10 Rillington Place

10 Rillington Place

Year: 1971

Runtime: 106 mins

Language: English

Director: Richard Fleischer

ThrillerHorrorCrimeHorror

The film recounts the grisly events at 10 Rillington Place, where British serial killer John Christie committed a series of murders inside his terraced house, while police investigations led to the wrongful arrest, conviction and execution of neighbour Timothy Evans, exposing a serious miscarriage of justice.

10 Rillington Place (1971) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

Get a spoiler-free look at 10 Rillington Place (1971) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.

In post‑war London, the narrow terraces of West London hide a world where cramped streets echo with the hopes and anxieties of ordinary people trying to rebuild their lives. The film opens on 10 Rillington Place, a weather‑worn building whose communal garden and shared stairwells become silent witnesses to the everyday dramas that play out behind its soot‑stained doors. The atmosphere is thick with a muted gray realism, a sense that something unsettles the ordinary rhythm of the neighbourhood.

At the heart of the house lives John Christie, a seemingly modest tenant whose outward respectability masks a disturbing undercurrent. Married to Ethel Christie, he navigates the responsibilities of work and domestic life while quietly tending to a hidden side that the neighbours never suspect. Their relationship, though outwardly ordinary, hints at an uneasy balance between complacency and the secrets that linger in the walls of their flat.

Across the hallway, Tim Evans and his wife Beryl Evans arrive with their infant daughter, seeking a fresh start in the modest flat they can afford. The couple’s modest ambitions—building a stable home for their growing family—are constantly tested by the pressures of poverty, limited education, and the occasional intrusion of strangers offering dubious assistance. Their interactions with the other residents, especially the enigmatic Christie family, set the stage for a tense web of trust and suspicion that permeates daily life in the building.

Against this backdrop, the police begin to investigate a series of unsettling events linked to the house, and the fragile sense of security crumbles for the Evans family. The film follows the slow, methodical unraveling of what appears to be a straightforward case, exposing a profound miscarriage of justice that reverberates through the community. With a restrained, almost documentary‑like style, the story invites viewers to linger on the ordinary details while sensing the looming darkness that threatens to upend the lives of everyone at 10 Rillington Place.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 23:08

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Bleak True Crime and Injustice Dramas like 10 Rillington Place

Unflinching accounts of true crimes where systemic failure leads to tragic outcomes.If you were gripped by the grim reality of 10 Rillington Place, explore more movies like it that delve into true crime and miscarriages of justice. These films offer similar, somber stories based on real events, featuring wrongful convictions, flawed investigations, and a pervasive sense of despair. Find your next unsettling true-crime watch here.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a linear, procedural path, documenting a crime and its aftermath with grim accuracy. The narrative often centers on the juxtaposition of a perpetrator's actions with the systemic errors that lead to an innocent person's suffering, building towards an inevitable, tragic conclusion that offers little to no catharsis.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here because they share a commitment to bleak, unvarnished realism in depicting true crime. They are united by a heavy emotional weight, a steady, methodical pace that amplifies dread, and a central theme of justice gone awry, creating a consistently somber and morally unsettling vibe.

Movies with Slow Burn Claustrophobic Dread like 10 Rillington Place

Stories where tension builds relentlessly within confined, oppressive spaces.For viewers who appreciated the stifling atmosphere and slowly mounting tension of 10 Rillington Place, this section highlights similar movies with a claustrophobic slow burn. Discover films that trap characters—and the audience—in oppressive settings, using a steady pace to build unbearable suspense and a pervasive sense of unease.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves characters trapped in a limited, often domestic, space where a hidden threat slowly reveals itself. The story unfolds with a steady, almost mundane rhythm, making the audience acutely aware of the danger long before the characters, creating a powerful sense of inevitability and helplessness.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared atmospheric quality. The core connection is the use of a confined setting and a steady, deliberate pace to generate a deeply unsettling and oppressive mood. The focus is on the experiential vibe of suffocating dread rather than a specific plot type.

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10 Rillington Place Summary

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10 Rillington Place Timeline

Characters, Settings & Themes in 10 Rillington Place

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Characters, Settings & Themes in 10 Rillington Place

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