Like a lot of people are find books about aerial killers and real crime fascinating but I just couldn’t get on with this one. I spent a whole night forcing myself to keep reading, because sleep was eluding me, but it was really tough going.
The author constantly jumps from the murder to film and name drops like crazy, but I had no idea who all these people were that he was name dropping about. It was like sitting as a child listening to a relative talk about all their friends as if you know them, when your aunt lives miles away and you only see her once a year.
And it keeps changing too, one minute your reading about what the book is supposed to be about then suddenly it’s books based on real murder, but didn’t it say movies on the title.
I’m telling you my insomnia must be bad tonight because even this books couldn’t put me to sleep and if any book should have been able to do that, it’s this one.

Again thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free. Even if sadly it was not for me.

A fascinating exploration of the real life inspiration behind the portrayal of serial killers in the movies. The reader learns about both well known and less known serial killers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I can definitely recommend this title to adults who are both interested in true crime and in movies that purport to be "based on the true story." Berry-Dee examines different films and made-for-TV movies and how they are based on different crimes. Interestingly, Berry-Dee has met and interviewed many serial killers for previous books.

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Why is true crime so popular? Why must we feel to need to almost glorify serial killers and the infamous?
I quite enjoyed this book. It goes hand in hand with a book I read recently - Behind The Horror by Dr Lee Mellor, it also explores the dark and macabre that’s inspired some of the greatest movies of our time.
It’s a fine line to explore what makes psychopaths tick, and profiting off of the victims of heinous crimes. The line gets blurry soon after the first few chapters.
This is the latest book from Berry-Dee, a criminologist that focuses on serial killers.
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Note: I don’t have an issue with true crime fans, or the people who create the content. But I feel that they also need to respect that lives were lost, others impacted.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
This book was right up my alley. I am fascinated by the psychology of serial killers and the interviews were extremely interesting in this book.

This is an interesting take on how influential criminals have been in the creation of films.
It is a fascinating explanation of the inspiration taken from acts of some of the most heinous criminals in history.
Some I already knew about and some which were complete revelations and downright shocking!
This book is original and informative.
Well worth a read if you are a film buff and have an interest in true crime.

I am a big fan of everything True Crime but struggle to find books that I like because there is a fine line between talking about those darker sides of our society and cannibalising a crime in order to make money.

The author made some very strong points on this discrepancy and I got the impression that his book would be right up my alley. What did I expect? Picking up a book like this I am prepared to encounter the author's opinion. I am not looking for some kind of universal knowledge on the topic. Instead I want to compare my thoughts to those of others. The book promised insights into the individuals of Hollywood’s most shocking movies which is why I hope to either learn something new about well-known movies or discover new movies worth watching.

Serial Killers at the Movies: My Intimate Talks with Mass Murderers who Became Stars of the Big Screen talks about 20+ movies. Some of the old, some newer. I learned quickly that I only knew some of them but was originally okay with this. However, there is some kind of mismatch between the chapters. The author goes into a detailed description of some movies while he only scratches the surface with others. Basically, it’s tough to get into the book if you don’t know the particular movie he is talking about. However, there were some super interesting chapters - I loved his writing on The Silence of the Lambs and The Green Mile.

I learned many new aspects while reading the book and was on board with most of the author’s ideas - why did I only give it 3 stars? I didn’t look up the author before picking up the book but knew that he had written other books on the topic. However, he heavily referenced other books and works of his to a point where I felt like reading part 2 of a series. I constantly asked myself how well I would have liked the book if I had read other books by him. To be honest, I understand referencing your own work but this book isn’t part of a series (at least, as far as I know) and it annoyed me to no end to feel left out with all the inside remarks.

This could have been really good but was marketed the wrong way if you ask me. Why not turn it into a series with his other books in order to manage the expectation correctly.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC

I am a basic white girl, so I love true crime/serial killers. I enjoyed reading about some that I didn't know about and recap the ones I knew about. Would recommend this book to fellow basic white girls.

