist who became obsessed with solving th...

This six-part HBO documentary series chronicles the bizarre life and suspected crimes of Robert Durst, a real estate heir implicated in multiple disappearances and murders. The series' brilliance lies in its access to Durst himself, allowing filmmakers to capture his own unraveling and ultimately,...

Mindhunter is an American psychological thriller television series created by Joe Penhall and released on Netflix in 2017. The series is set in the late 1970s and follows FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they pioneer the use of criminal profiling. It dramatizes the early days of the FBI's Be...

The 'Paradise Lost' trilogy (and subsequent updates) is a seminal work in true crime documentary filmmaking. It initially followed the prosecution of three teenagers for the murders of three young children in West Memphis, Arkansas. The series strength lies in its ability to expose flaws in the inve...

Dexter is an American crime drama set in Miami, following forensic technician Dexter Morgan. He leads a double life as a serial killer targeting individuals he believes have escaped justice due to systemic issues. The series originated from Jeff Lindsay’s novel and was adapted for television by Jame...

Developed for television by Bryan Fuller, Hannibal is an American psychological thriller television series that aired on NBC from 2013 to 2015. The show is based on characters and events from Thomas Harris's series of novels, particularly Red Dragon and Hannibal. It stars Mads Mikkelsen as the titul...

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a historical psychological thriller novel written by German author Patrick Süskind and published in 1985. The narrative follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphan in 18th-century France who possesses an extraordinary, superhuman sense of smell but lacks any perso...

*True Detective* is an American anthology crime drama television series created by novelist Nic Pizzolatto that premiered on HBO in 2014. The series follows a different set of detectives and a distinct mystery each season, maintaining a dark psychological tone throughout. Its inaugural season, set i...

Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Powell from a screenplay by the cryptographer and playwright Leo Marks. The film stars Karlheinz Böhm as Mark Lewis, a focus puller who murders women while filming their dying expressions with a 16mm camera equipped with a blad...

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is the first novel in Swedish author Stieg Larsson's "Millennium trilogy," published posthumously in 2005. The psychological thriller intertwines the stories of Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced financial journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but asocial compute...

"Manhunter" is a 1986 American psychological thriller film directed by Michael Mann. It is the first cinematic adaptation of Thomas Harris's novel "Red Dragon," marking the first appearance of the character Hannibal Lecktor on screen. The film follows FBI profiler Will Graham as he enlists Lecktor's...

Sidetracked is a crime novel by Swedish author Henning Mankell featuring police inspector Kurt Wallander. First published in Swedish in 1995, it follows Wallander and his colleagues as they investigate a sequence of ritualized killings while also confronting the death of a young woman who sets herse...

Psycho is a 1959 psychological horror-thriller novel by American author Robert Bloch, inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. The story follows Norman Bates, a motel proprietor with a dissociative split personality, whose violent secrets surface after a guest disappears. The novel...

HBO's 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark' is a profoundly moving and ethically conscious series based on Michelle McNamaras posthumous book. It chronicles McNamaras obsessive investigation into the Golden State Killer, a notorious serial killer. The series deftly blends McNamaras personal journey with the ch...

Fritz Lang’s M (1931) is a seminal German film exploring themes of societal corruption through the chilling story of a child murderer. Peter Lorre delivers a haunting performance as Hans Beckert, driven to violence by his confinement and the unsettling influence of a young girl. The film's innovativ...

True Detective Season 1 is an HBO crime drama exploring a complex investigation into brutal murders in rural Louisiana. The series, notable for its atmospheric storytelling and intense performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, unfolds across multiple timelines revealing the intertwine...

Bates Motel is a psychological horror television series examining the intertwined lives of Conrad Crane and Emma Norman as they inhabit a remote motel in the United States. The show delves into the origins of Norman Bates’s infamous character exploring themes of trauma, family dysfunction and violen...

One Step Behind is a crime novel by Henning Mankell featuring Swedish police inspector Kurt Wallander. First published in Swedish in 1997, it follows the investigation of three young people murdered while wearing historical costumes near a nature reserve, alongside the death of one of Wallander's co...

*American Psycho* is a satirical black comedy horror film directed by Mary Harron, released in 2000. It is an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's controversial 1991 novel of the same name. Christian Bale stars as Patrick Bateman, a wealthy and superficial 1980s Wall Street investment banker who hides...

"I Saw the Devil" is a 2010 South Korean psychological thriller directed by Kim Jee-woon, notable for its brutal revenge narrative and intense exploration of human morality. The film stars Lee Byung-hun as a secret agent who systematically hunts and tortures the serial killer (Choi Min-sik) who murd...

The Fifth Woman is a crime novel by Henning Mankell and the sixth book in the series centered on Swedish police inspector Kurt Wallander. First published in Swedish in 1996, it follows Wallander and his colleagues as they investigate several men killed through elaborate and deliberately punitive met...

The Blacklist follows Raymond Reddington, a former criminal who collaborates with the FBI to investigate a list of dangerous criminals. This crime thriller series features a core team including James Spader as Reddington and other FBI agents. The show centers on Reddington’s assistance in tracking d...

Maigret Sets a Trap is a 1955 detective novel by Belgian writer Georges Simenon, featuring Commissaire Jules Maigret of the Paris police. Faced with a series of murders of women in Montmartre, Maigret deliberately constructs a publicized trap intended to provoke the killer into striking again. The i...

Will Trent is an American police procedural television series adapted from Karin Slaughter’s novels. Starring Ramón Rodríguez as the title character, the show premiered in January 2023 and has been renewed through a fifth season scheduled for April 2026. It follows a Tennessee-based detective invest...

“Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer” meticulously examines the disturbing transformation of Aileen Wuornos into a prolific killer, detailing her troubled past, alleged victims, and ultimately, her controversial trial and execution within Florida’s prison system.

Wire in the Blood is a British crime drama series adapted from Val McDermid’s novels. The show centers on clinical psychologist Dr. Anthony “Tony” Valentine Hill, who collaborates with Detective Carol Jordan to investigate serial killer cases. Broadcast by ITV from 2002-2008, it depicts their effort...

Postmortem is a 1990 crime novel by Patricia Cornwell and the first book in her series featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a forensic pathologist serving as Virginia's chief medical examiner. Scarpetta investigates a sequence of murders in Richmond by combining autopsy findings, laboratory evidence, and co...