Movies often reflect our deepest fears and fascinations, but sometimes, the line between fiction and reality blurs. Shockingly, some films have inspired real-life crimes. Here are ten movies that have led to disturbing copycat acts.
The Town
Ben Affleck’s The Town, a crime drama about bank robbers, ironically inspired a series of actual robberies. A New York City gang committed 62 robberies, stealing $217,000. They copied the film’s techniques, such as cutting power, using headlamps, and applying bleach to destroy DNA. Similar crimes, involving disguises from the movie, also occurred in Nebraska and Illinois. It seems some viewers took the wrong message from the film’s nuanced storytelling.
Project X
The teen comedy Project X, depicting an out-of-control party, sparked a wave of copycat parties across the U.S. These weren’t your average teen gatherings; they involved thousands of kids, drugs, violence, and vandalism. Incidents in Texas, Utah, and Florida led to property damage, injuries, and arrests for drug and alcohol possession. Warner Brothers even had to issue a statement urging teens to stop emulating the film.
Scream
Wes Craven’s Scream, a horror movie that parodied the genre, inspired a series of murders. The most infamous case involved Thierry Jaradin, who, after being rejected by a 15-year-old girl, dressed up in the Ghostface costume and stabbed her 30 times, mirroring the film’s opening scene. Jaradin confessed to planning the murder based on the movie, baffling authorities due to his lack of prior criminal history.
Fight Club
Fight Club, a film about underground fighting and anti-establishment rebellion, resonated with men who felt disenfranchised. In New York City, homemade bombs were detonated at various locations, including a Starbucks, mirroring the film’s destruction of corporate symbols. These acts were traced to Kyle Shaw, a member of a local “fight club,” highlighting the disturbing real-world impact of the movie’s themes.
Money Train
The heist film Money Train featured a scene in which a thief sets a subway toll booth on fire. This inspired a series of copycat crimes, the first of which involved a young man filling a coin chute with lighter fluid and threatening the clerk. The clerk suffered severe burns and later died. Several similar incidents followed, sparking outrage against violence in Hollywood.
Saw
The Saw franchise, known for its elaborate and gruesome traps, inspired a few disturbing plots. In Salt Lake City, a mother turned in her son and his friend after they planned to kidnap, torture, and murder people in the style of Jigsaw. Separately, in Tennessee, teenage girls left a voicemail in the Saw style, scaring a woman into suffering a stroke, illustrating the dangerous influence of the horror series.
Backdraft
The action film Backdraft, about firefighters chasing an arsonist, led one man to start fires of his own. Inspired by the film’s heroes, he lit a chair in his girlfriend’s family’s apartment, hoping to save them. Instead, the family woke up and put out the fire themselves, leading to his arrest. This bizarre case highlights the dangerous misinterpretation of heroic narratives.
Interview With The Vampire
The vampire film Interview With The Vampire took a bizarre turn into reality when Daniel Sterling, after watching the movie with his girlfriend, told her he was going to kill her and drink her blood. He then stabbed her seven times and sucked the blood from her wounds. Although he admitted the movie influenced his plan, the jury didn’t accept it as a defense, convicting him of attempted murder.
First Blood
First Blood, featuring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, inspired several incidents in the Canadian wilderness. Young men, attempting to imitate Rambo, engaged in standoffs with police. One man, dressed in army fatigues, was shot and killed after killing an officer. Another, found in a swamp, and a third, launching rocks at children, demonstrated the dangerous allure of the film’s portrayal of a war veteran pushed to his limits.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight, particularly Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker, has inspired multiple disturbing acts. The most infamous is the mass shooting in Colorado where the perpetrator identified as the Joker. In another incident, a man dressed as the Joker assaulted his cousin, and a student attacked a teacher after applying Joker-style makeup. These incidents highlight the dark influence of iconic villainy.
Movies, while often sources of entertainment and inspiration, can sometimes lead to tragic real-world consequences when individuals imitate the violence they see on screen. The cases above serve as a stark reminder of the potential impact of cinema on vulnerable minds.
What do you think about the influence of movies on real-life crimes? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
