Zodiac and the 9 best real life serial killer movies

7. Snowtown ( or The Snowtown Murders)

Also known as the “Bodies in Barrels Murders”, the Snowtown Murders were a series of brutal homicides carried out by John Justin Bunting, Robert Wagner and James Vlassakis in South Australia between August 1992 and May 1999. The trial was one of the longest and most publicized trials in Australian history.

The secondary name of the murders came from the way the bodies were found in barrels located in a bank vault in the city of Snowtown. Ringleader to the gang, John Bunting was driven by a hatred for pedophiles, homosexuals or anyone he deemed “weak”. Allegedly creating a “campaign” to rid the world of them. However, in some cases, cannibalism was involved as well as identity theft.

Directed by Justin Kurzel, the film focuses on James “Jamie” Vlassakis (Lucas Pittaway) and explains why he helped Bunting (Daniel Henshall) carry out such horrific crimes. Focusing the story around one of the accomplices rather than the ringleader offers a different perspective, taking on a more damaging effect.

It’s hard not to feel bad for Jamie and understand why, at that time, he allowed himself to be so easily manipulated. It’s unflinchingly graphic and almost sickening in the way it shows how cold-blooded these men were. The real Bunting received 11 terms of life imprisonment on September 8, 2003. And the real Vlassakis testified against his accomplices and was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years in an isolation prison kept unidentified for his protection.