True crime stories have been part of the entertainment industry for quite a long. It provides a glimpse into the lives of people who are badly affected by the darker aspects of human nature. This type of documentary or movie usually highlights thriller, suspense and mystery genres to intrigue its audience and unfold the real events. Sometimes the directors approach the movie in a way, to pay tribute to the deceased or the victims and their families. In this way, the grief is shared with the families. The crime stories also provide an awareness of the dark nature of humans like human trafficking, abduction and exploitation.
Some remarkable directors also recreate the same scenes to add intensity and intrigue to the audience. We’ll delve into ten such movies that are based on a real-life cases of missing persons, unfolding the story and tragedy behind them:
10) Changeling:
This movie is based on the disappearance of a nine-year-old boy named Walter Collins, who disappeared from home in Los Angeles, California. His mother made many efforts and reached out to authorities as well pleading for help. After months of searching, a boy resembling Walter was found but sadly when the mother of Walter saw him, she found it wasn’t her son.
This twisted identity remained a mystery for the people. Soon, the movie was released that starred Angelina Jolie as the lead role of Christine, Walter’s mother. It was named Changeling, unfolding the story of Walter and his twisted disappearance case and was released in 2008.
9) Without a Trace:
The Without a Trace from 1983 is a mysterious movie that portrays the story of a young boy, Alex who vanished on his way to school. His mother, out of worry, searches for him everywhere with the help of police authorities. The movie depicts the genre of suspense and thriller resembling the real-life event held in 1979. The case came to light when the missing child’s face was featured on the milk carton helping people to identify them.
8) Agatha:
Agatha was a famous mystery writer whose news about disappearance made headlines in 1926 after a dispute between the couple. As a result of anger, she left the house promptly and disappeared. Many fans and people searched for her everywhere and her husband was the suspect. Although she was found safe after 11 days.
This thrilling mysterious movie was then filmed and the director named it “Agatha”.
7) Alive:
The movie “Alive” portrays a reality-based event from 1972. A plane was carrying the rugby team from Uruguay when it suddenly crashed into the mountains. The plane had a crew present, a total of 45 people from which only 29 people survived at first. As the time passed, only 16 people survived fighting with the extremes of the conditions as it was very cold temperature on the mountains with no chance of survival. Till date, there is no whereabouts of the other people on the plane.
6) Lost Colony: The Legend Of Roanoke:
In 1587, a group of immigrants and settlers 117 people arrived in a new colony in North Carolina. It was later discovered that the entire group of immigrants vanished from the colony. Many people and investigators tried to find the reason for what happened but no one knows the exact reason. There are many speculations about the ghost spirits and moving to another place but it is still the biggest mystery.
To make it more intriguing, the movie named “Lost Colony” was directed to highlight this biggest mystery.
5) Fire In The Sky:
In 1975, Travis Walton vanished for five days. According to sources, Travis was with his friends when the incident occurred. They saw a bright light on the road, Travis was attracted towards it and was knocked down by an unseen force. As Walton disappeared, his friends also ran away.
After many years, he reappeared and told the media and the people that he was taken by the aliens. He also wrote a notable book about it which was published and later made into the movie “Fire In The Sky”. This story is very mysterious and intriguing, many people don’t believe it at all.
4) Point Last Seen:
This intriguing story highlights the story of Hannah Nyala. She married an unknown man in 1977. The couple has two kids but despite this, the husband was abusive. This made Hannah take a bold step and try to escape, leaving her kids at his mercy. This emotional and abusive tale was written by Hannah and took the shape of a movie in 1998. The movie’s name was “Point Last Seen” which portrays the emotional struggles of Hannah.
3) Lost Girls:
In 2010, a mysterious event took place. A woman named Shannon made a panic call at 911 and anxiously told the police, someone was after her. The police authorities searched for her every day and found the bodies of four missing women including Shannon. It was later found that all these women worked as a sex worker and Shannon’s body was also found. This mysterious death and abuse is portrayed in the movie as a consolation for the victim’s beloved family members which is named “Lost Girls” in 2020.
2) Gone Girl:
How can one person forget the Gone Girl? This thrilling movie was made in 2014 with Rosamund Pike in lead roles as Amy Dunne and Ben Affleck as Amy’s husband, Nick. The intense story is about a couple who appear to have a happy marriage. But one day, Amy Dunne goes missing mysteriously and authorities suspect Nick for her disappearance. The movie is based on a novel of the same name. It revolves around the genre of troubled relationships of couples and domestic violence.
It is based on the real-life story of Laci Peterson, who disappeared or went missing on Christmas Eve. The victim’s husband was least interested in the interrogations and later it was revealed that he had an extra-marital affair. This shows the dark traits of men and the people we often love. Sometimes the people we love are not the person who loves us back, that is very heartbreaking indeed. The betrayal makes people take extreme steps as a result of the anger which sometimes can be fatal.
1) Open Water:
The Open Water is based on a true story from 1998. The couple, Tom and Eileen went scuba diving at Great Barrier Reef in Australia. They suffered due to the mistake of the tour guide since they were on tour. The tour guide missed the number of people in the group and left the couple in the ocean. Extensive searches were held and many authorities took action but sadly the couple was nowhere to be found.
The search wasn’t successful as after so many years no one knows the whereabouts of the couple and this story remains a mystery for all. This story was put into the intriguing movie named “Open Water” which thrills and captivates the audience with its themes and vulnerability in the deep ocean surrounded by sharks.