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you." - Nietzche
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Seen through the expert eye of an investigative criminologist, this book is an interesting dive into the world of true crime and popular culture in a unique way. Throughout the pages, we meet the infamous serial killers and read about the blood-chilling murders they have committed that have inspired horror movies like Silence of the Lambs, Zodiac, and Se7en.
One thing that can be safely said about the book is that Berry-Dee pulls absolutely no punches. The gory details of murders, the twisted minds of the murderers, and the sheer mindless violence are laid bare, together with a tongue-in-cheek and rather mundane reviews of their silver-screen counterparts that will leave the readers reeling from an emotional roller-coaster.
The newbies recently getting into the true-crime genre might be mostly taken in by especially the beginning chapters, where the serial killers, murders, and the movies are explained in a chilling but gripping manner, with a touch of humor and expertise. We do not get the same level of detail or background information on the subject matter at each chapter, but the book serves as a great introduction for those interested in researching more into these crimes.
However, despite the book's strong start and riveting potential, it does lose a bit of steam and focus towards the middle, and veers in a completely unexpected direction by the end. We go from the portrayal of murders on the silver-screen (done very well), to books about murders, to murders without movies, and then to movies based on completely fictional murders. The final chapter on movies that might not even contain serial killers, or murders, was the final touch that sealed my confusion.
All in all, an interesting topic discussed somewhat superficially.

“When one wonders where filmmakers get their ideas from, the same can be said of some real-life killers.”

My ignorance of crime-fiction, real-life murder stories and serial killers has ended brutally with this slap-in-the-face kind of book that literally took my breath away. From page one, I noticed I was holding my breath, gawking at the creativity of mankind in pursuit of killing a fellow human beings. Interestingly most murderers can switch between wicked and normal without an effort, so good luck for the fainted hearts like me, who used to live in a bubble of positive vibes. I never really watched crime movies but I guess I will start after this grand opening. The fact that I’m terrorized by the killers presented here and their representation in cinema does not prevent me from scrutinizing more on this wild subject. Though there were ups and downs and some gruesome parts, I really enjoyed this informative book and fluent narration of the author, whose professional background made me question life. It presents food for thought and opens up more gates with various book and movie recommendations. A must-read for the lovers of the genre and crime-movie afficionados.

**I received an ARC from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love how this book was written. I'm not gonna lie, the title had me hooked. But as I started reading, I was not disappointed. This book is about popular movies (like Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, etc) and tells you the actual truth behind the movies, the real crimes/stories. If you're a fan of true crimes, movies, or like learning interesting facts, I recommend this book.

If you are fascinated by serial killers, this is a great read for you. The author talks to the people behind the horrific crimes we see on the silver screen. He talks to them in depth. This opens your eyes to things that weren't shown in the movies and gives you a rare glimpse into how their minds work and why they do the things they did. However, the depraved acts are beyond understanding, but the killers tell you why they did it in their own words.
This book is not for the faint of heart. But if you like to read about serial killers, you are not afraid to read books like this.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes a look at some of the best, and worst, movie portrayals of serial killers and explores the real life serial killers they are based on.

This book had the potential to be an interesting insight into serial killers who have been immortalised in film, however I feel that the author seemed to spend a lot of time mentioning many films similar to the one the chapter was focusing on, and listing a huge number of actors rather than concentrating on the serial killers - which is the main draw of the book.

Some chapters were rather lengthy, and yet others felt as though they barely scraped the surface. It also became a bit irritating that the author constantly mentions he has written a chapter about the subject in his other book. It made this book feel like it was written purely to cross promote his other book.

This book would be ideal for a film lover who enjoys true crime.

If you're a fan of true-crime, as so many of us are these days, you'll no doubt be familiar with Christopher Berry-Dee's name already. An investigative criminologist who has spent years studying and writing about serial killers, he is most well-known for his 'Talking With Serial Killers' series of books and has explored all areas of a serial killer's mind. Now, it's time for him to go to the movies, as Dee looks at killers who have become stars of the big screen.

As a huge film fan and true-crime addict, I knew that Serial Killers At The Movies was going to be the perfect book for me so I had to read it as soon as I could. I love looking at how well a film tells a true story, so I was really interested to see Dee's first-hand account of his conversations with the people behind the iconic characters in films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Silence Of The Lambs, and Seven. It's a fascinating concept and one that I couldn't wait to dive into.

Analysing both the film and the actions of the real-life serial killer, Dee provides so much fantastic insight as he explores these stories from a variety of angles. Not only does he look at the murderers who have inspired fictional films, he also considers how well biopics portray their real-life inspirations, and at how true [or sometimes fabricated] stories are used for our entertainment.

"One should never lose sight of the fact that behind every dramatisation of a real-life tragedy - however loosely the facts are presented - a real person, in an actual place, has met a truly terrible end."

Dee does a brilliant job of looking at his subject on a broad scale, meaning that there is a wide variety of films and serial killers to support his discussion. But while I like this diversity, it does mean that not all of the chapters are as gripping as the gruesome murderer who inspired The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the shocking truth behind The Amityville Horror and its 20 sequels.

