Black Dahlia is a 2006 American horror film inspired by the mysterious unsolved murder of the "Black Dahlia", Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short. Instead of dramatizing the infamous 1947 murder of Short and the ensuing investigation, writer-director Ulli Lommel follows a series of contemporary L.A.-area homicides patterned after the 1947 slaying.

Plot

In a brief prologue set in 1947, Elizabeth Short (Danielle Petty, as "Ivy Elfstrom") is murdered by an unseen assailant. In present-day Los Angeles, a "copycat" serial killer is dumping partially mutilated female bodies in an emulation of Elizabeth Short's murderer. Women answering an ad for a movie audition are systematically killed by Satan worshippers. One of the policemen becomes obsessed with the story of Elizabeth Short, researches the original 40s murder online, and dreams about it. Eventually, he comes face-to-face with the killers.