Better known for his roles as Pennywise in ‘It’ (2017) and The Kid in ‘Castle Rock’ (2018-2019), Bill Skarsgård has recently been chosen to play Swedish criminal Clark Olofsson in a six-part Netflix series titled ‘Clark’.

A Swedish language adaptation of Olofsson’s autobiography, ‘Clark’ will follow the convicted drug trafficker and bank robber’s criminal escapades dating back to the 1960s. He is the one who popularized the term ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, in which hostages forge an affinity with their abductor. This happened after a failed bank robbery in the Swedish capital in 1973.

BILL SKARSGÅRD

Jonas Åkerlund of ‘Lords of Chaos’ (2018) fame will direct the series, which is produced by Scandinavian Content Group. He will be joined by Fredrik Agetoft and Peter Arrhenius on the writers’ team, and he will also be the executive producer, along with Hans Engholm and Bill Skarsgård.

‘Clark Olofsson is, for good and bad, one of Sweden’s most colourful and fascinating individuals. I accept this challenge with delight mingled with terror and think that with Jonas and Netflix in the back, we can tell a ground-breaking story with a pace and madness we may not have seen on TV before’, said Mr Skarsgård.

Mr Åkerlund added: ‘Clark is the story about the most politically incorrect man, who lived the most politically incorrect life. These are the kinds of stories I always look for.’

Also known as Alexander Skarsgård’s younger and equally talented brother (not to mention Stellan Skarsgård’s son), Bill Skarsgård will also be seen in ‘The Devil All the Time’ (2020) on Netflix, later this year, and he’s due to feature in Edson Oda’s ‘Nine Days’ (2020) alongside Zazie Beetz and Winston Duke. While 2020 has been throwing some nasty curveballs at us, it looks as though things are looking up for us, cinephiles, since we’re bound to see more of Mr Skarsgård by December.

The COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund created by The Film and TV Charity in partnership with the BFI is now open for applications until 22 April.

The initiative was established recently in a bid to help ease the concerning impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the industry. After receiving generous donations amassing a total of £2.5 million from the likes of Netflix, BBC Studios, BBC Content, the National Lottery, Warner Media, as well as a few private donors, they are now ready to offer one-off grants from £500 to £2,500 to freelancers working in film, TV and cinema that have been financially affected by the crisis.

Research conducted by The Film and TV Charity shows that 93% of industry freelancers no longer working due to the crisis, and three thirds (74%) are not expected to receive any support since they are either ineligible for the government’s Self-employment Income Support Scheme or have not been furloughed as PAYE freelancers under the Job Retention Scheme.

Alex Pumfrey, CEO of The Film & TV Charity, said, ‘Unprecedented times call for an exceptional response. The Covid-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund is unique, time-limited and designed to provide financial support where the need is most acute. Our systems will highlight applicants who are experiencing particular distress and our experienced team will respond to those red flags with personal follow-up calls.’

Ben Roberts, chief executive of the BFI, added, ‘We know a huge number of freelance professionals in our community have been some of the hardest hit during the coronavirus crisis, so we are delighted that the fund is now open for applications. We are also incredibly thankful for the generosity shown by industry partners and individuals who have stepped in so far to support their colleagues.’

The applications will be carefully assessed based on need, and not on a first-come, first-served basis.

Applications will close: 6pm Wednesday 22nd April 2020

For details on eligibility and how to apply head over to The Film and TV Charity’s website.

The British Film Institute (BFI) and The Film and TV Charity have partnered to create a new industry-backed COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund to help support the creative community, which like many industries, has been gravely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative was set up to to provide emergency short-term relief to the many thousands of active workers and freelancers who have been directly affected by the closure of productions across the UK.

Established with a £1m donation from Netflix, the new COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund will be administered by The Film and TV Charity with support from the BFI. Netflix’s donation is part of a broader announcement last week to set up a $100m fund for creatives whose jobs have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Alex Pumfrey, CEO of The Film and TV Charity, said: ‘The film and TV industry is now facing a huge threat. Many freelancers have seen their livelihoods disappear overnight. We’re entering a period of unprecedented isolation and worry for a workforce that we know from our research already suffers from poor mental health. Which is why I’m incredibly pleased that Netflix and the BFI are working with us to kick-start this new COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund to support workers across the UK’s film and TV industry.’

PHOTO BY LEVI STUTE ON UNSPLASH

Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive, said: ‘‘Freelance professionals are the backbone of our film and television industries, and we hope that everyone will work together to support those who have been hardest hit at this extraordinary time of need. Netflix’s early commitment to this fund is hugely welcomed and we are asking other commercial industry partners to contribute, if they are able, and play their part in helping those most in need get through this crisis.”

Anne Mensah, Vice President, Original Series at Netflix, said: ‘We’re proud to be working with the BFI and The Film and TV Charity to support the hardest hit workers in TV and film production. From electricians to carpenters, hair and makeup artists to drivers – and many more, UK crews have always been vital to Netflix’s success and now we want to help those freelancers who most need support in these unprecedented times.’

The Film and TV Charity is currently working on the precise eligibility criteria and level of individual funding but the fund will be open to those working in production, distribution and exhibition. To stay up to date, applicants are welcome to register for the charity’s mailing lists.

The Film and TV Charity was founded in the early days of cinema in 1924 and has supported people working behind the scenes in the film and TV industry for almost 100 years. They are now developing new advice specifically tailored for the industry on how to stay mentally well at home and creating a new supportive community forum for freelancers. The Film and TV Charity already provides 24/7 mental health support to the industry, including counselling and legal advice, via the Film and TV Support Line on 0800 054 00 00.

The BFI is leading an industry wide Screen Sector Task Force that is looking at the wide-ranging impacts of COVID-19 on the whole industry and its workforce. Those in immediate and urgent need should apply for support via The Film and TV Charity’s existing hardship fund, offering grants of up to £500 to provide stop-gap support. This hardship fund will sit alongside the new Film and TV COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. Click here for details on eligibility and how to apply.

