Very often movies strive to present themselves as based on true events. Whether the producers think it will sell the story better, or it can even actually be somewhat based on true events. An interesting example of this is The Conjuring universe, where a whole plot was developed from a few basic facts, as in Lorraine and Ed Warren actually existed, and Annabelle the doll is actually trapped in their museum of the paranormal.
Though the rest of that story is pretty much fiction, fans are craving more – and they will get it, as The Nun sequel is starting production this fall. However, the horror genre is not the only one guilty of this. After all, “based on true events” is a term that gets used very loosely, and there are plenty of movies that people falsely believe were based on real-life people and events.
Fargo
Though this movie seems to be a bone of contention for many, Redditor punktual was the one to point out how misleading the movie is: “From the outset, it literally claims “This is a true story” and the plot is rich with things that make you question the truth and if the movie is using an unreliable narrator technique. It continually lies to you. Even the title of the movie lies to you. The town of Fargo is in North Dakota, not Minnesota.”
The people of Reddit did not enjoy Fargo trying to pass itself as based on true events. It’s arguably a ridiculous tactic because it’s undoubtful that more people will see a movie because it’s supposedly happened. People understand movies are fictional, but they don’t enjoy being misled.
The Blair Witch Project
Reddit user sazephyr99 said: “My parents were fully and absolutely convinced that the Blair Witch was reality. They went on their dial-up Internet and printed off supporting articles to distribute to their friends. No Joke.”
This Redditor’s parents were not alone. Among the entries in this thread, The Blair Witch Project appears more than once. The documentary style of the filming apparently convinced people that the story itself was real. So much so, that people massively visited the town of Burkittsville, even though according to the town historian, there never was a Blair witch in this town (via Thrillist). Despite its low production budget, it had a very successful box office moment.
Paranormal Activity
“I saw that one in a jam-packed theatre sat in the front row. That final scene. My god. I jumped. Lol. And to make matters worse, my watch decided to die that night, at 2:45am,” said Redditor ZombieJesus1987.
After the success of The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity followed suit with its cinéma vérité style of shooting. It’s based on a premise that people will find a movie scarier if they think something is actually happening, and the documentary-style aids in convincing the audience it’s real.
Braveheart
“Braveheart. Though it’s based on a real person all the events are either massively exaggerated or occurred in the incorrect order,” pointed out Redditor LezPlayLater, while Reddit user TelephoneCreepy2518 added that “People in Scotland hate Braveheart” because of this fact.
Another genre that is guilty of passing the entire movie as accurate because they got a few facts right is historical fiction. With how many movies commit this sin, it’s surprising the list isn’t more full of them, but Braveheart is mentioned more than once. It’s so inaccurate that it even made the most historically inaccurate movie list.
The Amityville Horrors
“The Amityville films all pushed a ‘true story’ narrative that was complete nonsense.” Apparently, there is a trend with horror movies that was spotted by Redditor B_Hound, who noticed this happens to this horror classic as well. Another Redditor added that this is especially prevalent with The Conjuring universe.
Many horror movies try to sell the “true events” angle, while most of them are actually very far from what happened and are only loosely based on true events. But there is just something that makes a horror movie extra scary if one can think it’s really happened at some point, which is why the horror genre continues to use it to its advantage. While this movie is loosely based on an actual event, most of it is fictional.
Hidalgo
“Hidalgo is credited as being a true story, despite there not being a single factual thing in the movie. It was based on a known con-man and liars auto-biography. The horse race that the movie is based around never existed,” Reddit user ahnuts pointed out.
As fun as it would be for this story to have actually happened, the Redditor is right. This has been labeled as The Hopkins Hoax, as there was never any evidence to support the story (via True West Magazine). Regardless, the trailer still advertised it as “based on an incredible true story,” which is why many people believed it. It’s just another case of producers making the most of the lie, and spreading false advertisements based on a story from a con man. Stranger things have happened in Hollywood.
Inglorious Basterds
This Reddit user mixed reality with fiction because of some real events that were mixed in the movie. “I didn’t know who Quentin Tarantino was when I saw Inglorious Basterds. I assumed it was based on real events. I knew Hitler didn’t die in a theatre in real life so I kept waiting for him to somehow still be alive…”
This movie indeed took a lot of historic liberties and manipulated the facts. Though the events of the movie were based on World War II, many people did think the war itself was too fictionalized – well at least the ones familiar with the actual true events of the war. The movie was also criticized for being too silly while talking about a serious subject, so perhaps the fact that people thought it was based on a true story does not speak in its favor. The last thing the world needs is movies mocking a tragic period of history.
King Arthur
“King Arthur with Clive Owen. At least my dumbass thought it was based on true events.” Reddit user ZombieJesus1987 said. This happens often when a movie is made about a historic figure, but the events of the movie are fictional. Even though in this case, historians haven’t even been able to confirm the existence of King Arthur.
The movie itself was made to look very realistic, and according to Fordham University’s Medieval Hollywood, the director loosely based the movie on new archeological evidence. However, the critics quickly realized it was historically inaccurate, making it just another action movie with a lack of character development. But there were people who praised Owen’s portrayal and found this to be one of the better King Arthur movies.
The Martian
There is a trend where people will just believe any movie that’s styled as a documentary is actually a documentary. Redditors noticed that a lot of people seemed to think Martian is a documentary. Redditor aubloom said: “My wife thought it was based on a true story!!!! I thought she was joking when she said it. Umm, we haven’t been to Mars sweetie.”
Though embarrassing, in the age of technological advances, not completely unlikely that mankind would have reached this milestone. But it’s a testament to Scott Ridley’s abilities to produce a movie that makes people believe that humankind has been to Mars. It’s not considered one of Ridley Scott’s best movies for nothing.
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust simply had to be included, because according to Reddit user LeafBoatCaptain “it was so realistic for its time that the director had to convince the courts that he did not actually kill people in the making of the film.”
Nothing speaks quite as much about the quality of a movie as people thinking it was so realistic, they were concerned they actually killed people. The movie is also shot in the style of documentary/found footage, which makes the videos even more convincing. As one of the first movies to do this style, it was a predecessor to both The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
