@storyteller i know that you like background to
horror stories like I do, check this out. Don’t Breathe was based on an actual series of events - in yet another example of art imitating life.
Behind every horror movie us a factual story. Don’t Breathe, for real
Byron David Smith was a retired security engineering officer. He was described as a loner, and had never married or had kids. He also had become very paranoid in the last few months, and claimed his house had been broken into several times before. He said Haile and Nicholas had broken into his home two other times before. He said they had stolen $4,000 in cash, his father’s POW watch, coins and a chainsaw.
Byron would also store bottles of water and granola bars in his basement, and would sit with a loaded gun. He also had set up a surveillance system in his home, and on the day of the murder it was recording.
Murder
On November 22, 2012, Byron had gone out to visit some neighbors. He noticed Haile’s car, which he recognized because he said she had broken into her home before and told his friends he needed to go home.
Byron turned on a recording device, and most of this footage is heard on the Dateline episode. He also removed the lightbulbs and sat in his chair and waited for the burglars.
Nicholas Brady went into the home first. He walked into the basement, and Byron shot him three times in total, twice on the stairs and one more time when he fell off the stairs. He then wrapped Nicholas’ body in a tarp, and dragged him into another room. He was also heard making taunting remarks as he wrapped Nicholas’ body.
Byron reloaded his .22 caliber single action revolver, and waited for Haile. Haile is heard saying Nicholas’ name on the recording and looking for him. Byron shot her as she walked downstairs. His gun got jammed and he says “oh, sorry about that.” Byron then shoots her again this time in her torso area and next to her left eye. Haile is heard screaming, and saying “oh my god.” He taunted her as well, called her derogatory names and then she is placed on top of Nicholas’ body. Haile was still alive through all this, and Byron shot her one last time under her chin.
Byron David Smith (he looks evil, to me).
Byron called the police the next day, and said he didn't want to bother the police on Thanksgiving, but had no problem shooting two teenagers. (OKAY, BYRON).
The police were told that Haile and Nicholas were killed because they had tried to rob Byron’s house. Nicholas Brady’s sister even said that Nicholas had stolen drugs from her before and Nicholas’ car was seen on surveillance footage from a robbery at a home of a retired teacher, the night before he and Haile were killed.
Don’t Breathe broke out in a major way, as a wildly original story that shocked audiences all over the world. The premise of the film was fantastic from start to finish and fans enjoyed the intense ride that Don’t Breathe took them on. If you’re one of many who caught the movie in theaters, you’ll be surprised to learn of a true crime case that’s scarily similar to the plot of the film. Now, I am not accusing Don’t Breathe of being unoriginal or ripping off the case, but fact is always stranger than fiction.
Indeed. Is life a movie where we all have a role to play or are movies based on life that they portray?
The true crime case that is similar to the plot of the film Don’t Breathe (review) took place in 2012, in Little Falls, Minnesota. Byron David Smith was convicted of killing two teenagers, 17-year-old Nicholas Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer, who broke into his home on Thanksgiving Day, Smith was retired from the U.S. State department and was 64 at the time of the robbery. In the preceding months, Smith had been robbed several times and precious war medals from his time in the Vietnam War and his father’s awards from being a POW in World War II were stolen.
At the time of the murders, meanwhile, cousins Kifer and Brady were being investigated for at least a couple of the burglaries at Smith’s residence. Under any normal set of circumstances, two burglars breaking into a veteran’s house and being murdered as a result would fall under the castle doctrine, where a homeowner is justified in killing the criminals. However, while initially, this appeared to be such a situation, as law enforcement uncovered the details, the case took a bizarre turn.
The day of the murder, Smith appeared to have deliberately parked his truck away from his home, a couple of streets over, which gave the illusion that Smith was not home. Although he had already installed a security system to catch would-be thieves on camera, Smith decided to turn off all the lights in his house and sit in his basement with his .22 caliber revolver across his lap. Then, while waiting, he turned on a tape recorder and recorded the entire incident, which we now know as the Byron David Smith killings.
The recording prevalent to the situations is available on YouTube, as a smaller cut of the six-hour tape he made, but be warned it is pretty disturbing. Throughout the tape, we hear Smith quietly whispering and waiting for the robbers to come in and invade his home. We hear a window break and, eventually, Brady makes his way to the basement steps, where Smith is waiting. You hear two shots and Brady falls down the stairs as one of the shots enters his face, killing him.
Smith murmurs erratically, but continues waiting for Kiefer and, when she enters looking for her cousin, she pleads with him for a couple seconds until she too is shot and killed. The rest of the recording catches Smith practicing his speech for when he calls the police, him moving the bodies across the floor, and even when he discovers Kiefer is not dead so he kills her by fatally shooting her under the chin. After the murders his ramblings are manic and strange: “I feel a little bit safer. Not totally safe. I`m still shaking a bit, but a little bit safer. I left my house at 11:30. They were both dead by 1:00. I refuse to live in fear. I felt like I was cleaning up a mess, worse than spilled food, worse than vomit, worse than shyt, cleaning up a mess. You’re dead!”
——
Break into a psychotic serial killer’s house to commit robberies and end up not breathing, criminal teens. Can’t imagine what their last moments were going on in their head listening to this rambling mental cac have an episodic breakdown.
damn. Reports are saying Those two dumbass teens broke into his house multiple times, got away with it and still thought they could come back with no reprisal - his problem is sounding like a unhinged fuk- one shot when they were already down would be self defense but dude channeled his inner Victor Crowley with the deranged recording. The Director straight up jacked this for the movie- watching horror movies with no redeemable characters and no morals take each other out. He shot her once and said “sorry about that” then proceeds to shoot her 4 more times.
I am a big fan of the Blair witch project. Hated the second one but first one is my shyt. I’m also a fan of handheld cameras type scary movies so enjoyed all of the paranormal activities and others. I haven’t watched the new one. I heard bad reviews so trying to get them out my head probably by this weekend to go in unexpected.
Rob Zombie’s critically-acclaimed masterpiece The Devil’s Rejects is the far superior sequel to the equally gut-wrenching and terrifying House of 1000 Corpses. The pair of gore flicks follows the Fireflies, a serial killer family with no limits to their evil misgivings, their only morality taking root in the depth of their shared depravity.
However, the Firefly family from The Devil’s Rejects is just pure fiction, since a set of real-life serial killer parents, who worked alongside their dangerous son and daughter, could not possibly exist in the real world, right? Unfortunately, while the Fireflies are (thankfully) confined to the silver screen, their real life counterparts, The Bender Family–known widely as The Bloody Benders–did in fact exist, terrorizing Cherryvale, Kansas from 1869-1872.
Like the Firefly Clan in The Devil’s Rejects, the Bloody Benders had dual personalities and their sinister dynamic worked underneath their happy exterior of family togetherness and entrepreneurship. When select guests would join the family for dinner, for instance, they would take the seat of honor that was situated in front of a curtain which divided the living space and the dining area. The ‘guest of honor’ would be graced with the delightful presence of Kate and her lively conversation, as well as John Jr., or John Sr., sneaking up behind them with a hammer striking the visitor on the head until they were dead.
A trap-door, which was expertly placed underneath the feet of the guest, would then open and their dead body would be whisked downstairs to the basement, to be dismembered and buried in a shallow grave in the family orchard soon after. The guests that were murdered were not even rich, or had anything valuable on them, so it is highly likely that the Bender family, like the Fireflies, killed for the sheer thrill and love of it.
These people are real life crazy. Devils Rejects is based on a true story too. Let me find out they’re out here using movies to play out real life biographies - the hell kind of rabbit hole am I subjecting myself to….
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