The real-life cases featured in Mindhunter inspired a ton of media besides the short-lived Netflix series, and the movies range from the salacious to the dramatic and everything in between. Mindhunter debuted in 2017 to rave reviews, and brilliantly dramatized the work of FBI profiler John Douglas. Though it took some creative liberties, Mindhunter was based on a true story.

After two compelling seasons of streaming TV, Mindhunter was shockingly canceled by Netflix. The sudden end left the show unresolved, and there was still plenty of Douglas’ life left to be explored. While a resolution for the fictional storyline within the series probably won’t be coming anytime soon, there’s plenty of Mindhunter-adjacent media out there.

The show featured the characters interviewing some of the most notorious murderers in custody at the time, and those interviews helped to shape the psychological approach to catching other criminals. The series only hinted at the much larger stories behind such figures as David Berkowitz and Charles Manson, but other filmmakers have explored those cases in detail.

Movies based on true crime run the gamut from sincere and analytical, to cynical and salacious, and the cases featured in Mindhunter are no different. Their quality varies, but many of these movies contain interesting information that the series didn’t cover. While they may never fill the void left behind, some movies make for good supplements to the Netflix show.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a love letter to a bygone era of the тιтular city, but it also involves one of Tinseltown’s darkest chapters. The interwoven narrative follows a washed-up actor, a stuntman, rising starlet Sharon Tate, and the Manson family. However, it’s an intentionally anachronistic take on the latter.

Charles Manson and Tex Watson were both interviewed during the events of Mindhunter season 2, but their portrayal in the show is truer than in the Tarantino film. The movie can be viewed as something of a cathartic alternate universe in which the Tate-LaBianca murders never happened, and the Manson family was stopped before any serious crimes were committed.

As a piece of information, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is pretty weak. However, it’s such a fun and fantastical movie that its historical inaccuracies can be forgiven. What’s more, it makes for a pretty humorous watch for anyone who is steeped in true crime knowledge and can pick out all the intentional departures from reality.

Who Killed Atlanta’s Children? (2000)

The Atlanta child murders case was the dominant storyline of Mindhunter season 2, and the Netflix series followed the established facts as laid out by Douglas and his fellow investigators. However, the 2000 TV movie Who Killed Atlanta’s Children takes a different view entirely. The Showtime original is mostly a platform for conspiracy theories.

Starring Jim Belushi and Gregory Hines, the film involves journalists who look into the case only to discover a disturbing link that suggests a cover-up. It’s important to note that the movie is a work of fiction, but it does posit a popular theory involving the Ku Klux Klan, and a plot to frame Wayne Williams for the crimes.

Mindhunter‘s depiction of the events is much more accurate, and even addresses many concerns involving racism in the case. Nevertheless, Who Killed Atlanta’s Children is a fine TV movie that makes for a nice thriller if the glaring inaccuracies can be overlooked.

The Clovehitch Killer (2018)

The 2018 horror film The Clovehitch Killer might seem familiar to Mindhunter viewers because it’s loosely based on the case of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer. In the series, Rader’s crimes are shown in excruciating detail as a parallel plot to Holden and Bill’s storyline. However, he wasn’t apprehended until the 2000s, so things are kept somewhat vague on purpose.

The Clovehitch Killer was made after Rader’s arrest, and it pulls details from the case while crafting a fictional dramatic narrative. The movie is based on Rader’s case, but it is far from a true crime movie, and it doesn’t pretend to be a recollection of the events as they actually happened. It isn’t biographical, but it is endlessly suspenseful.

As a supplement to a more informative documentary or book, The Clovehitch Killer makes for great viewing. However, it’s also a strong horror film overall, and can be enjoyed with or without its true crime context. The fact that it’s based on some true details elevates the chilling indie flick to a whole new level.

Chicago Mᴀssacre: Richard Speck (2007)

Unlike the slick big-budget production of Mindhunter, the straight-to-video true crime movie Chicago Mᴀssacre: Richard Speck is a gritty low-budget affair. As the тιтle suggests, it concerns mᴀss murderer Richard Speck, and follows his life from his youth to his controversial final days in prison. It doesn’t try to obfuscate its source material, and markets itself as a biographical film.

Speck’s portrayal in Mindhunter may have jumbled the facts around, but was anchored by truth. The movie is also based on factual accounts, though it changes names and minor details out of plot necessity. It isn’t wildly inaccurate, though it lacks an eye for detail that makes for better true crime movies.

Chicago Mᴀssacre is hindered by its budget, and the script poorly paces out Speck’s story. It’s also guilty of being too much of a salacious horror movie, with Speck’s crimes being used as a platform for scary moments. Corin Nemec gives a steady performance as Speck, but the varying quality of the supporting cast lends the movie an amateurish tone.

Kemper: The Co-Ed Killer (2008)

Cameron Britton’s performance as the hulking Ed Kemper was one of the brightest aspects of Mindhunter, and he brought eerie humanity to one of true crime’s most monstrous killers. He appeared frequently throughout the series, and was something of a dark anchor for Holden’s emotional descent into the minds of serial offenders.

However, the 2008 horror film Kemper: The Co-Ed Killer does no such justice to the story. Despite clearly trying to tell the tale of Kemper and his crimes, the low-budget film radically alters key details. It’s set in the modern day, and misses important facts about Kemper, such as his imposing height.

Kemper: The Co-Ed Killer fails as a biographical film about Kemper, and it even bombs as a salacious horror film. It has very little by way of scares, and its production value makes it look like an episode of a TV show rather than a feature film. Mindhunter is still the best portrayal of Kemper in the media to date.

Summer Of Sam (1999)

Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam is one of the director’s most forgotten films, but it is an interesting piece of true crime media that ties back to Mindhunter. The film is set in the infamous summer of 1977, where various events kept New York City in a frenzy, including the murder spree of the Son of Sam.

One of the more instantly recognizable faces to appear in Mindhunter, David Berkowitz provides a chilling interview with Holden. He is only a pᴀssing figure in Summer of Sam, though the movie gets most of the facts right by being as vague as possible. Instead, Spike Lee’s movie is actually more about cultural shifts in NYC in the late ’70s.

For those looking for an informative look at Berkowitz and his crimes, Summer of Sam is a disappointment. However, the movie is still an interesting character drama that cleverly uses the crimes as a backdrop for deeper social commentary. Essentially, Summer of Sam is a tribute to ’70s cinema and culture, and not a biographical film.

Charlie Says (2018)

Certainly the most famous criminal to appear in Mindhunter, Charles Manson’s impact on popular culture stretches far beyond the series. Charlie Says is one of the more recent films to depict Manson’s cult, and it’s also one of the few that aimed for realism instead of sensationalism. Matt Smith is almost unrecognizable as Manson, though he isn’t the sole focus.

While they weren’t interviewed in Mindhunter, the female members of the Manson family are the lead characters of Charlie Says. The movie tells the true story of journalist Karlene Faith’s attempts to deprogram them, and involves lengthy flashback scenes to the more notorious moments of the Manson family’s drug-fueled rampage.

Charlie Says is a perfect companion to Mindhunter because it’s factual and detailed, without dipping into unnecessary salaciousness. It is somewhat dry, and the script lacks luster, but it cannot be faulted for its commitment to the truth.