You have all seen the little caption on various movies

:based on true events:

How much is true?
what is the limit? what is the percentage it has to have to be "based on"

The Entity was based on true events. To this day I can't find any such investigations.

The show PSI factor was based on true events..who what? where- the names? the concept? each episode?

The new "american haunting" is based on true events.

Then again, at the beginning of Blair Witch project it said the same thing

Does anyone know, how do they choose what is deemable to be a portryal of a family or circumstance?
How much details are they allowed to change


Inquiring minds want to know!

I'm not sure but, it's not based on true events in the sense that it is word for word. I have become disappointed to find out that The Amittyville Horror was suppose to be based on true events but it was a lie, or turned out to be a hoax cooked up by the Lutz'.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was suppose to be based on true events, that was also a lie. The character was based on something that happened in Wisconsin, but was based more on the character from Psycho.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was suppose to be based on true events, that was also a lie. The character was based on something that happened in Wisconsin, but was based more on the character from Psycho.
Yeah, it was loosely- and I do mean LOOSELY, based on a bizarre fellow named Ed Gein who caused a lot of havoc in Wisconsin. Norman Bates, the main character in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, was also loosely based on Ed Gein. Another example, Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.

I always found it funny when I read posts off boards with people inquiring about the real story behind TCM/Leatherface. The TCM remake especially confused some people with that made-to-look-real "archive" footage. I assume that made it appear as if the tales of a chainsaw-wielding cannibal in Texas were true.

Last House on the Left begins with text claiming it to based on a true story when in reality Wes Craven "borrowed" the plot from a Swedish film, The Virgin Spring (which in turn is based on a Swedish play called Töre's Daughter in Vänge).

And if I recall correctly even an 80's zombie flick called Return of the Living Dead claims to be based on actual events. I better scour the newspaper archives for an article on that one!

I think very seldom are these "based on true..." captions really legit. They may originate from a source as in Ed Gein, but as in TCM that source is far different than the story of the film. I think the film industry sees this as a marketable ploy to garner attention and green backs.

It means some of the story is true but the writers have add some things that may not be true. Example for those who have seen " The Insider " Most of the movie is true except the part about the guys warning he was going to kill his family.