Historically speaking, our penchant for murder has always been a source of inspiration for many stories crafted throughout the centuries. We’ve gathered quite the collection of tales of war and savagery, bloodshed and violence, but also of love and friendship, of fantastical creatures and adventurous quests. But perhaps the most enduring genre of them all is, to this day, the Whodunit.

Much like its companions across the storytelling spectrum, the Whodunit has gone through an evolution from the beginning of the 20th century to present day. From the simple and classic band of guests at a dinner party trying to find out who killed the host, to the modern-day sleuths employing forensic and psychological methods to suss out murderers, the mystery has continued to fascinate viewers—albeit in slightly different forms for the big and small screen alike.

Our curiosity compels us to try to guess who did it. The screenwriter has this challenge to overcome, pretty much every time. We’ve learned from these stories. Our instincts have become sharper, and we are able to spot the signs, the subtleties that set certain characters apart. The foreshadowing is minimal in the Whodunit, and we have only ourselves to rely on as we investigate murders alongside the heroes on screen. Conventions and clichés are born, and the creators have to adjust. Success comes from misleading the readers with red herrings and false accusations before bringing forth the villain, an unexpected character.

Following the clues, picking up on the slightest facial expressions and fleeting elements of body language during the interrogations and interviews, our hearts race as we’re brought closer to the tipping point: the grand reveal, the unexpected twist, and the identity of the killer. Some of us will have figured out who it is about halfway through the story, though, most of the time, we still enjoy the ride all the way to the very end.

‘KNIVES OUT’ (2019), ©LIONSGATE/MRC

The Murder Mystery in Books

A typical Whodunit takes the classical detective story and presents it as a puzzle to be solved, by its characters and readers/viewers alike, through a series of questions that the investigator poses. It functions on a double narrative. The first focuses on the crime itself, what led to its commission, and the actual investigation, while the second is strictly about the reconstruction of the crime. In the latter, all the objects connected to the murder become silent actors themselves, and we must strive to interpret them, to beat the investigator to his or her conclusion. It is, by far, one of the most entertaining things to come out of the literary universe, and why it will never go out of fashion.

This is our quest for justice, in a sense. As readers and viewers, we are fascinated by violence and killers, hence our penchant for the macabre and why serial killers excite our imaginations. The Whodunit comes as a righteous response of sorts. In it, the guilty ones are identified and punished. They never get away with it, unlike real life, where many crimes go unsolved, adding to the cold case pile. The Whodunit gives us the satisfaction of justice delivered, proof that there is still good in this world, despite its many evils.

ANGELA LANSBURY AS MISS MARPLE IN ‘THE MIRROR CRACK’D’ (1980), ©G.W. FILMS/EMI

Quintessentially, the Whodunit blends our attraction to darkness with our desire for light, and books, cinema and television have delivered consistently over the years. The term was coined back in 1930 by Donald Gordon with his review of Milward Kennedy’s ‘Half-Mast Murder’. The origin of the term was disputed by Variety in reference to a film adaptation of Arnold Ridley’s play, ‘Recipe for Murder’. But the Whodunit truly flourished between the First and Second World War, with the most notable of its authors being of British origin—Agatha Christie is, even today, considered a master of the genre, alongside Nicholas Blake, G.K. Chesterton, Gladys Mitchell and many others.

Mrs Christie’s novels (of which there are sixty-six, not counting the short story collections), garnered numerous positive reviews after they were adapted for the screen in search of a wider audience, and it is here that the Whodunit begins its ample and irreversible transformation. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t until the 1940s that the Whodunit really took off.

The Classics on the Silver Screen

There is no better way to kick off a brief listing of the Whodunit’s greatest stars than with ‘And Then There Were None’ (1945), directed by Rene Clair and written by Dudley Nichols—an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name. In it, guests gather on an isolated island, summoned by an absent host. Someone starts killing them off, one by one, and the survivors must work together to figure out who the murderer is, always suspecting that it could very well be one of them.

In ‘The Big Sleep’ (1946), Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall share the screen for an unforgettable tale of noir crime and classic mystery, as private detective Philip Marlow is hired to investigate a most complex case where murder, blackmail and love seem to blend in seamlessly. Written by William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett, ‘The Big Sleep’ is, by far, one of Howard Hawks’ masterpieces.

‘MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS’ (1974), ©EMI FILM DISTRIBUTORS/G.W. FILMS LIMITED

Billy Wilder took on the Agatha Christie challenge, as well, by penning the screenplay of and directing ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ (1957). Starring Tyrone Power, the incomparable Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton, ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ follows a seasoned British barrister who must defend his client in a murder trial that delivers twists upon twists, until the truth is revealed.

While the list could go on, we will stop at ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (1976), one of Agatha Christie’s most popular works adapted for the big screen. With a screenplay written by Paul Dehn of ‘Goldfinger’ (1964) and ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’ (1965), and directed by cinematic titan Sidney Lumet, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ was an absolute success. Its 2017 reboot starring Kennet Branagh, Penélope Cruz, and Willem Dafoe, however, did not rise to the expectations, further proving that not all movies should be remade. In Mr Lumet’s oeuvre, Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, and Jean-Pierre Cassel deliver enticing performances, easily turning the film into an icon of the entire Whodunit portfolio.

A Modern Take on the Silver Screen

Unlike the classics, modern and contemporary Whodunits tend to spice up the original formula by bringing them into a new era, where the characters are more three-dimensional, the violence escalates, and elements of pure thrill are injected into the mystery. With time, the audiences change, which is why today’s murder mysteries aren’t just fast paced, they’re also more complex and, in some cases, excellent spoofs.

‘CLUE’ (1985), ©PARAMOUNT PICTURES

‘Clue’ (1985), written by John Landis and Jonathan Lynn, is a hilarious and dark rendition of the popular eponymous board game. It stars Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Lesley Ann Warren, and Tim Curry, and it’s a charming cocktail of death, puzzles, and comedy. It also follows the classic Whodunit structure, as six guests are anonymously invited to a creepy mansion for a lavish dinner and end up investigating the murder of their host, working with the staff while bodies keep piling up. 

