4. The Strangers (2008)
Inspired by: The Manson family murders (& others)
The Strangers isn’t the most obvious contender for this list, as it doesn’t have one concrete real-life inspiration. It does make use of the “based on a true story” branding, though, so it’s worth exploring.
The film follows the events of one couple’s traumatic evening when their home is invaded by masked criminals intent of terrorizing them. The Strangers was most heavily inspired by the Manson family murders (particularly that of Sharon Tate, as talked about in the Production Horror Stories episode of the podcast), and the idea of stranger-on-stranger violence. The Manson family murders are well documented, but the idea that this gang of unhinged, drug-fueled lunatics could just appear at your door and gruesomely murder you and your loved ones is pretty horrifying, and it’s pretty obviously a solid basis for any horror story.
However, The Strangers was also reportedly inspired by a series of break-ins that occurred in writer-director Bryan Bertino’s neighborhood as a child. There have also been similarities drawn between the films events and the Keddie cabin murders that occurred in 1981, although this has never been confirmed as an actual inspiration for the film.
It almost makes it worse that The Strangers isn’t just based on any one true event. That the film has three real life crimes linked to its conception actually makes it both more plausible and more terrifying.