John Waters' satirical black comedy horrorSerial Momled many viewers to believe that the movie was based on a true story, though that claim is not entirely true.One of John Waters' classic movies,Serial Mom, stars Kathleen Turner as Beverly Sutphin, an unassuming upper-middle-class housewife who has a dark secret: she is a serial killer. The targets of her murders are anyone she feels has offended her or broken the unsaid rules about quiet, suburban life. As the police get closer to catching her, Beverly doubles down on the killing.
ThoughSerial Momflopped at the box office, it has grown into a cult classic. The dedicated performances by Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, and a young Matthew Lillard as well as some clever kills makeSerial Moma film that’s a joy to watch from start to finish. The film is not just an excuse for Waters to showcase his love for gore and absurdity.Serial Momis a biting satire aboutthe dark side of suburban living. It hits so close to home, that it’s had some fans wondering if it was actually based on a true story.
Serial Mom Is Not Based On A True Story
The beginning ofSerial Momopens with the quote,
“This film is based on a true story. No one involved in the true crimes received any financial compensation.”
It closes with a card that reads,
Beverly Sutphin refused to cooperate with the making of this film.
So it’s understandable as to why some viewers may believe it’s a true story, John Waters flat out says so, twice. However, there are no rules about lying to audiences in a feature film. A director can say and do whatever they want. The Coen brothers famously openedFargowith the title card,
“The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.”
Despite the seeming earnestness of this note, it’s completely false. In fact, boththeFargoTV show and the movie are fictional creations. So it’s true forSerial Mom, whichWaters has readily admitted is not based on a true story. The cards are simply a fun conceit. Waters discussed those “true story” cards and their effects on audiences (viaTheNewBev),
“People really believed it was real – a lot of people. They said, ‘Well, what happened to her? Where is she?’ It was set up to be believable in a way, and today they might even believe it more because there’s so much of that kind of thing on television. So many true crime things are reenacted.”
However, Waters has always referred toSerial Momas a satire (viaEW),
“Every one of my movies is satire of a genre. Hairspray was a dance movie. Cry-Baby was a musical. Serial Mom was true-crime. Each one was satirizing a certain genre”
Waters saw audiences' interest in true-crime movies, TV shows, and news programs and decided to make a send-up of them. Instead of the usual, overtly sinister killers of something likeCruising,Manhunter, andMy Bloody Valentine,Serial Momfeatures the most innocent caricature of all as the murderer, a smiling, suburban mother.
The fact that people were so willing to believe it was based on a real story says a lot about the feelings of suburban life.
The fact that people were so willing to believe it was based on a real story says a lot about the feelings of suburban life. There was, and is, the sense that the nicest neighbor could be hiding a dark secret, a suspicion stoked by true-crime news and shows. DespiteSerial Momnot being based on any one story, perhaps for some viewers, the idea of a murderous mother would not be all that radical.
There Are Real-Life Cases Of Murderous Mothers
Female Serial Killers May Have Inspired John Waters
While there are no real-life cases exactly like the one inSerial Mom,there are plenty of stories of murderous women and female serial killers who have killed their family and friends. Audrey Marie Hilley is an infamous suspected serial killer who was incarcerated after she was found guilty of the murder of her husband, Frank, by poisoning, and the attempted murder of her daughter, Carol (viaCrimeLibrary). A similar story is of Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer who was convicted of killing six men while working as a sex worker in Florida (viaAPNews).
Audrey Marie Hilley almost killed her son, Mike, as well, before he moved out.
One of the most famous cases of an American woman going on a killing spree comes from the late 19th century. Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an ax in 1892 (viaAmericanHeritage). Though she was acquitted, she was ostracized from her community and today’s historians consider it likely that Borden did commit the crime. Borden’s life has become something of an American folk tale, andit’s possible that Waters' was inspired by the ghoulish story, particularly the media circus that surrounded Borden’s trial, a similar circus depicted at the end ofSerial Mom.
Serial Mom May Have Predicted The OJ Simpson Trial
The Ending Of Serial Mom Mirrors The OJ Simpson Trial’s Media Frenzy
If Waters wasn’t inspired by Lizzie Borden, thenit could be argued thatSerial Mompredicted the OJ Simpson trial, which occurred only a year afterSerial Mompremiered. The OJ trial was not just monumental because of the murder of Nicole Brown and who was being accused of the crime, but because of the media frenzy that surrounded it. Reporting of the event and the cultural conversation around it could be considered sensationalist and voyeuristic, with every moment of the trial being televised.
It’s a strangely prescient finale toSerial Momand reveals Waters' ability to have his finger on the pulse of America, understanding things about them that they may not even know themselves.
The ending ofSerial Momhas similar scenes of media mayhem. Misty (Lake), Beverly’s daughter, even makes t-shirts outside the courthouse where her mother’s trial is being held, something that actually happened during Simpson’s trial (viaHollywoodSuite). Like Simpson, Beverly gets off, much to the outrage of the public. It’s a strangely prescient finale toSerial Momandreveals Waters' ability to have his finger on the pulse of America, understanding things about them that they may not even know themselves.
Beverly Listens To Recordings Of Ted Bundy, A Real-Life Serial Killer
Ted Bundy And Beverly Sutphin Are Similar
There is one real-world reference to serial killers inSerial Mom. Beverly, the sadistic woman that she is, often listens to tapes of Ted Bundy in her free time. Waters voices Bundy in these tapes, which are fictional recordings of the man speaking in the week leading to his execution. While the contents of the tapes are made up, Ted Bundy was an accused serial killer, who confessed to murdering over 30 people (viaBiography).
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Like Beverly, Bundy presented himself as an upstanding member of the community, highly involved and generally pleasant to those he met. However, both the character and the real man harbored dark views of the world. WhileSerial Momdoes not specifically adapt any true stories, Waters' understanding of human nature makes it so that the film feels like something that could happen. That incisive insight into humanity proved accurate only a year later when the end of his film came true.
Serial Mom
Cast
Serial Mom, directed by John Waters, portrays Beverly, an exemplary homemaker, whose deep intrigue with serial killers unsettlingly merges with her upstanding moral principles, creating tension within her idyllic family life.