However, Dee's analysis did get me thinking about the importance of balancing a film's entertainment value with the facts, as we can often forget the victim in these tragic circumstances when the focus is placed on the perpetrator. As Dee questions what it is about serial killers that appeals to us when seeking entertainment, he highlights the boundaries that are often overstepped and gives an in-depth narrative of what films should be doing when exploring real-life monsters, which I found very eye-opening as a film fan.

"I understand the nature of film and TV making is to provide entertainment. That's not necessarily a bad thing if they actually help us all understand the impact of real-life homicide and the human stories behind the crimes."

As someone who is familiar with most of the films that are explored, there is occasionally too much time spent on detailing some of their plots, but this will serve well for those who haven't seen them. What it all comes down to, though, is Dee's revelation of the truth. It's annoying when films don't tell the whole story, but sometimes the real details are a whole lot worse than any film would ever be able to get away with.

While I wouldn't normally mention any proofreading comments when I receive an ARC because I know that it's still going through the editorial process, I can't know for sure what will be changed so I think it's only fair to make a few additional comments about some of the negatives I found. I will, however, note that I think that my early release copy is still due to go through a big edit, so these comments shouldn't affect your judgement too much.

As it was at my time of reading, not all of the chapters felt relevant and some of the stories needed to be linked together better. The book felt quite choppy in places, repetitive in others, and not all of the stories felt complete. It also felt like an advertisement to his other work at times, although these comments could just be references for Dee to expand on in a future edit. Nevertheless, it's got me interested enough to go and check out his other books, so it certainly worked on me.

Like I said, I think my copy of this book is still due to be edited quite heavily at this stage, so I think the issues I found in the second-half are ones that will be resolved when it comes to being published next year. After another edit, this is definitely a book that I would recommend, and a must-read if you're a fan of horror films.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC.

I’m no expert on serial killers, but a few names remain familiar to me- Aileen Wuornos, Ted Bundy, and Ed Gein. So it was delightful to read about them in the books, and how some of them were actually inspiration for my favourite books- The Hannibal Lecter series. The first chapter “Silence of the Lambs” was enlightening to me and an absolute joy to read. Though subsequent chapters focused on each different movie, the author cross examined them whenever possible which provided for some interesting analytical read on the MO of serial killers. Great work down there.

From the chapters “Se7en” onwards though, my interest started to dwindle, as perhaps the killers mentioned were the lesser known ones. The author quoted his other book “Talking with Serial Killers” more frequently, which honestly became a little annoying because I thought that was already promised in this book judging by its title but now I have to go get another of his book to read up on his conversations with the serial killers? Not that I mind getting them but it makes more sense to me combining the two books together into one because you want to read about the conversations right after reading about the references to the movies.

That said, I am still looking to get those books, as well as the one on Ted Bundy helping with the investigation of the green river killer. Exciting!

Oh one more thing: why isn’t there a mention of the TV series American Horror Story- Hotel? That was honestly where I learned about most of the serial killers in my somewhat limited repertoire of true crime.

Simply not for me. I expected this book to have a lot more “conversation” with serial killers that certain movies are based on however I found a lot of the book was the telling of their stories, which although not a bad thing, was nothing what I was hoping for from this book. I found this a complicated read, with a lot of filler and an awful lot of self praise and promotion from the author

This sounded so interesting and yet, I skipped through the last chapters.

There was just too much of everything.
Too many serial killers where the author could have chosen to just talk about one or two for every movie he talks about. Too many movies, too – some of them felt like a huuuuge stretch.
Also, too much self-promotion. I get that he’s a really famous true crime writer, but Christ, there’s no need to drop some of his books’ titles every two pages.

It also really needs some editing and structure. This felt to me like the first try at what could be a solid book – but really isn’t yet.

Such a great book!! As someone who spends a lot of time reading, discussing, and listening to true crime stories, I thought I had heard it all. I still learned so much in this book! I knew the vague details of movie characters being based off of Ed Gein or Ted Bundy, but I was shocked to learn some of the deeper truths that this book really delved into. If you're a fan of true crime, this book is definitely for you!

I wanted this to be a really fascinating deep dive into some fantastic movies and the serial killers that inspired them. Unfortunately, this felt incredibly scattered with limited structure and the author spent the majority of time telling us about all the other books he'd written and making judgmental comments about some of the victims. I just really didn't like the tone and thought that some of the serial killer to movie links were incredibly tenuous. Not for me I'm afraid.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Some terrific insights into the cases behind some of our most popular movies. The author probes what it is About crime and murder that appeals to us When seeking entertainment and provides information on some of the less ethical approaches and interpretations in existence.