Crime stories have inspired many television shows and films in recent times, including The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Netflix's Making a Murderer. The Night Stalker, which aired on Lifetime channel on Sunday, is the latest feature to join the brigade.

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The film follows the story of real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez (Lou Diamond Phillips), who terrorized southern California in the mid-'80s before being captured and imprisoned.

Night Manager also features another character - Ramirez's lawyer Kit, played by Bellamy Young, whose role has left many to question whether he's a real person too. 

Megan Griffith, the film's writer and director, has put an end to the speculation by confirming that Kit is only a fictional character that was created to correspond to Ramirez's personality. 

"She was impacted by him, though they never met [until later]," Griffiths told The Seattle Times.

The filmmaker also revealed that she was just 10 years old when Ramirez's name grabbed headlines after he committed a series of crimes that shook Los Angeles to its very core.

"I certainly credit him with fear of home invasion and locking my windows and doors every night because he was that first specter of darkness and violence that I had in my childhood that invaded my own mind," she said in an interview with Parallax View.

See @LouDPhillips #TheNightStalker TOMORROW at 9/8c! pic.twitter.com/LUCo61ipAh

— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) June 11, 2016

Phillips revealed that in order to embody the persona of Ramirez, who brutally killed 13 people in Los Angeles, he made sure he arrived on the set in character.

The actor said that Ramirez often listened to AC/DC's Night Prowler while looking for his next victim and he did the same.

He admitted that he religiously played the song every morning on the way to work in order to adapt Ramirez's personality and gain insight into his mindset.

In a review by Examiner, Phillips has been said to have perfectly nailed the character of Ramirez and his scene with Kit was described as astonishing. The review also mentioned that The Night Stalker was one of the best true crime movies ever made.

TagsThe Night Manager, KIT, Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Philips, Richard Ramirez, Megan Griffiths