Six best serial killer movies to binge watch this weekend

The dark world of crime and criminal minds often scare us to death, but we also enjoy following the dangerous killers on screen. Watching a killer indulging himself into serial killing brings terrifying thoughts. They don’t care about any concrete motive or remorse for their work and the twisted mind performs at its best. But their sinister world has often adapted to a thrilling cinematic experience. These films drag the audience into a horrifying world of serial killers. Here’s a list of Tollywood films which explored the world of serial killers aptly.

Following the success of his first film ‘Autograph’, Srijit’s ‘Baishe Srabon’ encapsulates a heady cocktail of thriller, violence, music along with Bengali poetry. Probir Roychudhury's bitterness and angst couldn’t have been essayed out better than Prosenjit, whose character seemed to be a far cry from the one in ‘Autograph’s mighty yet vulnerable superstar. Prosenjit stunned everyone with his performance as an ex-cop in this psychological thriller directed by Sriji Mukherji. According to the narrative, Prabir, suspended from his duty, works with the chief investigating officer (Parambrata) to nab a serial killer committing murder and leaving couplets from popular Bengali poems as a clue. Prosenjit’s remarkable acting was highly acknowledged by both the critics and audience. ‘Baishe Srabon’ eventually became one of the highest grossing films of 2011.

A sequel to Baishe Srabon, Srijit Mukherji's Dwitiyo Purush is about police inspector Abhijit Pakrashi (Parambrata Chatterjee) who gets a serial killer’s case in hand. How will he solve the case? What all will get dug up alongside the mystery? The name, Dwitiyo Purush, fits the bill because there’s one or the other such a second man involved in the cop and killer chase from the very first scene. Considering the fact that making original thrillers are getting tougher each day, the film approaches the end with a shocking twist.

Vinci Da begins with a horrific scene where a young Adi Bose (Riddhi Sen) beats his abusive father to death and then rings the local thana to inform the same. The scene right away set the tone of the film and the audience dragged into the dark and twisted world of a serial killer. The story then progresses as we see Adi Bose, now a lawyer, indulges into killing with a twisted sense of justice. Meanwhile, there is a talented makeup artist, who doesn't get his due respect in the film industry. However, his world is shaken when he is tricked by Adi Bose and one fine day he finds himself responsible for a murder.

Birsa Dasgupta’s film, which translates to ‘The Mask’ in Bengali, explores the concepts of appearance versus intent, truth versus lies. Kingshuk, a consulting criminologist making his presence felt at the Kolkata Police department, gets involved in a ghastly case serial killings that have only one common link. As his investigation slowly unfolds, Kingshuk is up against a series of grotesque murders and an unexpected turn of events as he dives deep into his investigation following a mysterious trail. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

'Asche Abar Shabor' is the third film in Arindam Sil’s Detective Shabor series and the effort to bring the surprisingly underrated character to screen is quite commendable. Based on the popular story Prajapatir Mrityu O Punorjanmo (The Death and Reincarnation of a Butterfly) by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, the film managed to create a sense of intrigue. Saswata Chatterjee is an absolute treat to watch in this film also. His hard-as-nails detective character Shabor Dasgupta is quite believable. The poker-faced appearance with wry humour, laced with just the right blend of sarcasm and critique is the one true winner of this flick.

Being a thriller, 'Shororipu' doesn't go after chasing and action, instead makes it a challenging mental exercise that teases the grey matters of your brain constantly. Detactive Chandrakanto often arrives on the logical conclusion with his deduction of circumstantial evidence, postmortem report and personal history. Director Ayan Chakraborty successfully delivers a smart movie that's enriched by excellent performances of Chiranjeet, Indraneil, Rajatabho, and Sudipta Chakraborty.