15 worst adaptations of real life incidents across movies and shows

Modified Jan 06, 2025 12:37 ET

9) Badlands (1973)

Badlands is a movie based on the real-life events of 1958. It follows the serial killer, Charles Starkweather, and his girlfriend Caril Ann as they travel across the American midwest killing people. Although a commercial success, this movie is considered a bad adaptation because instead of portraying the brutality of the murders, they have somehow romanticized the relationship between these two serial killers. They have idealized the characters and simplified their cases. It has failed to focus on the victims and is filled with a number of historical inaccuracies. There is no psychological depth and a lot of events have been over-dramatised.