From ‘Ratsasan’ to ‘Spyder’: 5 serial killer movies you can watch on OTT

South cinema has been exploring the realm of serial killer movies, a genre that delves into the intricacies of criminal minds, making it more engrossing and acceptable than traditional horror films. These movies require a well-crafted, tightly-woven storyline, as any misstep can quickly lose the audience's interest. Viewers have high expectations and are quite critical when it comes to serial killer movies, as these films revolve around hidden secrets and unique experiments. Here's a list of some excellent serial killer movies from Tollywood and other South Indian languages that are available for streaming on OTT platforms.

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‘Ratsasan' (Demon) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language movie directed by Ram Kumar, known for his work on ‘Mundasupatti’ in 2014. The film stars Vishnu Vishal, Amala Paul, and Saravanan in the leading roles, with supporting cast members like Kaali Venkat, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, and Ramdoss. The film features music and background score composed by Ghibran, while PV Shankar handled the cinematography, and San Lokesh was responsible for editing. The story revolves around an aspiring film director who decides to become a police officer after his father's death. He takes on the challenge of tracking down a serial killer. The film was released on October 5, 2018, and received positive reviews from critics.

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‘HIT: The First Case’ is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language crime thriller directed by newcomer Sailesh Kolanu. It stars Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma. The story centers around Vikram Rudraraju, a police officer in the Telangana state's Homicide Intervention Team (HIT), who is assigned to investigate the disappearance of an 18-year-old girl.The film was released in theaters on February 28, 2020, and proved to be a profitable venture at the box office. It was later followed by a standalone sequel called ‘HIT: The Second Case.’ Sailesh Kolanu, the director, also helmed the Hindi remake of ‘The First Case’ with the same title, which was released in July 2022. The storyline continues in ‘HIT: The Second Case,’ also directed by Sailesh, with both films forming part of a planned HIT Universe.

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"Por Thozhil," which translates to ‘The Art of War,’ is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film directed by Vignesh Raja. Vignesh Raja also co-wrote the script with Alfred Prakash. This film marks Vignesh's directorial debut and features R Sarathkumar, Ashok Selvan, and Nikhila Vimal as law enforcers on the hunt for a serial killer. The movie had its theatrical release on June 9, 2023, and it achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success. It grossed Rs 3.5 crore in Kerala within just 10 days of its release, with a total worldwide collection of Rs 50 crore. "Por Thozhil" is now available for streaming on OTT platforms.

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'Spyder' is a 2017 Indian action thriller movie written and directed by AR Murugadoss. It was made in both Telugu and Tamil languages and stars Mahesh Babu, SJ Suryah, and Rakul Preet Singh. In the Tamil version, Murugadoss handled the dialogues, and the Paruchuri Brothers took care of the Telugu version. The film's editing was done by A Sreekar Prasad, Santosh Sivan handled the cinematography, and Harris Jayaraj composed the music.The story revolves around Shiva, an IB officer, who embarks on a mission to protect the people of Hyderabad and Chennai after discovering that a psychopath is on the loose. It had a worldwide theatrical release in Telugu, Tamil, Arabic, and Malayalam on September 27, 2017, and in the US and Gulf countries on September 26. Despite grossing Rs 150 crore, it was considered a box office disappointment due to its high production cost of Rs 120 crore.

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‘Nadunisi Naaygal’ is a 2011 Tamil-language experimental psychological thriller film, written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The movie features Veera, Sameera Reddy, Deva, and four Rottweiler dogs, with Swapna Abraham and Ashwin (in his debut) in other significant roles.What makes this film unique is that it doesn't have a traditional musical score. Instead, it uses carefully designed sounds by Renganaath Ravee to create the desired atmosphere and tension.’Nadunisi Naaygal’ was released on February 18, 2011, and it was simultaneously dubbed and released in Telugu as ‘Erra Gulabilu.’ The title "Nadunisi Naaygal" is taken from a poem by Sundara Ramasamy.

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