"Yeah. I killed my mama." In response to "How about those Bears?", Henry nonchantly says, "Fuck the Bears." Shot in 28 days under a budget of $110,000, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is bar none the best in the serial killer genre. No other film comes this close. This is Michael Rooker at his chilling best. What a performance for him which is clearly off the charts.

"It's just you and me now, sport." Forget The Silence of the Lambs. Manhunter is the original. If you want to understand the word "genius," look no further than the "Moment of the Truth" scene when Will Graham began to figure out the identity of the killer. It's brilliant stuff. In reality, a serial killer can remain elusive for years. Logging hundreds of thousand hours, it only takes one trivial piece of evidence or sheer luck like a routine motor vehicle violation for the detectives to catch him finally.

This psycho-sexual thriller went on to become the game changer of the slasher genre. Taking a shower would never be the same again. Poor Marion Crane, she was the principal character for forty-eight minutes into the film and, all of a sudden, got bumped off in one of the greatest and most shocking scenes in cinema history. There's no actor who played a more famous villain than Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. Alfred Hitchcock was truly the Master of Suspense.

Dirty Harry is an absolute first-rate picture, and there's no better character than Dirty Harry Callahan in the history of cop movies. Two men, an inspector and a killer who are polarizing figures, go against each other in a game of intrigue. Andy Robinson's Scorpio is among the greatest villains ever. Not to miss is the legendary scene of Dirty Harry giving his speech.

Do you want to see one of the most unusual pictures about a serial killer couple? Then, check out The Honeymoon Killers. Its tagline reads: "Ray and Martha are in love. They're on a honeymoon. (The bride is in the trunk.)" Tony Lo Bianco and Shirley Stoler will be forever remembered as Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, aka "The Lonely Hearts Killers," who may have murdered at most twenty women during the late 40's before being executed in their 30's.

Shot on location in Hungary, Citizen X is the story of how an infamous serial killer was captured in the USSR which took many years due to bureaucrats and limitations in technology and manpower. What's not revealed is after investigating over 150,000 citizens, the authorities incidently solved more than 1,000 unrelated crimes including 95 murder and 245 rape cases. Now, that's what you call "looking at the bright side of a negative situation."

Thanks to Benoît Poelvoorde's arresting Oscar-worthy performance, C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) is one of the most compelling movies made. A one-man tour de force show, he can't be more charming, likeable, and manipulative. Endlessly talkative, Benoît's character is also knowledgeable, philosophical, and worldly in many areas through situational analysis.

Sure, the FBI aspect is intriguing and all, but let's not kid ourselves: Manhunter was there first. Obviously, Anthony Hopkins steals the show. Yet there are good performances by Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, and Ted Levine. The photography is gritty and realistic. I like the flow when it comes to examining the crimes but hate the scenes that consist of Hannibal's pointless questions about Starling's personal life.

Can anything be more exciting than Cobra? It's maybe the most aesthetic neo-noir picture made. Sylvester Stallone has outdone himself this time by creating one of the coolest characters in movie history through Marion Cobretti, the pride of the Zombie Squad. He takes on an army of killers, saving the best for last with the Night Slasher in an epic fight at the foundry.

Charles Bronson asked director Michael Winner, "What shall we do next?" Winner replied he had a script for Death Wish which was about a husband whose wife was murdered and daughter was sexually assaulted. Afterwards, he would kill random muggers who had nothing to do with what happened to his family. "I'd like to do that," Bronson said. "The film?" Bronson replied, "No...shoot muggers." Believe it or not, Paul Kersey is a serial killer.

The only definitive book of the case is The Atlanta Child Murders: The Night Stalker written by Assistant District Attorney Jack Mallard. However, I'm not going to beat up the film which is actually well done. It's generally accurate in terms of the big picture, but Abby Mann chose to ignore some significant facts, changed things around, or made up some stuff. Of the cast, Jason Robards and Rip Torn give the best performances. The resemblance Calvin Levels has to Wayne Williams is impressive although he's actually light-skinned.

The Deliberate Stranger presents a highly fascinating story about Ted Bundy. Several actors may be famously associated with a character in spite of giving an okay/fair performance, and that's what happened to Mark Harmon here. Hence, it's difficult to separate these two. Remember the movie came out in 1986 and Ted Bundy was still alive. By all accounts, he refused to see it. Just right before he was electrocuted in 1989, a lot of new information came out which explained how he killed, his modus operandi, and what he did afterwards.

Without doubt, Spoorloos is a quintessential Hitchcockian movie. One of the most remarkable qualities is the director's willingness to reveal the identity of a sociopathic killer from the get-go and show his routine while taking his time to unfold the layers of how and why he has become this sort of person.

Seven is a brilliant neo-noir masterpiece. The story is captivating with a shocker of an ending. It's hard to overcome the exquisite cinematography which elevates the film as a whole. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow will be remembered for this forever.

