Top 30 Serial Killer Movies, Ranked
30. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
A film can’t get much more disturbing and haunting than this. Based on Patrick Süskind’s acclaimed novel, it follows Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an 18th-century orphan with a superhuman sense of smell. Obsessed with capturing the perfect scent, he becomes a serial killer, targeting young women to distill their essence into a divine perfume. The film blends historical fantasy, dark fairy tale, and chilling psychological portraiture, offering a haunting study of a killer driven by artistic obsession.
29. The Bone Collector (1999)
Denzel Washington stars as a quadriplegic former forensics expert who is brought back to help with a murder case. He teams up with a rookie patrol cop (Angelina Jolie) who becomes his eyes and ears on the ground. Together, they hunt a brilliant serial killer recreating crimes from pulp fiction stories. Their survival depends entirely on trust and collaboration.
28. Mr. Brooks (2007)
Kevin Costner stars as Earl Brooks, a successful businessman who secretly lives as a serial killer. His dark impulses take shape as an imaginary friend (William Hurt), who constantly urges him on. Mr. Brooks is a fascinating character study that explores the psychological addiction to murder. Despite his carefully maintained family life, he struggles to suppress his lethal compulsions.
27. Serial Mom
Not every serial killer film needs complex motives or elaborate schemes. John Waters’ satirical take on suburban perfection stars Kathleen Turner as Beverly Sutphin, a seemingly ideal housewife who is secretly a ruthless murderer. All it takes to set her off is offending her family. This dark comedy cleverly disguises itself as a gritty true-crime tale while lampooning the genre.
26. The House That Jack Built (2018)
Lars von Trier delivers a brutally violent exploration of a serial killer’s mind in this controversial film. Matt Dillon plays Jack, an intelligent psychopathic engineer who considers his murders works of art. Spanning 12 years, the film follows him as he recounts his most elaborate “incidents.” Disturbing and stomach-churning, it’s a narcissist’s grotesque self-portrait.
25. Blood and Black Lace
The slasher genre wouldn’t exist as we know it without Mario Bava’s quintessential Giallo masterpiece. A faceless killer begins brutally murdering models at a Roman fashion show to recover a scandalous diary. With its vibrant, saturated colors and stylish cinematography, the film is a visually striking depiction of murder and the serial killer psyche.
24. The Chaser (2008)
This South Korean thriller follows a disgraced ex-cop turned pimp who realizes one of his girls has been abducted by a sadistic serial killer. What follows is a desperate chase through Seoul as he races to save her before it’s too late. Defying genre expectations, the film is a masterclass in brutal, heart-pounding suspense, exposing both the killer’s depravity and the hero’s desperation.
23. Copycat (1995)
Sigourney Weaver stars as an agoraphobic criminal psychologist who becomes the target of a serial killer. This murderer, a brilliant imitator, recreates the crimes of infamous killers from the past. She must team up with a homicide detective (Holly Hunter) to stop him before he completes his “masterpiece.” Copycat is a tense thriller that blends genre tropes with gripping suspense and a compelling central partnership.
22. Deep Red
Dario Argento, “the Master of Giallo,” crafts another classic with this chilling film. A jazz pianist (David Hemmings) witnesses the brutal murder of a psychic and begins investigating with a reporter. Soon, he becomes the target of a mysterious, black-gloved killer. Featuring complex murder set pieces and a haunting Goblin score, this Italian horror masterpiece drips with dread and atmosphere.
21. Frailty (2001)
Directed by and starring Bill Paxton, this gothic thriller follows a man who claims his brother is the infamous “God’s Hand” serial killer. Through flashbacks, he recounts their disturbing childhood, where their father believed he was on a divine mission to destroy “demons” masquerading as humans. Frailty is a chilling mix of psychological thriller and religious fanaticism.
20. Scream (1996)
Wes Craven revitalized the slasher genre with this clever, brutal, and self-aware classic. The town of Woodsboro is stalked by Ghostface, a killer who forces victims into horror movie trivia before striking. Smart, funny, and unrelentingly violent, Scream both satirizes and celebrates the slasher formula, making it one of horror’s most influential films.
19. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Leatherface stands as one of horror’s most iconic serial killers. This raw, gritty masterpiece follows a group of friends who fall prey to a family of deranged cannibals. Surprisingly, the film shows little gore, despite its shocking reputation. Instead, it builds terror through atmosphere and primal dread, revolutionizing horror filmmaking with its visceral, unrelenting intensity.
18. Badlands
Terrence Malick’s directorial debut offers a lyrical yet haunting take on the serial killer narrative, loosely based on the Starkweather-Fugate murder spree. The story follows a disaffected teenage girl (Sissy Spacek) and a charismatic greaser (Martin Sheen) as they embark on a violent crime spree across the Midwest. At its core, Badlands examines alienated youth and senseless violence with poetic detachment.
17. Cure (1997)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s hypnotic Japanese thriller is a slow-burn study of psychological horror. A detective investigates a string of bizarre murders where the killers are found near the victims but remember nothing. His search leads to a strange amnesiac who seems capable of hypnotizing others into killing. Cure is a chilling meditation on the fragility of the human mind and the hidden darkness within us all.
16. Man Bites Dog (1922)
One undeniable fact about serial killer films is that they often carry a strange sense of dark humor. Man Bites Dog capitalizes on this, delivering a shocking yet hilarious mockumentary. It satirizes media violence by following a film crew documenting the daily life of a charismatic, verbose killer named Ben. As the story unfolds, the passive observers gradually become accomplices in his horrific crimes. It’s a cynical critique of society’s fascination with violence.
