I've done several posts about true movies (films featuring real life stories) in the past, but there are quite a few I haven't featured. Since the others are called Top 10 True Movies, More True Movies and And More True Movies!, I admit I'm struggling to think of a new title! So today's post is just called Selection of True Movies, lol.
Check out the previous posts below:
Top 10 True Movies: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/05/top-10-true-movies.html
More True Movies: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/07/more-true-movies.html
And More True Movies!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/04/and-more-true-movies.html
Trigger warning:
As with the other posts, most of the films are based on crimes (often murder or abuse) and I realise these are difficult subjects, so read with caution if you're sensitive to these type of films.
Unless otherwise stated videos are trailers. Please note that post contains spoilers. :)
Death of a Cheerleader (1994)
Shy, studious Angela Delveccio (Kellie Martin) longs to be popular like her idol cheerleader Stacey Lockwood (played by Tori Spelling). The school is constantly telling the students to "be the best" and Angela really takes the message to heart. She forms a plan to be Stacey's friend and get on the cheerleading squad, but things don't go quite as she hoped. Then the murder of Stacey sends shockwaves through the school. Another girl is suspected but could it have something to do with quiet Angela?
Check out a clip from the movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ke2VHhLuw
This was remade last year
and it's similar but I much prefer the original version. Kellie Martin
appears in it as an FBI agent. Watch a clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzBW_rxhEbI
Death of a Cheerleader is based on the June 1984 murder of
Kristen Costa, a cheerleader from California. Her killer was Bernadette
Protti, who confessed first to her mother and then the police. Read more
about it here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210412163411/https://tvcrimesky.com/2021/03/01/bernadette-protti-now-kirsten-costas-timeline/1253
Update 26/2/24: The original site I linked to is now gone but still available through Wayback Machine, so I've updated it (see the link at the bottom of the page for Traciy Curry-Reyes' current website).
This film highlights the issues of popularity, bullying and how much pressure is put on high school students. Stacey is really not very nice at all, although of course she didn't deserve to be murdered. I do feel sorry for Angela, the murder seemed to be an act of desperation when she panicked that things at school were going to get worse and Stacey was going to tell everyone how weird she'd been. Not that that excuses what she did.
No One Would Tell (1996)
The story of a high school relationship that turns sour and ends in murder. When shy teen Stacy Collins (played by Candace Cameron Bure) finds out that popular high school wrestler Bobby Tennison (played The Wonder Year's Fred Savage) likes her, she can't believe her luck. They get together and at first everything is great, but as time goes by she starts to see another side to his personality.
Bobby becomes increasingly jealous and possessive and starts to physically abuse Stacy. No one else seems to be that bothered, with her mother preoccupied with her own relationship, and her friends becoming tired of the drama of her problems with Bobby. Then one night Stacy disappears and is later found dead. But what really happened?
This is based on the real life story of 14 year Amy Carnevale who was murdered by her 16 year old boyfriend Jamie Fuller in August 1991, in Massachusetts. It addresses the topic of physical abuse in relationships, in particular involving teens.
What makes this story even sadder is that everyone in Stacy's life appeared to turn a blind eye (which reminds me of Indecent Seduction when people ignored what was going on with Amy and her teacher Coach Nash). You can read more on the real case here: https://tvcrimesky.com/2018/09/11/no-one-would-tell-lifetime-movie-true-story-remake-inspired-by-jamie-fuller-amy-carnevale-beverly-mass-shoe-pond-murder/1129
Update: Above link is gone but here is another post about the real story: https://yourdream.liveyourdream.org/2019/11/no-one-would-tell-the-amy-carnevale-story/
It's so sad that Stacy's friends aren't there for her, even her best friend. They all witnessed Bobby's behaviour and knew something wasn't right. At the end the judge (played by talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael) sums it up with the message that you should tell someone if you see your friend being abused. I've never been in that situation, but I hope that I would find someone to tell, even if just contacting an organisation for advice.