Following a similar formula but with a much darker twist, Bryan Singer’s ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995) remains a classic of modern cinema. The story, penned by Christopher McQuarrie of ‘Valkyrie’ (2008), ‘Jack Reacher’ (2012), and ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ (2018) fame, follows the interrogation of Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, one of only two survivors of a massacre on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Using flashbacks and narration, ‘The Usual Suspects’ stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey. It is one of American cinema’s finest neo-noirs which brought Mr McQuarrie an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his illustrious screenwriting.

‘SCREAM’ (1996), ©DIMENSION FILMS

‘Scream’ (1996), written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven, wasn’t just a smash hit at the box office that eventually kickstarted an entire franchise. It was also a new take on the Whodunit, bending genres and adding Mr Craven’s signature innovative horror into the mix. The main characters, though significantly younger than the usual cast of a Whodunit, manage to get our hearts pumping from the beginning until the very end. Starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, David Arquette, and Skeet Ulrich, ‘Scream’ qualifies as the landmark of a new horror generation, without abandoning the key features of an old-fashioned Whodunit.

Another interesting twist on this timeless genre is ‘The Hateful Eight’ (2015), written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and featuring chilling performances by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen. Unfolding in a wintery Wyoming, ‘The Hateful Eight’ follows a bounty hunter and his fugitive captive into a cabin currently occupied by a throng of unpleasant characters. With an Academy Award winning score composed by Ennio Morricone, Mr Tarantino’s foray into crime mystery is a well-executed Whodunit stage play with deep political and social undercurrents, and less of a nod to the Western.

‘KNIVES OUT’ (2019), ©LIONSGATE/MRC

As with all creative cycles and cinematic genres, the Whodunit came back to its roots this year thanks to Rian Johnson, who wrote and directed ‘Knives Out’ (2019). The story is simple but sophisticated and with a sharp political edge, concentrating on a detective’s efforts to investigate the death of Harlan Thrombey, the patriarch of an eccentric and highly combative family. The cast is as dazzling as one would expect for such an ample project. Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, and Katherine Langford all rise up to the challenge, offering viewers a riotously fun ride through the underbelly of family intrigue, rife with potential suspects and motives for murder.

The Small Screen Detectives

Our demand for such stories pushed television executives to adapt and create series designed after the Whodunit model, with each episode looking to unravel a new mystery, to solve a new murder, to keep pitting its heroes against all kinds of unexpected villains. Much like with cinema, TV series evolved in the span of several decades.

DAVID SUCHET AS HERCULE POIROT IN ‘POIROT’ (1989-2013), ©CARNIVAL FILM AND TELEVISION

Among the many true-to-form shows that many of us grew up with, ‘Poirot’ (1989-2013) was based on Agatha Christie’s most popular character, the eccentric but exquisitely sharp Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was also one of the longest running murder mystery series, and it helped launch the careers of many great actors—among them Christopher Eccleston, Michael Fassbender, Joely Richardson, Emily Blunt, Greta Scacchi, and Zoë Wanamaker. Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney had guest appearances on ‘Poirot’, as well. But viewers will never forget David Suchet’s performance as he wonderfully personifies Mrs Christie’s iconic Hercule Poirot.

Across the pond, American viewers couldn’t get enough of the murder mystery, either. With greater financial possibilities, different television producing companies delivered a wide array of Whodunit series. One of the best remains ‘Columbo’ (1971-2003), created by Richard Levinson and William Link. Named after its main character, the show is centred around Lieutenant Columbo, who uses his ingenuous demeanour to reveal expertly concealed crimes. Peter Falk dedicated over 20 years of his life, as the show took a hiatus from 1978 to 1989, his portrayal of the seemingly meek and dim-witted detective garnering plenty of positive critique and even a Golden Globe in 1994.

ANGELA LANSBURY AS JESSICA FLETCHER IN ‘MURDER, SHE WROTE’ (1984-1996), ©UNIVERSAL TELEVISION

Another classic of American TV is ‘Murder, She Wrote’ (1984-1996), starring Angela Lansbury as the professional writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, who uses her charm, intelligence and determination to solve the various crimes she comes across. Richard Levinson and William Link teamed up for this project as co-creators alongside Peter S. Fischer, given their previous success with ‘Columbo’ and an increasing demand from the public for more of these serialized Whodunits. Worth noting here is that Angela Lansbury also portrayed Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple in ‘The Mirror Crack’d’ (1980), alongside Tony Curtis, Kim Novak, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson.

In more recent times, the television genre stepped into a more technical arena, as did modern crime investigation in the real world. With the advent of fingerprinting and forensic sciences, the Whodunit was given a makeover—this, in turn, led to the expansion of multiple TV series that paired a number of experts and whimsical sleuths to take on a variety of increasingly more complex murders. The CSI franchise alone has been taking up a considerable amount of screen time, alongside NCIS and other similar productions. Policemen work with lab technicians and profilers throughout each episode, looking to solve crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. 

Worth mentioning here is BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ (2010), Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat’s modern update on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary Sherlock Holmes. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are absolutely astonishing as the famous private investigator and his partner, Dr Watson. It is, by all intents and purposes, one of the oldest accounts of different minds and polar opposites coming together to reveal criminals and deliver justice, but with a new and exciting twist that makes it one of the best TV series of all time.

SIMON BAKER AS PATRICK JANE IN ‘THE MENTALIST’ (2008-2015), ©WARNER BROS. TELEVISION

The odd-pairing formula has worked well in the United States over the years, too. In ‘The Mentalist’ (2008-2015), created by Bruno Heller, a former psychic starts working as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation so he can find Red John, the serial killer who murdered his wife and daughter. Teaming up with detective Lisbon and her team, Patrick Jane uses his mentalist skills to trick and catch killers, one episode at a time. Starring Simon Baker and Robin Tunney, ‘The Mentalist’ offers a fresh take on the Whodunit, while keeping the audiences guessing as its heroes combine standard investigative methods with Patrick Jane’s playful trickery. 

