Jennifer Lawrence’s Latest Film Role Is a True Crime Junkie’s Dream Come True

Charlize Theron took home the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress for her chilling portrayal of since-executed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in this 2003 drama.

Martin Scorsese brought the outrageous rise and fall of successful stock broker-turned-convicted-criminal Jordan Belfort to life in this 2013 drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Perhaps the coldest case in history, this 2006 crime drama starring Scarlett Johansson follows the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short, whose body was found sliced in half at the waist in 1947. 

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr., this 2007 thriller brings to the big screen the captivating investigation into tracking down the famed Zodiac Killer.

Widely considered one of the best films of all time, Goodfellas stars Robert DeNiro and follows the real life antics of New York City mobster Henry Hill.

This 2014 critically-acclaimed drama sees Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo at the focal point of a shocking murder in the wrestling world. 

Jack Black succeeds at the art of dark humor in this 2011 flick chronicling the 1996 murder of wealthy elder Marjorie Nugent at the hands of her 39-year-old caretaker, played by Black. 

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in this powerful true crime drama based on drug dealer Frank Lucas smuggling heroin into the United States on American service planes during the Vietnam War.

A nearly unrecognizable Johnny Depp appears alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon and more in the 2015 drama following ruthless mobster Whitey Bulger.

Based loosely on the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop kidnapping and murder case, Angelina Jolie lives out every parent’s nightmare when her child goes missing. The story takes an unexpected turn when she discovers that after being reunited with her son, the little boy is not actually hers.

The infamous 1993 murder of Bobby Kent takes center stage in this 2001 thriller tracking a group of friends’ plot to kill their abusive peer.

Though less terrifying than most true crime silver screen adaptations, Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the role of infamous con man Frank Abagnale in this comedic flick. The real life Abagnale was so successful in his illegal endeavors that the FBI even tapped him for his duping skills.

Novelist Truman Capote‘s classic retelling of the quadruple family murder in a small town in Kansas still resonates on the big screen even decades after its 1967 release.

DiCaprio is set to star as one of America’s first known serial killers, H.H. Holmes, who is said to have lured upwards of 200 of his victims to a hotel he dubbed the “Murder Castle.”

The 2015 mystery flick explores the relationship between convicted murderer Christian Longo (James Franco) and the man he pretends to be while hiding out from authorities, journalist Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill). 

We see Kate Winslet in her 1994 big screen debut alongside Melanie Lynskey as a pair of New Zealand-based teenagers that in 1954 plotted and murdered one of the girls’ mothers. 

“The dingo took my baby!” is the iconic line that has since become a pop culture staple referenced in shows like Seinfeld, The Simpsons and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In its 1988 film adaptation, Mery Streep stars as the falsely-accused mother who spent more than three years in prison for the murder of her baby daughter. The conviction was overturned when investigators found, in fact, that a dingo had killed Azaria Chamberlain. 

Jeremy Renner offers a chilling portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer in the 2002 horror spectacle, which tracked one of history’s most notorious serial murder, rape and dismemberment of 17 men and boys. 

The infamous tale of serial killer Jack the Ripper came to life through the eyes of Depp, who stars as the well-oiled investigator tasked with cracking the case. 

This 1986 rated “X” horror film was loosely based on serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, who together were convicted of murdering more than 150 people. 

James Franco, Winona Ryder and Michael Shannon portray the terrifying story of convicted hit man Richard Kuklinski, who later confessed to murdering between 100-250 men across four decades.