Note/Disclaimer: I've provided a few links below with more information on what to do if you suspect someone you know is being abused. This is just an entertainment blog, so please refer to these links if you need help. :)
UK based: https://www.gov.uk/report-domestic-abuse
NSPCC (specific to children, UK based): https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/what-if-suspect-abuse/
US specific: http://nationallinkcoalition.org/how-do-i-report-suspected-abuse
Just found out there's a 2018 remake of this. Check out the trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtAHBgvt8tQ
Update: I can't find trailers on YouTube anymore but you can see it on MUBI instead: https://mubi.com/en/gb/films/no-one-would-tell-2018
Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder aka Swearing Allegiance (1997)
Diane Zamora (played Holly Marie Combs, best known as Piper in Charmed) and David Graham (David Lipper) are in an intense relationship. They're also both passionate about their careers in the armed forces. They go to separate high schools and one night David ends up cheating on Diane with a girl called Adrianne Jones, known as AJ (Cassidy Rae), when he gives her a ride home after a cross-country track meet. Diane finds out and is devastated, but agrees to take him back- on the condition that Adrianne is eliminated. So together they come up with a murderous plan.
This is a good film that shows how obsessed people can get with each other (in particular young people) and the extremes it can go to. Diane seems to competely blame Adrianne and not hold David responsible at all, which is probably because it's easier for her to deal with that way. She comes across as a very intense young woman.
Random fact: Joanna Garcia (now JoAnna Garcia Swisher), who played Sam in Are You Afraid of the Dark? plays Diane's friend.
The real murder of Adrianne happened in December 1995 in Mansfield, Texas. It has since been claimed that David did not have sex with AJ after all and had lied to make Diane jealous. But David has said he changed his story on the advice of his defence lawyer, and did in fact sleep with Adrianne. Both he and Diane are serving life sentences in jail.
Read more on the case at the links below:
Diane Zamora Wikiepeda page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Zamora
Denver post feature on David: https://www.denverpost.com/2008/02/10/former-air-force-cadet-expresses-remorse-for-1995-slaying-of-teen/
2016 People article: https://people.com/crime/david-graham-diane-zamora-their-lives-now-2016/
To Die For (1995)
This is not exactly a true movie but it is based on a true story, so I thought I'd include it. :)
Suzanne Stone Maretto (played by Nicole Kidman) is married to Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon). Larry is a simple man, content to work for his family's restaurant business. He's deeply in love with Suzanne and wants a happy life with her. But Suzanne doesn't want to settle for being a wife and mother, she has big ambitions to be a TV anchor, journalist and celebrity (like Barbara Walters) and she's prepared to do whatever she can to get to the top.
When she lands a job at a local TV station, Suzanne feels that she's taken a step towards her dream. She pitches an idea for filming a documentary on teenagers and ends up working with local teens Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), Russell (played by Casey Affleck, younger brother of Ben) and Lydia (Alison Folland). But things take a darker turn when she becomes romantically and sexually involved with Jimmy and asks him if he'll do anything for her, even kill her husband whom she claims physically abuses her...
To Die For is based on the book of the same name by Joyce Maynard, which in turn was based on the real life story of Pamela Smart. Pamela (from Derry, New Hampshire) had an affair with 15 year old William "Billy" Flynn and persuaded him and his friends to murder her husband Gregory Smart. She is currently serving a life sentence.
I have this on DVD. The movie has a comedy slant and I especially like the ending which features Larry's sister, ice skater Janice (Illeana Douglas) who never liked Suzanne. I won't do complete spoilers, but if you watch it then you'll know that there's a reason she chose to skate in that particular place!
The teenagers lead quite bleak lives and Suzanne sees that she is able to manipulate them, Jimmy in particular. He is genuinely in love with her. You end up feeling sorry for Jimmy.