‘Castle’ (2009-2016), created by Andrew W. Marlowe, sees Nathan Fillion’s mystery writer Rick Castle partnering with Stana Katic’s surly, no-nonsense NYPD detective Kate Beckett to solve crimes. ‘Bones’ (2005-2017), created by Hart Hanson, has Emily Deschanel’s hyper-rational forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan working with David Boreanaz’s cocky FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. 

Needless to say, this type of duo has become a staple of contemporary television, though not always successful or long-lasting. But the Whodunit will continue to reinvent itself along the way. It will inevitably return to its incipient formula every time, and we will never find ourselves tired of the genre. From Agatha Christie to ‘Knives Out’ and everything in-between, our predilection for murder mysteries will withstand the test of time.

When Netflix first announced its plans for ‘The Witcher’, many fans of the eponymous videogames were equal parts thrilled and worried. The fantasy genre is and always will be difficult to adapt for the screen, and readers know it all too well. We all wondered at the time: would ‘The Witcher’ live up to the epic success of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy or ‘Game of Thrones’, or would it flop like the ‘Star Wars’ prequels?

Now that the show is currently being streamed on Netflix and was renewed for its second season even before the premiere, the reviews are in. Not all of them are kind, but that was to be expected. ‘The Witcher’ is an ambitious project, naively compared to other fantasy giants before it hit the screens and tasked with living up to or exceeding the videogame’s reputation. 

Created by Lauren Schmidt of ‘Daredevil’ (2016), ‘The Defenders’ (2017) and ‘The Umbrella Academy’ (2019) fame, ‘The Witcher’ is basically a hybrid of subgenres from the fantasy arena. Some parts are excellent and bordering on spectacular, while others are confusing or dangerously close to mediocre, considering this decade’s cinematic capabilities. It’s good, but it could’ve been great.

‘THE WITCHER’ POSTER, ©NETFLIX

Henry Cavill plays the hero-not-hero Geralt of Rivia, a mutated superhuman who hunts monsters for a living, trying to find his way in a world where ‘people often prove more wicked than beasts’. Given that Mr Cavill is a huge fan of the videogames and actively worked to get the lead part in ‘The Witcher’, one can tell there is plenty of passion in his performance. He takes Geralt out of the books/videogames and turns him into something bigger, something of his own making, and the viewers love him for it.

Freya Allan is a part-Elven princess named Ciri, and her coming-of-age story is slow to unfold but definitely going somewhere. Her journey marks the passage from innocence to adulthood, where the safety of home and family have been forcibly left behind. She is left to fend for herself or, worse even, take a chance and trust complete strangers. Much like in real life, that can lead to good or disastrous outcomes. Ciri represents the future generation, but her character arc is missing something, and we’re hoping she’ll get a more rounded story in the next season.

FREYA ALLEN AS CIRI IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

Yennefer, brilliantly portrayed by Anya Chalotra, is given plenty of room to develop, and she is certainly one of the show’s strong points. Ms Chalotra is better known for her work on ‘Wanderlust’ (2018), and while she’s still young and relatively new to the scene, she has everything she needs to make her mark. Yennefer is a complex creature with a heart-breaking backstory who makes difficult choices for the sake of power. She could’ve been better, if only her screen time had been crafted more carefully. Her desire to have a child is not an easy pill to swallow, considering the horrific dangers she’s willing to put herself through in order to become a mother in the absence of a womb she traded for magic. It’s difficult to relate to her plight on that level, but with everything else, she’s a tour de force, especially alongside Geralt.

Jaskier the Bard is supposed to play Jiminy Cricket to Geralt’s Pinocchio, but aside from a memorable tavern song called ‘Toss A Coin to Your Witcher’, Joey Batey’s character means well but falls exceptionally short. There is potential in the elder and more seasoned secondary characters—take Mousesack, Fringilla, Triss or Stregobor, for example, but their arcs are barely touched, their contribution to the story minimal, at best. Mr Sapkowski’s books were more generous.

ANYA CHALOTRA AS YENNEFER IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

At first glance, one can safely say that ‘The Witcher’ delivers on many of the promises it has made to its viewers—most of whom are aficionados of the videogames and have read the original published works. It is, by all intents and purposes, a dark, saucy and gritty fantasy series, rife with magic and conflict, driven by interesting and multifaceted characters. There are epic sword fights, seductive witches and monsters galore.

One of its strong points is the interwoven timeline: we follow Geralt and Yennefer long before the Nilfgaardian Empire begins its bid for the north, and we also follow Ciri in the present day as she escapes from her castle and homeland, currently invaded by the Nilfgaardian armies. The way in which the story is told is worthy of praise, as the show’s creator has managed to comb through all the books and short story collections in order to take Geralt on his adventure and to drive the plot in the right direction.

HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

The visuals are exquisite. Gavin Struthers of ‘The Alienist’ (2018), ‘Nightflyers’ (2018) and ‘Downton Abbey’ (2011), and Jean-Philippe Gossart of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ (2016), ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ (2017) and ‘The Legend of Tarzan’ (2016), do a marvellous job in terms of cinematography. Most importantly, the panoramic views and the gloomy forest imagery do more for the worldbuilding than the actual screenplay. Hungary has plenty to offer in terms of stunning landscapes, mysterious forests and old castles. The production value is obvious in pretty much every exterior shot.

Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelly have worked together before, composing scores for ‘The Romanoffs’ (2018), ‘Sacred Lies’ (2018), ‘The Mist’ (2017) and ‘Reprisal’ (2018), so seeing them team up on ‘The Witcher’ made sense. A dark fantasy needs an equally dark and intense score, and the duo rise to the challenge with a bewitching and diverse composition. It’s easily one of the show’s strong points.

