Hey there. Andrew Gunn Here. This week I’ll be talking about my beef with movies that are “based on true events”.
As most people know, I’m a huge sports fan. The majority of people who know me, know this. However what many people don’t know is I’m also a big movie fan. I love movies from all kinds of different genres. I especially take a liking to horror movies, mystery/suspense, and thrillers. Now when I say horror movies, I don’t mean those corny, teen slasher flicks like Scream or Friday the 13th. I’m talking real, spine-tingling horrors, paranormal or psychological. Ones that give you a mindf*** like no other. I’m also intrigued by movies that are “based on true events”. I like movies like these because after I finish watching them, I always feel the “Whoa, that really happened?”.
There’s only one problem. Many of these movies that claim to be based on true events or based on a true story, often exaggerate heavily and fabricate the movie so much that the whole plot is fictitious with the exception of the main character’s name or the location in which the movie took place.
A very good example is a movie I just watched recently called “Deliver Us From Evil” starring Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Joel McHale and Olivia Munn. This movie, (without ruining it for you), centers around NYPD Sergeant Ralph Sarchie (played by Bana), who finds himself wrapped around a criminal investigation which takes a twisted, paranormal turn. He and his partner (played by McHale), encounter evil unimaginable, and look to the help of a young priest (played by Ramirez) to help them with the investigation. Many of the scenes and plot points were in fact chilling, and while I didn’t find the movie itself to be amazing, I was intrigued by the fact it was based on true events. After having finished the movie, I decided to look up the real story behind Deliver Us From Evil and the real Ralph Sarchie, as I often do after watching a movie of this particular subject. What I found out disappointed me greatly. What we know is, there really is an NYPD Sargeant Ralph Sarchie. He does in fact have a family like in the film, and he does encounter paranormal activity. However, almost every bit of information given in the movie did not really happen to the real Sarchie, and fabricated by the director to “make the movie work”. The only true things about this movie are the names of the characters, and the location of where it took place. This really disappointed me, as it immediately took alot of the intrigue away from this movie. And it’s not just this movie that has done such a thing. This happens frequently. A movie will come out with the tagline “based on actual events” or “inspired by a true story”, which really is just a marketing tactic to bring more people into the theatre to see it. Many of these movies are extremely exaggerated and it drives me crazy.
The most screwed up part about it is? I always fall for it, time after time. I will not deny, when I see a movie come out which claims to be based on a true story, especially if it’s a horror or thriller theme, I’ll be immediately intrigued to go see it. It never fails. I guess it’s a love-hate relationship with these movies. I fall in love with the potential, and have my heart broken by the outcome.
So the next time you’re watching tv, and you see a trailer for a new horror movie coming out that claims to be “based on true events”, you can count on me falling for it once again. I hope you don’t make the same mistake.
I’m Andrew Gunn, and that’s my beef with “based on true events” movies.
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