A Movie About The ‘Murder House’ Of Iowa

In 1912, before serial killers and mass murders where as known as cartoon characters and slasher films, the small town of Villisca, Iowa lived the very nightmare that is depicted in so many of our horror stories today.

J.B Moore, his wife and their 6 children were found brutally murdered in their beds in the small mid-western town of Villisca, Iowa. During the weeks that followed, life in this small town changed drastically.

As residents of this small town reinforced locks, openly carried weapons and huddled together while sleeping, newspaper reporters and private detectives flooded the streets. Accusations, rumors and suspicion ran rampant among friends and families. Bloodhounds were brought in. Law enforcement agencies from neighboring counties and states joined forces. Hundreds of interviews filled thousands of pages. And yet, the murders remained unsolved, the murderer unpunished.


Now director Stuart Wahlin will revisit these very atrocities in his next film project titled “Slay Utterly”. Expected in 2013 the film will be adapted into a modern context and will retain a more rural setting. The focus will be on an FBI agent assigned to the case. The idea came to Wahlin after a stay at the infamous murder house which is now considered an official historical treasure and listed with the National Registry Of Historical Places. The home has been restored to the original motif as the time of the murders. Check out the Villisca Ax Murder House.