JODHY MAY AS QUEEN CALANTHE AND HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

Unfortunately, ‘The Witcher’ also falls flat in crucial parts of the story and on important aspects of its characters, but the source material bears some of the blame. From a perception point of view, it should have never been compared to ‘Game of Thrones’ in the first place. The worldbuilding in David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s novels is virtually flawless because Mr Martin took the time to explore the cultural details that set each of the kingdoms apart. His characters speak in certain languages and with specific mannerisms. There are laws and traditions in place, along with a homogenous visual attribute in terms of fashion and costumes, nations and cultures, as well as in terms of landscape, weather and architecture.

It is impossible to confuse House Lannister with House Stark, for example. It is easy to make the difference between the north and the south, between Winterfell and King’s Landing. We know how Valyrian sounds, as opposed to Dothraki. A lot of work went into every detail that built the realm of ‘Game of Thrones’. ‘The Witcher’ never got that far or deep into its world, and we’re therefore left with plenty of gaps and a superficial universe, at best.

EMMA APPLETON AS RENFRI AND HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

How did the worlds collide? There’s a mention of it as ‘the Conjunction of the Spheres’, of how elves and monsters and humans ended up sharing this planet, but what of those who’ve not read the books or played the videogames? What is the Continent like? How can we tell the north from the south or the east? There is very little attention paid to the cultures and nations that make up this world and it shows. The lack of homogeneity cannot be covered with grunts and expletives, and the bane of every fantasy story is that it must feel realistic. Sure, elves aren’t real, but the writers have to make us believe that they are—after all, we wholeheartedly bought dragons like Drogon, Rhaegar and Viserion. We bought Legolas, Galadriel, Elrond, Arwen and all the other elves from J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece. We’re having a hard time doing the same with ‘The Witcher’.

The characters’ names are rather difficult to remember, too, and that can easily push people away from a story. Andrzej Sapkowski was clearly looking up to Mr Tolkien for many of the elements in his Witcher saga, but he didn’t stick the landing on character names—of course, we have no trouble remembering the main heroes Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri, but everyone else’s can easily slip the mind. It might seem like a small issue, but for the millions of people who haven’t read his books and still want to watch and love ‘The Witcher’, it’ll play a negative part.

HENRY CAVILL AS GERALT IN ‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

On the plus side, the pilot episode fight scene from Blaviken was beyond exquisite. Perhaps one of the best in this decade’s worth of film and television. The smooth melange between fast cuts and slow motion, paired with Geralt’s close combat and swordsmanship skills offers a truly superb action sequence, worthy of all praise. It’s a pity we didn’t see more in the same style throughout the rest of the season. 

The monsters’ CGI is sloppy, at best. Given this era’s technological advances and the beast’s importance to Geralt’s existence in the story, we should be able to put a little bit more effort into otherworldly creatures like the Striga, the Kikimora, the Krallach or the other grotesque protagonists of ‘The Witcher’. It’s one more reason why comparisons to ‘Game of Thrones’ should be swiftly disregarded. The two fantasy series will never be in the same league, regardless of original aspirations and general assumptions.

At the end of season 1, one can see why Netflix has decided to renew the series. It has all the ingredients it needs to build a loyal following—though the base is pre-existing thanks to the videogames. It’s the others who might not click play when season 2 comes out, mostly for the reasons above.

‘THE WITCHER’, ©NETFLIX

Yes, we are glad to see more fantasy on our screens, and we hope there will be more, soon enough. But ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ have elevated the bar and it is difficult to rise to the same standard. Not impossible, just more tedious and definitely expensive. That being said, ‘The Witcher’ is rumoured to drive an $80-90 million budget. Not exactly pennies, but definitely enough to strengthen their creative force.

Maybe season 2 will bring us ampler worldbuilding details, sturdier character arcs and better monster CGI designs, along with fewer clichés and a less choppy dialogue. There is potential in this series, but the team behind this project must strive to surpass Mr Sapkowski’s literary works and expand Geralt’s universe into something more immersive and realistic. The formula itself isn’t difficult, but the devil is and will always be in the details.

Ever since we could walk upright and huddled around the fire for warmth and safety, mankind has imagined all sorts of stories. Most of them revolved around the things we could not fully understand—the stars, the moon and the sun moving across the sky, the violent storms and any natural phenomena that forced us to adapt, to build stronger homes or move to friendlier lands altogether. But the most enduring tales of ours revolved around monsters and other things that go bump in the night.

In many ways, these monsters are just reflections of ourselves, of a darker side of mankind, to be specific. They draw their origins from their makers, and they tend to outlive us all in varied forms of fiction and in different mediums. Of all the creatures that our minds have conjured—werewolves, ogres, snake gods, zombies, ghouls, changelings, dragons and so on, none have been more enduring and more versatile than the vampire.

Gifted with eternal life but forced to live in the shadows of the night and to only drink human blood, the vampire is one of our most recurring fictional motifs. It has been imagined and reimagined, invented and reinvented across different cultures and decades, and it’s not showing any signs of redundancy. We cannot get enough of these beautiful monsters—because they are most appealing in almost every piece of lore out there. They’re known to be seductive and charming, carrying the wisdom of centuries. They’re hedonists, and they are violent. They’ve traded their humanity for immortality, and they’re a treasure trove of stories.

GARY OLDMAN IN ‘DRACULA’ (1992), ©COLUMBIA PICTURES

From the Eastern European folktales, vampires were known as undead creatures that tormented their loved ones, gruesome and portly monsters that brought death and misery wherever they went. It wasn’t until John Polidori’s ‘The Vampyre’, published in 1819, that the monster was revamped into the charismatic and sophisticated figure of modern fiction. Bram Stoker got inspired from the folk tales of Transylvania about Vlad the Impaler and gave humanity ‘Dracula’ in 1897, a masterpiece of gothic fantasy. Many writers and filmmakers have tried their luck at vampire stories over the years since—some flopped and were never heard from again, while others became cult cinema or bestselling novels.