15. I Saw the Devil (2010)
This South Korean masterpiece is a brutal and relentless revenge thriller. A secret agent (Lee Byung-hun) hunts down the sadistic serial killer (Choi Min-sik) responsible for his fiancée’s murder. But instead of turning him in, the agent begins a horrifying cycle of torture, capture, and release, blurring the line between hero and villain. I Saw the Devil is a visceral exploration of how the pursuit of justice can corrupt the soul of the hunter.
14. The Vanishing (1988)
The original Dutch version of The Vanishing stands as one of the most terrifying psychological thrillers ever made. It follows a desperate man searching for his girlfriend, who mysteriously vanished three years earlier at a rest stop. When he finally confronts her abductor, the man offers to reveal what happened—only if he agrees to experience the same fate. With horrifying villains and a truly shocking ending, this masterpiece of existential dread is unforgettable.
13. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Frank Capra’s black comedy proves that even serial killers can be hilariously unsettling. Cary Grant plays a frantic drama critic who, on his wedding day, discovers that his sweet aunts are actually serial killers. They believe they’re performing “charity” by poisoning lonely old men with elderberry wine. One of the earliest films to present killers in a seemingly harmless light, it pairs a macabre premise with uproarious humor.
12. Peeping Tom (1960)
This unsettling and ahead-of-its-time film explores voyeurism, trauma, and the psychology of a killer, linking the act of filmmaking itself with violence. Initially reviled for its shocking content, it has since become a foundational work of the genre, released the same year as Psycho. The story follows a lonely photographer who murders women with a blade hidden in his tripod, filming their final moments of terror.
11. Monster (2003)
Charlize Theron delivers an acclaimed, award-winning performance as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The film chronicles Wuornos’s tragic life as a highway prostitute who begins murdering her clients. Both brutal and empathetic, Monster offers a raw character study of a deeply disturbing figure, providing a heartbreaking glimpse at the woman behind the monstrous headlines.
10. Manhunter (1986)
Michael Mann introduced audiences to Hannibal Lecter in this stylish thriller. William Petersen stars as FBI profiler Will Graham, who must capture a killer known as the “Tooth Fairy.” To do so, he consults the brilliant Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox). Manhunter is an intelligent and haunting film that helped define the modern profiler genre with its focus on psychological forensics.
9. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
This raw and unflinching film presents the mundane reality of a serial killer, loosely inspired by Henry Lee Lucas. Michael Rooker delivers a terrifying performance as a man committing random, motiveless acts of violence. Shot with documentary-style realism and refusing to offer explanations, Henry remains one of the most chilling and controversial entries in the genre.
8. American Psycho (2000)
A biting satire of 1980s consumerism disguised as a serial killer story, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a wealthy Wall Street banker who moonlights as a depraved murderer. Blending horrific violence with pitch-black humor, the film leaves audiences questioning the reality of Bateman’s shallow, status-obsessed world. Stylish, funny, and unsettling, it’s a true cult classic.
7. Memories of Murder (2003)
Bong Joon-ho’s masterful thriller is based on South Korea’s first real-life serial killer case. In a rural town in the 1980s, two local detectives clash with a Seoul investigator while desperately hunting a killer who preys on women during rainy nights. Mixing dark humor with a devastating study of obsession and incompetence, Memories of Murder builds to one of the most haunting final shots in cinema.
6. Zodiac (2007)
More a study of obsession than a traditional thriller, David Fincher’s Zodiac chronicles the decades-long hunt for the infamous Zodiac Killer, who terrorized Northern California. The story centers on investigators and journalists whose lives spiral into obsession with the frustrating, unsolved case. It’s a meticulous and haunting portrayal of how a killer can destroy lives without ever being caught.
5. The Night of the Hunter
Robert Mitchum delivers a chilling performance as Reverend Harry Powell, a con man and serial killer masquerading as a preacher. With “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed on his knuckles, Powell marries and murders widows for money, relentlessly hunting down victims. Decades ahead of its time, this dark fable remains one of the most terrifying portrayals of evil in cinema.
4. M (1931)
Often considered the film that launched the serial killer genre, Fritz Lang’s M is a German masterpiece about both the police and the criminal underworld uniting to catch a child murderer terrorizing their city. Starring Peter Lorre, it combines technical innovation with a profound psychological study of compulsion and morality. M laid the groundwork for all serial killer films that followed.
3. Se7en
David Fincher redefined the genre with this grim, unforgettable thriller. Detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) hunt John Doe, a meticulous serial killer who bases his crimes on the seven deadly sins. With its oppressive atmosphere, shocking imagery, and one of the most devastating endings in film history, Se7en terrified a generation.
2. Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock shattered cinematic conventions with this modern horror-thriller. The story follows a secretary on the run who checks into the Bates Motel, run by the unsettling Norman Bates. Featuring the iconic shower scene and shocking twist, Psycho blends suspense, misdirection, and psychological terror. It forever changed audience expectations of horror.
1. The Silence of the Lambs
One of the few films to win all five major Academy Awards, The Silence of the Lambs remains a genre-defining masterpiece. FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) seeks help from the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to track down “Buffalo Bill.” Terrifying not for its gore but for its suspense, the film’s cat-and-mouse dynamic between Starling and Lecter has become legendary.