Watch the ending here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSgU48YASEk
The music is Season of the Witch by Donovan which was covered by Lana Del Rey for the soundtrack of last year's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
For a film based on the actual case, check out Murder in New Hampshire, which stars Helen Hunt as Pamela. I think I have seen some of it. I did also see a documentary on this but I can't remember the name of it. It may have been part of a true crime series.
For more on the Pamela Smart case visit these links:
Pamela Smart Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Smart
ABC News feature: https://abcnews.go.com/US/pamela-smart-teen-lover-murdered-husband-decades-ago/story?id=67946265
She's Too Young (2004)
14 year old Hannah Vogul (Alexis Dziena) is a model daughter and student. She's quiet and doesn't have many friends, but her life changes when she goes on a date with popular boy Nick Hartman (Mike Erwin) and becomes friendly with a group of teens who are very sexually active. When a syphilis outbreak happens at the high school, Hannah's mum Trish (Marcia Gay Harden) is shocked to learn that her daughter is one of those with the sexually transmitted disease. The film follows the fallout from the situation.
This story is quite shocking and it seems extreme that the teens sleep around so much! One of the most memorable lines delivered by Nick to the school nurse is, "You'd better stick them all because I probably did!" (In regards to testing them for syphilis). The kids believe that the more people they sleep with, the more popular they will be.
It's loosely based on the true life case of a school in Georgia where over 200 teenagers contracted the disease in 1996, some as young as 12 and 13. It's interesting the difference in parenting- Hannah's parents (in particular her mother) have always been very present and involved in her life, although Trish is more on the side of overprotective.
Whereas with Nick, (who is one of the most sexually active teens) his rich parents are often absent and disengaged from his life. Hannah's friend Becca's (Megan Park) parents are also well-off (religious too) and choose not to pay attention to what their daughter is up to. And in the case of her other friend Dawn (Miriam McDonald), her single parent mum wants to be her friend more than her mother, and is busy with her own love life.
Read about the real case here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/georgia/etc/synopsis.html
She Made Them Do It (2013)
This is based on the case of Sarah Jo Pender (Jenna Dewan, formerly known as Jenna Dewan Tatum), who along with her boyfriend Rick (Greyston Holt), was convicted of murdering their roommates after they stole her tuition money. She always maintains her innocence (saying that Rick alone is responsible for the murders), and while in prison attracts many admirers among her fellow inmates and even a prison guard. Then she pulls off a daring escape and is pursued by a US Marshal (Steve Bacic) who is determined to catch her. And still the question remains...did she really do it (or at least coerce Rick to do it), or is she innocent?
I first saw this on the Lifetime channel when we got it in the UK and they were showing a series of true movies, around the same time as I saw Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secrets which I featured in the And More True Movies! post. It's a good film and Sarah is an intriguing character. She reminds me of John Hawkins, in the way that shes charming and also bisexual, so she appeals to both men and women. The question of whether she is guilty is never really answered, at the end you still don't know.
The real crime took place in October 2000 in Indiana. Sarah and her boyfriend Richard Hull were convicted of murdering roommates Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman. Richard has confessed to killing them but Sarah has always claimed she wasn't involved. In August 2008 she escaped from the Rockville Correctional Center with the help of prison guard Scott Spitler Jr. and her former cellmate Jamie Long.
Her story was featured in America's Most Wanted and she was the only woman (at the time) on the US Marshals Most Wanted List. In December 2008 she was identified by an America's Most Wanted viewer and re-arrested.
Read more about the case here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Jo_Pender
Hope you enjoyed the post! :) I may do another one in future. What are your fave true movies?
P.S. If you're a fan of true movies and interested in true crime check out this site: https://tvcrimesky.com/
Traciy Curry-Reyes who runs it also features crimes involving African Americans. Most of the films aren't very ethnically diverse and that needs to change because these things happen to lots of people from different backgrounds, and their stories need to be told as well.
Update 26/2/24: This is now gone but you can see Traciy's old true crime sites at her official website: https://www.traciycurryreyes.com/2024/01/my-old-websites-movies-based-on-true.html
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