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Each time, however, the vampires won because they got to keep living in our collective imagination. Who could forget Joel Schumacher’s ‘The Lost Boys’ (1987), for example? Starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim and Kiefer Sutherland, this cult darling follows the story of two brothers moving into a new town and discovering that the place is overrun with vampires—the gritty, evil and violent type. How about Neil Jordan’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’ (1994), featuring dazzling performances by Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas and a very young Kirsten Dunst? The screenplay was penned by Anne Rice, author of the same title bestselling novel in ‘The Vampire Chronicles’ series and it offered us a more romantic approach to the legendary creature.

In the 21st century, the vampire was once again reimagined with the ‘Twilight’ saga and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ (2009-2017) TV series, both garnering new generations of fans worldwide. They offered us vampires that could walk in the sunlight and young-adult-oriented romance, putting a new twist on the old monster. There is just something about them that we cannot seem to get enough of across generations.

‘TWILIGHT’ (2008), ©SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

As the year 2020 goes full steam ahead, we’re going back to the vampire’s original, grimmer roots. Anne Rice, creator of some of the most beloved undead literary characters, has recently announced that there is an ongoing effort to turn ‘The Vampire Chronicles’ into a TV series. This means we’ll get some fresh versions of Lestat, Marius, Armand and all the other blood-drinking debonair fiends that have become staples of modern fantasy. What makes her published works stand apart from everything else is the unique way in which she combines the lust, the hunger, the violence and the seduction of eternal life, creating larger-than-life characters that stay with us forever, long after we’re done reading the books.

CLAES BANG IN ‘DRACULA’ (2020), ©NETFLIX/BBC ONE

And while we’re all gearing up to find out how that particular project will come out, the new year has already given us a bloody delicious surprise, as Netflix dropped a remixed version of the most famous vampire of them all. ‘Dracula’ (2020) is a BBC One TV mini-series created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. The duo have made quite the name for themselves with ‘Sherlock’ (2010-2017) and their take on Dracula is simply fantastic. It would be hard to believe that something new might come out of something so old and with so many existing silver screen adaptations, but Mr Gatiss and Mr Moffat have certainly delivered.

Starring Claes Bang and Dolly Wells, the series takes us from 1897 Transylvania to Victorian London, as the bloodthirsty Count makes his way into a new world. Since Dracula’s arrival to England would mean only death and violence, it’s up to Sister Agatha Van Helsing and a few other good men to stop him. Needless to say, the formula that Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have come up with for ‘Dracula’ works on different levels.

CLAES BANG AND DOLLY WELLS IN ‘DRACULA’ (2020), ©NETFLIX/BBC ONE

First, the writing is exceptional, which is to be expected from the team that gave us ‘Sherlock’. There is tension and mystery. Stoker’s original story is brought back to life with different elements but without disregarding the darkly absurd core, skilfully spiced with clever and sharp dialogue, heaps of humour and drama, along with plenty of blood and gasp-inducing twists. It is dark and it is funny. It is probably everything Stoker would’ve wanted to see, if he were alive today.

Second, the performances are beyond stellar. Claes Bang, known best for ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ (2018) and ‘Bron/Broen’ (2013), is one of the best versions of Dracula ever made. His smouldering gaze and ruthless wit make him infinitely more appealing than Gary Oldman’s portrayal in ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola, and that is not an easy thing to say… But this newer Dracula is the baddie we can’t help but fall in love with, even if all he brings is gruesome death and eternal misery to his victims.

DOLLY WELLS IN ‘DRACULA’ (2020), ©NETFLIX/BBC ONE

Perhaps the show’s best character and certainly one the greatest to grace the screen in the 21st century is Sister Agatha van Helsing. Her dry wit and fearless heroism make her a downright legendary badass. She is bold and determined, even when her life is no more. One can see why some viewers were less thrilled about the third episode in the series, which no longer features Sister Agatha but one of her distant descendants—unlike a vampire, all good things must come to an end, but Ms Wells delivers as Zoe Helsing, too. Even so, it’s hard to say goodbye to someone as brilliant as Agatha van Helsing, especially considering her incredible onscreen chemistry with Dracula.

Mina, played by Morfydd Clark, plays a lesser role in this story and John Hefferman’s Jonathan Harker is Dracula’s unfortunate victim. Lucy is given a fresh but enticing reality, thanks to Lydia West’s refined and rambunctious performance.

DOLLY WELLS IN ‘DRACULA’ (2020), ©NETFLIX/BBC ONE

Another winning aspect of ‘Dracula’ is its cinematography, where Julian Court of ‘Killing Eve’ (2018-2019) and Tony Slater Ling of ‘Electric Dreams’ (2017) manage to create a truly immersive experience for the viewer. Their effort is amplified by the series’ production design, signed by Arwel Jones, better known for his work on ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Doctor Who’ (2005-2019). The gloom of Dracula’s castle with its labyrinthine corridors where Jonathan Harker gets desperately lost, the passenger ship with its mysteries and dim lights, the apartment where Dracula takes residence while in London with its violet lighting and floor to ceiling window—it all serves as the perfect stage for a new and truly extraordinary rendition of Bram Stoker’s canonical work.

This ‘Dracula’ is all the more intriguing through its split timeline—demanding of the viewers, but offers bountiful rewards at the end of the journey. And while not everyone found the series’ finale palatable, it was a demise most fitting for the story’s fearsome and lonesome fanged villain. More than once along the way, there will be an ‘Oh!’ or an ‘Aha!’ heard from the viewer as the story unfolds across different times. Multiple timelines are never an easy feat, but Mr Gatiss and Mr Moffat eloquently rise to the challenge, without creating confusion but simply enriching the overall mystery vibe that the series conveys.

