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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Biopics and True Stories


Biopics and True Stories are films that are based on real-life person or incidents. These are usually almost entirely fantastic, however we do make some exceptions on this site.

  • Biopics of regular genre contributors (directors, writers, actors, producers)
  • Films about people whose lives broach genre interpretations such as psychics and historical figures with one foot in the horror genre like Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory
  • True story tellings that blend fantastical elements or are conducted in a highly fantastical style.

Films based on real-life crimes and killers are so numerous that have been moved to their own topic – see True Crime Films.


Apollo 13 (1995)

31 July 20007 September 2019

Rating: ★★★½

True-Life Space Mission Disaster

Director: Ron Howard
Actors: Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, …
Category: Science Fiction

Bathory (2008)

8 August 201130 October 2019

Rating: ★★★

Historical Countess Bathory Story

Director: Juraj Jakubisko
Actors: Anna Friel, Karel Roden, Hans Mathieson, Vincent Regan, …
Category: Horror

Conceiving Ada (1997)

13 September 20019 May 2020

Rating: ★

Ada Byron Biopic/Ada Recreated in Cyberspace

Director: Lynn Hershman Leeson
Actors: Tilda Swinton, Timothy Leary, Karen Black, John O'Keefe
Category: Science Fiction

The Countess (2009)

9 March 201017 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Historical Countess Bathory Story

Director: Julie Delpy
Actors: Julie Delpy, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl, Sebastian Blomberg, …
Category: Horror

The Creep Behind the Camera (2014)

23 April 201717 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Making of The Creeping Terror/Director Biopic

Director: Pete Schuermann
Actors: Josh Phillips, Jodi Lynn Thomas, Bill LeVasseur, Laurel Harris, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb (1980)

8 May 20189 July 2020

Rating: ★

“True Story” of the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

Director: Philip Leacock
Actors: Robin Ellis, Raymond Burr, Harry Andrews, Eva Marie Saint, …
Category: Fantasy

De Sade (1969)

19 April 200429 June 2020

Rating: ★★

Marquis de Sade Biopic

Director: Cy Endfield
Actors: Keir Dullea, John Huston, Lilli Palmer, Senta Berger, …
Category: Horror

Domino (2005)

25 February 200620 August 2020

Rating: ★★★

True Life Bounty Hunter/Gonzo Biopic

Director: Tony Scott
Actors: Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Delroy Lindo, …
Category: Fantasy

Ed Wood (1994)

24 November 200230 September 2020

Rating: ★★★★

World’s Worst Director Biopic

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, …
Category: Horror, Science Fiction

FairyTale: A True Story (1997)

28 October 199910 November 2020

Rating: ★★½

Photos of Fairies/”True Story”

Director: Charles Sturridge
Actors: Peter O'Toole, Harvey Keitel, Florence Hoath, Phoebe Nicholls, …
Category: Fantasy

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

20 August 200331 January 2020

Rating: ★★

Surreal Drug Hallucinations/Hunter S. Thompson Adaptation

Director: Terry Gilliam
Actors: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Craig Bierko, …
Category: Fantasy

Fellini’s Casanova (1976)

28 March 201122 May 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Fantasticised Historical Biography

Director: Federico Fellini
Actors: Donald Sutherland, Tina Aumont, Cicely Browne, Carmen Scarpitta, …
Category: Fantasy

Finding Neverland (2004)

16 January 200514 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Peter Pan’s Creator Biopic

Director: Marc Forster
Actors: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Radha Mitchell, Julie Christie, …
Category: Fantasy

Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond (2014)

23 March 20145 March 2020

Rating: ★

James Bond Creator Biopic

Director: Mat Whitecross
Actors: Dominic Cooper, Lara Pulver, Samuel West, Anna Chancellor, …
Category: Science Fiction

Gods and Monsters (1998)

1 May 199925 September 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Genre Director Biopic

Director: Bill Condon
Actors: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, …
Category: Horror

Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

27 January 201810 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

Winnie the Pooh’s Creator Biopic

Director: Simon Curtis
Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Will Tilston, Kelly MacDonald, …
Category: Fantasy

Gothic (1986)

19 October 20026 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Mary Shelley-Lord Byron Meeting

Director: Ken Russell
Actors: Natasha Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Myriam Cyr, …
Category: Horror

Hanussen (1988)

11 January 20039 May 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Charismatic Clairvoyant/Hypnotist

Director: Istvan Szabo
Actors: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Erland Josephson, Walter Schmidinger
Category: Fantasy

