10 True crime movies to watch on Amazon Prime Video

Movies based on true crimes are haunting, brooding, and dark and tell twisted stories of people around us. True crime movies are a reminder that the world is not all sunshine and roses but hidden wolves lurking in the dark, waiting to jump upon one.

From school shooting incident in American Tragedy, which led to people talking about sensitive topics around mental health, to Dear Zachary, which prompted the Canadian Government to pass a bill about child protection, True Crime movies are the mirror of society while also guiding people to talk and learn about what caused these tragedies and how it could be prevented in the future.

So, here is a list of 10 True Crime movies to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street - Official Trailer (HD)

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Based on the success and then the tragic downfall of the stockbroker, Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street tells a story of greed, lust, and power. Jordan makes a successful career out of slyly cheating investors by selling fake stocks, which prints him money enough to be regarded as dirt. But when the FBI takes a keen interest in his wealth and its source, Jordan goes on a much worse path to run away from being caught. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Margot Robbie.

American Tragedy

AMERICAN TRAGEDY - Official Trailer [HD] | Amazon Prime

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A sensitive documentary film about the 1999 Columbine shooting in which the perpetrators were school kids. The question asked after the incident was if it was the parents’ fault that their child turned out to be a killer or they could have prevented it. The film answers the question and uses this approach to spread the necessity of mental health and how important it is that children are given proper guidance.

Lansky

lansky

Meyer Lansky, a real-life gangster with ties to the National Crime Syndicate, decided to write a tell-all book about his life of crime and violence. Meanwhile, the Feds were conducting a deep investigation into Lansky’s supposed wealth, which he had amassed in his more than two-decade-long career of being the boss of a notorious gangster company called Murder, Inc. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, Sam Worthington, and AnnaSophia Robb.

The Imposter

The Imposter Official Trailer #1 - Sundance Documentary (2012) HD Movie

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A documentary film that uses interviews, a reenactment of scenes, and some archived footage from news channels to present the story of a boy who tricked a family into believing that he is their lost son. Bourdin, a 23-year-old man, took advantage of his child-like looks to report himself as a missing child. Thereafter, he picked the Barclay family and took the identity of Nicholas, who disappeared at the age of 13. He dyed his dark hair blonde and added matching tattoos, and for years, he was able to fill the family and their relatives into thinking he was the real Nicholas.

The Stoneman Murders

The Stoneman Murders Theatrical Trailer

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On the streets of Mumbai in the 80s, a killer by the name of Stoneman started to spread his tyranny by stoning poor people sleeping on footpaths to death. A suspended police inspector sees this case as an opportunity to turn around his own situation and reinstate himself, and set out on the trail of the serial killer.

The Whistleblower

It is a true story based on the experiences of a police officer who found that the company she works for is aiding in hiding and carrying out the s*x trafficking of young girls. Kathryn Bolkovac is offered to work at Democra Security as a UN International police. A case of two girls who escaped sex trafficking led her investigation into uncovering a major sex trafficking of Ukrainian girls and women. When she tries to report the company, she is fired from her job. It stars Rachel Weisz, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Monica Bellucci.

Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father

As an ode to his friend Andrew Bagby, Kurt Kuenne directed and produced a film to commemorate his friend’s unjustified murder and the ordeal that followed after his death. Andrew Bagby was training to practice family medicine. He was in a long-distance relationship with an old woman, Shirley Turner, which soured after a time, and Andrew proposed to break up. But the next morning, Andrew was found dead, having been shot five times. Shirley was let off on the basis that she was pregnant with Andrew’s baby whom she later named Zachary.

City of Ghosts

Directed by Matthew Heineman, an Emmy award winner, City of Ghosts follows a bunch of undercover Syrian activities who are on the run and going through intense and life-threatening situations to capture what inhumanity has been wrought through their country by ISIS. The movie received major critical acclaim for its raw presentation of truth and won awards at the Dallas Fort Worth Film Critics Association, Directors Guild of America award, etc.

An American Crime

A true crime-based movie, An American Crime, shocked the people of Indians in the 1960s. Horrific and sadistic punishments were forced upon a young girl, Sylvia, by her supposed caretaker, Gertrude. Sylvia’s parents worked as traveling artists and needed to place their daughters with a family so they didn’t have to follow them around. Gertrude takes in the sisters as she is in dire need of money, but when the payment fails to come the next month, she starts to torture Sylvia, holding her prisoner in her basement. It stars Elliot Page, Catherine Keener, and James Franco.

The Murder of Meredith

The Murder of Meredith | BBC Select

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A British exchange student, Meredith Kercher, went to study abroad in Italy at the University of Perugia as she was fascinated by the language and the Italian culture. But one day, when her roommates were out partying, they came home to her door locked. Worried, they forced the door open, finding Kercher dead.