CLAES BANG AND DOLLY WELLS IN ‘DRACULA’ (2020), ©NETFLIX/BBC ONE

This new take is a much-needed breath of fresh air, making vampires cool again—realistic and gothic, seductive and ultimately dangerous. We all remember Bella Lugosi as Dracula back in 1931. We remember Christopher Lee back in 1958 and Frank Langella in 1979. Gary Oldman’s Count is a precious piece of cinematic history, now. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Evans have also played him in the ‘Dracula’ (2013-2014) TV series and in ‘Dracula Untold’ (2014). There were many others in-between, including a parody starring Leslie Nielsen. This character has been recycled so many times, it was hard to believe there was anything left to draw from Bram Stoker’s classic novel. However, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat prove that there is.

Consider 2020’s ‘Dracula’ as an homage to all the other Draculas before it. Consider Claes Bang’s Count as an ode to all the other Counts before him. And despite all that, consider it something new and fresh and perfectly capable of standing on its own two feet—proof that the real vampire of Stoker and Rice yarn is the best and most enduring in the genre. It is a reminder that our constant flirting with the idea of immortality on paper and on the screen is, in itself, eternal.

Over the past ten years or so, there has been a resurgence of crime and mystery dramas. Specifically, of European crime and mystery dramas. With streaming services constantly shelling out new content, it’s no wonder that a significant chunk of their budget goes into TV series of this darker genre. The viewers love it, too. 

‘The Killing’ (2007), otherwise known by its original title, ‘Forbrydelsen’, was a massive hit on the international market, earning a BAFTA award in the process. It even led to a Netflix remake that was surprisingly almost just as good, featuring the brilliant Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman.

With highly rated productions such as ‘Bordertown’ (2016), ‘Deadwind’ (2018), ‘The Chalet’ (2017), ‘La Mante’ (2017), and ‘The Forest’ (2017), among many others, it’s clear that European creators and viewers have a preference for the thrill of a murder enigma. We are unrepented suckers for a good mystery—the disappearance of an innocent girl; a body washed up on the shore of a small town somewhere in the cold countryside of Finland; a police detective with a dirty secret; broken families; and plenty of red herrings to keep us distracted for weeks on end.

Most of these shows follow a well-established formula. The pacing is slow, and great care is given to the characters, both main and secondary. Each of the story’s participants are three-dimensional and as close to real humans as they will ever get. We understand addiction, misery, anguish, loneliness, frustration, and depression. And we all want to get to the truth, one way or another. 

The journey isn’t easy. We must peel away at the layers. Perhaps the girl that went missing isn’t all that innocent herself. Or there’s a greater conspiracy at play, with the victims getting tangled into these webs of nefarious origin. Either way, by the end of the first season, we’re all feeling cold, our hearts pumping as the story picks up its pace and dives into a head-spinning finale. The killer is revealed. The motive is often shocking. Unpleasant realities come forth. Hearts are broken. Relationships are shattered. But we are all the wiser and justice was delivered. The mystery was unravelled… and then we move on to another series, because we quickly need another fix.

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This is where ‘Black Spot’ (2017) stands out from the rest of its predominantly Scandinavian and French counterparts. It follows a familiar pattern, but it boldly steps outside the conventions for its hybrid genre. It’s relatively slow paced, and it involves a missing girl, yes. However, it also brings in some supernatural elements that others might have trouble weaving into such a story. It’s dark and moody, with plenty of gloriously wooded establishing shots, as well as intimate close-ups and brutally honest views of the people whose lives it’s documenting.

Streaming platforms like Netflix operate in bulk these days. Out of ten series they produce and distribute, three might be decent. Out of the three, one will be exceptional and often highly anticipated before it is even released—as was the case with ‘Altered Carbon’ (2018), ‘The Crown’ (2016), or ‘House of Cards’ (2013). 

Unlike the aforementioned giants, ‘Black Spot’, produced by France Télévisions and Ego Productions, sort of… slipped through. It was a hidden gem of sorts, but once it caught its viewers’ attention, there was no turning back. The show just works on so many levels, it has become a crown jewel of Netflix, a French/Belgian Koh-i-Noor whose third season we’re all breathlessly awaiting.

Created by Mathieu Missoffe of ‘Criminal: France’ (2019) and ‘Profilage’ (2009), ‘Black Spot’ follows an uncanny blend of characters who join forces more or less willingly in order to solve strange murders in a small and isolated French town. Villefranche sits on the edge of a mysterious forest in an area known as a ‘zone blanche’ (also the show’s French title), which means the cell phone reception is particularly poor in these parts.

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The town’s sheriff, Laurène Weiss, was once the victim of a crime herself, now dealing with a piling of bodies and disappearances—some of which are startlingly connected to her own harrowing experience. The incoming inspector, Franck Siriani, is a quirky fellow with a sturdy share of phobias and unresolved issues, desperate to solve these crimes so he can earn his way back into the big city from where he was banished. The sheriff’s deputy, Nounours, is a cuddly bear-type gay man who ends up falling for a possible suspect in another murder. The mayor, Bertrand Steiner, whose daughter, Marion, has been missing for a year, is torn between his corrupt father, his frustrated wife, and his affair with the sheriff Weiss. Clearly, there’s a lot to unpack here, and we’re only four characters in.

Suliane Brahim does a stellar interpretation of sheriff Weiss, a single mother still struggling with memories of her abduction and near-death experience at the hands of a forest creature of sorts—every day is an effort to keep reality and nightmares apart from each other, in a bid to retain her sanity while she tries to bring justice to the victims of a recent surge in violent murder. ‘Black Spot’ is the much-awaited breakthrough an actress of her calibre and potential needed, and we can certainly see why she shines so brightly.

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Sheriff Weiss is a tormented woman who loses sleep over the dead bodies that keep popping up in Villefranche. Her daughter, Cora, is the typical difficult teenager with an extra emotional baggage of being Marion’s best friend and eager to find out what happened to her—by whatever means possible, even if it gets her involved with a group of extremist environmental activists hell-bent on ruining the Steiners’ toxic business ventures.