Haunted Summer (1988)

5 January 200015 February 2019

Rating: ★

Mary Shelley-Lord Byron Meeting

Director: Ivan Passer
Actors: Alice Krige, Eric Stoltz, Laura Dern, Philip Anglim, …
Category: Horror

Hitchcock (2012)

1 December 201220 October 2020

Rating: ★★★★

The Making of Psycho

Director: Sacha Gervasi
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Danny Huston, Scarlett Johansson, …
Category: Horror

Hollywoodland (2006)

26 February 200721 September 2019

Rating: ★★★½

The Death of TV Superman George Reeves/True Crime

Director: Allen Coulter
Actors: Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins, …
Category: Science Fiction

Hugo (2011)

15 December 201110 June 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Children’s Film/Georges Melies Tribute

Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, …
Category: Fantasy

A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman (2012)

26 October 201218 June 2019

Rating: ★★★

Absurdist Animated Biopic

Director: Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson, Ben Timlett
Actors: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, …
Category: Fantasy

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

5 March 20186 February 2020

Rating: ★

Charles Dickens and the Writing of A Christmas Carol

Director: Bharat Nalluri
Actors: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Morfydd Clark, …
Category: Fantasy

Marquis de Sade (1996)

31 December 199630 August 2018

Rating: ★★

Marquis De Sade Biopic

Director: Gwyneth Gibby
Actors: Nick Mancuso, John Rhys-Davies, Janet Gunn, Charlotte Nielsen, …
Category: Horror

Mary Shelley (2017)

9 November 201812 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

Frankenstein’s Author Biopic

Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Actors: Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, Bel Powley, Stephen Dillane, …
Category: Horror

The Master (2012)

27 September 201220 April 2020

Rating: ★★★½

L. Ron Hubbard Fictionalised Biopic

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Actors: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons, …
Category: Science Fiction

Matthew Hopkins – Witchfinder General (1968)

5 December 19997 March 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Historical Witch Persecutions

Director: Michael Reeves
Actors: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Hilary Dwyer, Rupert Davies, …
Category: Horror

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

16 November 199916 September 2019

Rating: ★★

Historical Epic

Director: Luc Besson
Actors: Milla Jovovich, Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, …
Category: Fantasy

Mindbender (1996)

31 December 199630 August 2018

Rating: 0­

“True Life” Psychic Uri Geller Biopic

Director: Ken Russell
Actors: Ishai Golan, Terence Stamp, Idan Alterman, Hetty Baynes, …
Category: Science Fiction

Miss Potter (2006)

31 December 200630 August 2018

Rating: ★★

Children’s Author Beatrix Potter Biopic

Director: Chris Noonan
Actors: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn, …
Category: Fantasy

The Most Assassinated Woman in the World (2018)

28 October 201928 October 2019

Rating: ★★

Real-Life Grand Guignol Theatre

Director: Franck Ribiere
Actors: Anna Mouglalis, Niels Schneider, Jean-Michel Balthazar, Michel Fau, …
Category: Horror

My Friend Dahmer (2017)

26 February 201829 July 2020

Rating: ★★★

True-Life Serial Killer’s High School Years

Director: Marc Meyers
Actors: Ross Lynch, Dallas Roberts, Anne Heche, Alex Wolff, …
Category: Horror

My Life as a Fairytale: Hans Christian Andersen (2001)

2 May 200510 June 2020

Rating: ★★½

Fairytale Author Biopic

Director: Phillip Saville
Actors: Kieran Bew, James Fox, Flora Montgomery, Mark Dexter, …
Category: Fantasy

Nostradamus (1994)

28 October 20015 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Historical Biopic of a Clairvoyant

Director: Roger Christian
Actors: Tcheky Karyo, Julia Ormond, F. Murray Abraham, Assumpta Serna, …
Category: Fantasy

Open Water (2003)

29 August 200414 January 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Stranded in a Sea of Sharks/True Story

Director: Chris Kentis
Actors: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis
Category: Horror

The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999)

5 September 200431 July 2019

Rating: ★★★

SF Writer-Philosopher Biopic

Director: Christopher Menaul
Actors: Helen Mirren, Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy, Peter Fonda, …
Category: Science Fiction

Photographing Fairies (1997)

14 June 20023 September 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Fairies and Altered Perception

Director: Nick Willing
Actors: Toby Stephens, Ben Kingsley, Frances Barber, Emily Woof, …
Category: Fantasy