Buoyed by the well-done English cinematography, Peeping Tom is the kind of film Alfred Hitchcock could've directed, but kudos to Michael Powell. The idea of breeding freakish traits for the boy is the most fascinating part of the film. Karlheinz Böhm showcases a good, if unconventional, display of acting.

Well, this is the one that started it all: Johnny Depp's acting career after he's sucked into the waterbed before being blown up like a geyser in a bath of blood. Anyway, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a creative horror movie. I'll give Wes Craven that in spite of me calling him a hack and fraud so many times. The strongest acting performance goes to Heather Langenkamp, a Brooke Shields look-alike. Don't miss the third part while the second is completely skippable.

Copycat is an underrated serial killer picture that pairs two of the best actresses from the 80's: Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. Both are excellent. Adding Harry Lee Connick, Jr., into the mix is a treat. The story is clever by using ideas from past real-life serial killers to make the film work more logically than, say, The January Man. I appreciate the tie-ins, making me guess which method goes to which infamous serial killer(s).

"From the Master of Shock...a Shocking Masterpiece!" is the tagline for Frenzy. It's a strong Hitchcock picture. For the first time ever, this one was slapped with an R rating for nudity and graphic scenes. Barry Foster is brilliant as the sex maniac killer Robert Rusk. Michael Caine was first given the role but turned it down.

The Collector is a colorful-looking English serial killer picture. It's well-made, thanks to William Wyler's unfailingly magic touch. The best part is the psychological game that both characters play: a lot of give and take. I like how it ends as Terence Stamp's character goes off for the next hunt as if it's another day which is a rarity.

The style is impeccable in the tradition of Body Heat, thanks to the outstanding cinematography by Conrad L. Hall, with shades of Zalman King. Having Theresa Russell on board goes a long way. She's believable as the black widow. Debra Winger is on the other side, pursuing her, and may have fallen in love with her. At the minimum, there's respect for each other through discovery.

Among the scariest movies made during the 80's,The Stepfather is every divorced child's worst nightmare. The concept is so simple that it worked wonders back then which made Terry O'Quinn famous. It's interesting that a man would kill to have the most perfect family possible. Perhaps he should look at himself as the very reason why it fell apart.

Great job, everybody, for making the most overlooked film of 1995: The Last Supper. Yeah, the pretentious dialogue is pretty hard to listen to at first, but the movie gets better over time. Believe or not, these unlikeable five are serial killers with the same modus operandi every Sunday. At least, they have their comeuppance at the end.

Before there was Jason Voorhees, there was the Phantom Killer of Texarkana. The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a underrated serial killer picture. The cinematography and the setup of the eerie atmosphere are superb as it's mostly shot on location in Texarkana where the Phantom struck in 1946 and was never caught thereafter.

10 Rillington Place is a very British movie about a serial killer named John Christie, and the information presented matches the facts most of the time. Filmed at actual locations, it's rare for playing a role in Britain's abolishment of the death penalty. The hanging scene of Timothy Evans is impressive for being so sudden.

Forget Bates Motel...this is MOTEL HELL. Twenty years after Psycho, horror is finally back in motels, and this time, it's Motel Hell which features one of the most bizarre stories ever put on celluloid in the annals of horror pictures. It's almost a cross between The Wicker Man and Psycho. Yet there's a human side to it.

Jennifer 8 is an oddball. The cinematography is wonderful. There are many beautiful shots, and if not for them, the film is merely above average compared to other murder-mystery pictures. Andy Garcia is terrific by blending into any genre to give a more-than-enough performance. But the story falls short in logic here and there which can make for a frustrating viewing experience.

The writing is excellent once again. Dirty Harry Callahan goes out in the sunset with the best line of the film: "Maybe I'll start my own dead pool, and put you on it." Despite Sudden Impact being the best sequel of the franchise, The Dead Pool is actually the closest to Dirty Harry in feel. There are a lot of memorable scenes, but the coolest is the R/C car that's packed with C-4, setting up for a pretty good car chase that's the total opposite of Bullitt.

Sea of Love is a weird neo-noir. Sure, Al Pacino is excellent. He has nice chemistry with Ellen Barkin. John Goodman helps out. The story may be somewhat typical since it deals with a serial killer and there are red herrings along the way. Only the biggest question is: is it Ellen Barkin's character? So, the revelation comes and is thus a surprise, but it makes sense anyway.

First, it was Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans in The Last Boy Scout; now, Steven Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayans get their chance in The Glimmer Man. The story is straightforward. It's a fast-paced movie about catching a serial killer. Sure, there's an absurd moment here and there but nothing biggie. Just about all of the hallmarks from the first four films of Steven Seagal's career are incorporated into The Glimmer Man. Even better, he's quite funny.

I've said this before: if a movie has a goldmine premise, it can weather the negatives. That's the case for Frequency. The first half hour is very cheesy, but as soon as Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel connect each other through ham radio, the movie begins to take off. It's like Ladder 49 meets The Butterfly Effect with a serial killer angle. The tie-in with the 1969 World Series involving the Miracle Mets is ingenious as well.