Best Serial Killer Movies of All Time: A Definitive List
What is it about serial killer movies that draws us in? If there were ever any doubt about our appetite for stories of evil, we’d only need to look at the sheer number of films made about them. Maybe it’s the unnerving idea that evil walks among us — and Here’s the closest we’re willing to come to danger without becoming a target ourselves. Or maybe we’re simply fascinated by what human beings are capable of at their worst. Whatever the reason, our love of the genre is undeniable. There’s no shortage of picks, but these are some top choices for the best serial killer movies of all time.
What are the best serial killer movies of all time?
Before diving in, it’s important to distinguish serial killer movies from slasher flicks, Hitchcockian thrillers, or movies featuring characters who get pushed a little too far. For this list, a serial killer movie requires a murderer with a methodical, extremely compulsive intent to kill. These killers are smart enough to evade capture (for a time, anyway) and often take a disturbing amount of satisfaction in the ongoing game of cat-and-mouse.
Badlands (1973)
Long before the modern serial killer film took shape, Terrence Malick’s Badlands offered something unique. The film is perhaps the most beautiful serial killer film ever made. Loosely inspired by the real-life killing spree of Charles Starkweather, the film follows Kit (Martin Sheen), a garbage collector with James Dean aspirations and Holly (Sissy Spacek), the teenage girl who falls under his spell. After Kit kills Holly’s father, the two flee into the South Dakota badlands, drifting from one senseless murder to the next.
This film may disappoint those looking for compounding dread, fear, or violence. Malick’s film isn’t a high-octane crime thriller, even though it technically qualifies as a serial-killer flick by the characters’ actions and kill count. Still, Malick manages to drench this film in beauty. It’s dreamy, almost detached, and observant as the action unfolds. Holly narrates—one of the hallmarks of Malick’s aesthetic—in a flat, girlish tone that contrasts eerily with the violence onscreen.
Manhunter (1986)
Before The Silence of the Lambs made Hannibal Lecter a household name, Michael Mann’s Manhunter laid the groundwork. Also pulling from Thomas Harris’s novel Red Dragon, the film follows FBI profiler Will Graham (William L. Petersen) as he’s pulled out of retirement and sent back into the field to hunt a serial killer known as “The Tooth Fairy,” named for the bite marks he leaves on his victims. The crimes are brutal and disturbingly intimate, with more than enough creepiness baked into their ritualistic nature.
Graham enlists the help of another deranged mind: cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox). This is where we really get a sense of Mann’s signature style—cool neon lighting, themes of duality, meticulous compositions, and a masterclass in building dread on screen. Though the film fared poorly at the box office upon release, it’s since earned its reputation as a classic.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Another defining film from the golden age of ’90s thrillers, ’s The Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, one of the FBI’s brightest trainees. Behavioral Science chief Jack Crawford recruits her to interview imprisoned serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in what may be his most iconic role, one that won him his first Oscar). The hope is that Lecter’s insight, drawn from his keen intellect and personal experience, might help agents track down Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who kidnaps women and removes their skin.
The film, directed by Jonathan Demme, is a masterclass in suspense and psychological tension. The trilogy with Anthony Hopkins is all good; the sequel, Hannibal (), is a bit of a letdown, though the prequel, Red Dragon (), is solid. The fourth film, Hannibal Rising, is unfortunately abysmal.
Se7en (1995)
Perhaps the best serial-killer movie ever made, ’s Se7en is a David Fincher classic and the reason we can’t help but yell “What’s in the box?!” whenever a wrapped package appears. The film follows a pair of detectives (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) hunting a serial killer whose murders are meticulously designed as punishment for the seven deadly sins. The film also features a deeply unsettling Kevin Spacey as the killer. Drenched in grimy ’90s noir, Se7en firmly put Fincher on the map as one of the great crime filmmakers.
Cure (1997)
Written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, ’s Cure follows Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) as he investigates a string of grisly murders that share unusual similarities. All are committed under bizarre circumstances and without any apparent motive. The perpetrators confess to their crimes, yet none can remember committing them or explain why they did. As the clues dry up and the investigation drags on, Takabe grows increasingly frustrated—until he and his partner, forensic psychologist Shin Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki), discover one common thread linking the suspects together.
Cure is a masterclass in dread and style, inspired by Fincher’s Se7en. Kurosawa wanted it to feel like an American detective movie, while also doing something different with the central protagonist.
Memories of Murder (2003)
Though Parasite put Bong Joon-ho on the map in Western media, he’s long been making films well worth watching. ’s Memories of Murder plays out similarly in style and pacing to Fincher’s Zodiac, though it came out four years earlier. Based on South Korea’s first documented serial murder case, the film focuses more on the hunt for the killer than the killer himself. In rural South Korea in , two detectives are assigned to investigate a double murder. As the case expands and more bodies appear, they slowly begin to realize they’re dealing with a serial killer. Often overlooked, Memories of Murder deserves a spot on any must-watch list.
Monster (2003)
’s Monster was the film that transformed Charlize Theron from movie star into something formidable. Based on the true story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, the film follows Wuornos, a Daytona Beach sex worker who begins killing her clients, claiming self-defense. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the film centers on Wuornos’ volatile relationship with Selby Wall (Christina Ricci). Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. This is a serial killer film that refuses easy answers, asking instead how poverty, trauma, isolation, and heartbreak can calcify into something monstrous.
Zodiac (2007)
For another David Fincher entry, we offer ’s Zodiac, one of the most meticulous serial killer films ever made. Based on the real-life Zodiac murders that terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s and 70s, the film centers on the investigation led by cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), journalist Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), and Inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) as they attempt to decode the killer’s cryptic letters.
Unlike most serial killer thrillers, Zodiac isn’t built around jump scares. Fincher is far more interested in the obsession of this cryptic game and how the case seeps into the lives of the men chasing it.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Equal parts serial-killer thriller and Western neo-noir, ’s No Country for Old Men won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, the film opens in as vicious hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) escapes custody after brutally killing a sheriff. Technically, Chigurh qualifies as a serial killer—he just happens to be paid. But beyond the body count, he’s on a mission: tracking down $2 million lost in a drug deal gone wrong.
Watcher (2022)
This often-overlooked serial killer film feels like Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window relocated to Eastern Europe. ’s Watcher stars Maika Monroe as Julia, an American who moves to Bucharest with her husband, Francis. Soon, rumors swirl about a serial killer known as “The Spider,” and Julia begins to feel she’s being watched. She notices a man across the street who appears to be staring into her window. Written and directed by Chloe Okuno, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.
How we picked the best serial killer movies of all time
We narrowed our choices down to the films that left the most significant mark on cinema history. A few were left off the list due to their proximity to other films already mentioned. We wanted to diversify our list. Cruising, Man Bites Dog, and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer are also strong runners-up. Badlands is an excellent film in its own right, and Psycho had a major impact on the genre.