Pocahontas (1995)

8 November 200119 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Disney Animation/Historical Meeting Between English & Native Americans

Director: Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg
Actors: Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers, Linda Hunt, …
Category: Fantasy

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)

31 December 199815 October 2019

Rating: ★★★

Disney Animation/Pocahontas Goes to England

Director: Tom Ellery, Bradley Raymond
Actors: Irene Bedard, Billy Zane, David Ogden Stiers, Donal Gibson, …
Category: Fantasy

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)

21 January 201823 February 2021

Rating: ★★★

Wonder Woman’s Creator Biopic

Director: Angela Robinson
Actors: Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote, Connie Britton, …
Category: Fantasy

Quills (2000)

31 December 200012 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

The Marquis de Sade Story

Director: Philip Kaufman
Actors: Geoffrey Rush, Joqauin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Kate Winslet, …
Category: Horror

Rasputin The Mad Monk (1966)

21 April 200819 June 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Hammer Historical Horror Film

Director: Don Sharp
Actors: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, Francis Matthews, …
Category: Horror

The Raven (1915)

11 July 201917 July 2020

Rating: ★★

Edgar Allan Poe Biopic

Director: Charles J. Brabin
Actors: Henry B. Walthall, Wanda Howard, Ernest Maupain
Category: Horror

The Red Tent (1969)

23 April 201530 August 2018

Rating: ★★★½

Ill-Fated Expedition to the North Pole/Ghosts of the Dead

Director: Mickail K. Kalotozov
Actors: Peter Finch, Sean Connery, Claudia Cardinale, Edward Marzevic, …
Category: Fantasy

Requiem (2006)

21 September 200628 July 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Possible Demonic Possession/True Story

Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
Actors: Sandra Hüller, Burghart Klaußner, Anna Blomeier, Nicholas Reinke, …
Category: Horror

The Right Stuff (1983)

26 August 20025 December 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Story of the True Life Space Mission

Director: Philip Kaufman
Actors: Sam Shepard, Dennis Quaid, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, …
Category: Science Fiction

Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

20 December 201313 July 2019

Rating: ★★★★

The Making of Mary Poppins

Director: John Lee Hancock
Actors: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Annie Buckley, …
Category: Fantasy

Shirley (2020)

12 June 202011 September 2020

Rating: ★★★

Horror Author Biopic

Director: Josephine Decker
Actors: Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young, Michael Stuhlbarg, Logan Lerman, …
Category: Horror

The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle (2005)

24 March 201017 January 2019

Rating: ★★★

Arthur Conan Doyle Biopic-Mystery/Meta-Fiction

Director: Cilla Ware
Actors: Douglas Henshall, Tim McInnerny, Brian Cox, Allan Corduner, …
Category: Fantasy

Talking to Heaven (2002)

18 June 201530 August 2018

Rating: ★★

True-Life Medium Biopic

Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Actors: Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Queen Latifah, Jack Palance, …
Category: Fantasy

Tolkien (2019)

2 August 201917 July 2020

Rating: ★★

Fantasy Author Biopic

Director: Dome Karukoski
Actors: Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, Patrick Gibson, …
Category: Fantasy

Vlad the Impaler (2000)

6 July 201016 April 2020

Rating: ★★

The Historical Dracula

Director: Joe Chappelle
Actors: Rudolf Martin, Jane March, Christopher Brand, Peter Weller, …
Category: Horror

Welcome to Marwen (2018)

12 April 20196 November 2020

Rating: ★★

Man Builds a Fantasy Doll Village/True Story

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Merritt Wever, Eiza Gonzalez, …
Category: Fantasy

The Whole Wide World (1996)

21 July 200026 October 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Robert E. Howard Biopic

Director: Dan Ireland
Actors: Renee Zellweger, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell
Category: Fantasy

Wired (1989)

11 April 20052 August 2019

Rating: ★

Surreal John Belushi Biopic

Director: Larry Peerce
Actors: Michael Chiklis, Ray Sharkey, J.T. Walsh, Gary Groomes, …
Category: Fantasy

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  • The Stand (2020-2021)
  • Among the Shadows (2019)
  • Retribution (1987)
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  • Death of Me (2020)
  • The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
  • Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
  • Archive (2020)
  • High School Girl Rika, Zombie Hunter (2008)

Theme Essays

  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Nazis
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Sexual Fetishism in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being Based on True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns

© Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2021

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