Bertrand Steiner wants to be a good mayor to his constituents, but his father’s immoral practices, lack of ethics, and army of goons persist as a stain on his record. He wants to be a good husband to his grieving wife, as well, but his feelings for sheriff Weiss keep bringing him back to her bed. When his daughter’s body is finally found, Bertrand loses control and begins a slightly predictable downward spiralling trajectory—at the end of which he’ll be forced to make a choice: pull the trigger or retain his humanity.

Franck Siriani is an interesting addition, a bright yellow on a palette of darker blues and greens. He stands out, despite his polite demeanour. His fear of germs borders on the ridicule. His desire to restore his record, however, reaches into the realms of the obsessive. Inspector Siriani wants to do the right thing, too, and that means solving the many murders that have been plaguing Villefranche. But he also wants to take down the biggest beast of all—the Steiners, whom he sees as his ticket back to civilization and an area with good cell reception.

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Walking through Villefranche for the first season alone, we’ll come across many interesting characters. Some are terrible and depraved, harbouring dark secrets and murderous intentions. Others are nice and well-meaning, with routines they deeply care for and families they work hard to support. A few are cynical, perhaps even a little jaded. A handful seem to know a lot more about this place and its history than they let on. Put together, however, they’re woven into a fascinating canvas—a town that has been around since the Roman soldiers were trying to conquer the Celtic Gauls, a town that tries to modernize but cannot fully abandon its occult past.

You see, what really sets ‘Black Spot’ apart is the fabled existence of Cernunnos, the Horned One, a deity once worshipped by the Gauls. While very little is known about him due to the absence of written Gaulish literature, Cernunnos is thought to have been a god of animals and nature. In ‘Black Spot’, he first emerges as a silhouette, a faint idea, the origin of sheriff Weiss’s nightmares.

As the story progresses, as murders are solved and as we’re brought closer to the grim truth behind Marion Steiner’s disappearance, Cernunnos’s role becomes clearer as sheriff Weiss’s possible abductor, definite stalker, and eventual saviour. This modern-day godlike creature is also a killer and the origin point of an old coming-of-age ritual that got sheriff Weiss kidnapped as a teenager, in the first place. He’s no longer just a legend. Cernunnos becomes a twisted, unpalatable reality, and our crime-solving heroes are gradually forced to accept his influence, while also trying to explain it in a way that makes sense.

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It’s not easy to blend a supernatural element into a drama that is partially based on the police procedural. It’s not easy to make it verisimilar enough for the viewer not to scoff and switch to another series. And it’s certainly not easy to gradually bring it from the bottom layers of the overarching stories all the way to the top, by the time the first season is over. This achievement is indisputable as we open with sheriff Weiss’s apparent resurrection in the second season. Our minds are blown, and we cannot look away.

We want to learn more about Cernunnos, about the role he plays in Villefranche’s mythology. Who else knows about him? Who else has crossed paths with this mysterious creature? Who else survived the encounter? Who has the answers we need to make sense of all this? Season two mercilessly teases, shocking with some of its answers, but it doesn’t let go. Its hold is strong.

It is truly a wonderful thing to witness—a show’s ability to grip its viewers so tightly, that they’re left on the edge of their seats, counting the days until the next season. For this alone, I’m pleased to give ‘Black Spot’ all the praise it deserves.

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Of course, the production would be nothing without its splendid cinematography. Christophe Nuyens, best known for his work on ‘Riviera’ (2017), ‘Versailles’ (2018), and ‘A Discovery of Witches’ (2018), brings his skill to new levels in eight episodes of ‘Black Spot’. It even earned him a Jury Award from Camerimage and the Best Cinematography Award from the Luchon International Film Festival. Brecht Goyvaerts of ‘De Dag’ (2018) fame handles another eight episodes with a steady, in-depth view of Villefranche and its secrets. Bruno Degrave and Matias Boucard complete the team with four and three episodes, respectively. 

From ‘Au Service de la France’ (2015), production designer Eddy Penot and art director Laurent Khalife manage to create a Villefranche so real, we feel the shivers down our spines with every panoramic view of the forest and every close-up of its streets. The look and feel of ‘Black Spot’ are exactly the way it’s meant to be: dark, gritty, unapologetically real, with a whiff of supernatural which we are compelled to follow, even after the show’s writers try to drag us back to reality.

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Among the non-English speaking shows currently streaming on Netflix, ‘Black Spot’ takes a serious lead. Its weird factor is cranked up to a healthy eleven, well above ‘Osmosis’ (2019) or ‘Parfum’ (2018), taking it away from the strictly procedural or definitively dramatic creations of Scandinavian origins mentioned earlier. Stuffed with secrets, murder, whodunits and an apparently immortal horned god who makes a habit of starving and gutting his victims, one might have a hard time finding a reason not to like ‘Black Spot’. Especially when it turns out the supernatural isn’t all that… supernatural, per se.

Going back to the original premise of how Netflix absolutely nailed it with this show, the answer lies in the abundance of twists and turns, and in how we are all virtually played with right until the conclusion of the second season, where we learn that nothing is what it seems. Not even Cernunnos.

There is more mystery awaiting. More to the origin story. More connections to follow. And, of course, there are also more questions, which will hopefully be answered with the upcoming third season. At this point, one can only expect more of that dark and weird fun that Mathieu Missoffe is so obviously good at.

With the second season of ‘Mindhunter’ (2018) currently streaming on Netflix and excitement already bubbling for the third, it’s time to look at our fascination with serial killers, in general, since it certainly didn’t start last year with David Fincher’s latest directorial masterpiece. For decades, we have been ravenously consuming true crime and fiction stories about them, in books and on the screen. 

From a psychological point of view, the public’s appetite for the macabre has existed since antiquity. The gladiator fights of the ancient Roman Empire, the hangings of suspected witches in Salem and all across North America, the public executions in Britain that went on until the end of the 19th century—these are mere snippets that prove our species’ attachment to violence and bloodshed. When we cannot enact it ourselves, we take pleasure in watching others, specifically authorities, do it. We revel in the violent punishment of evildoers. It is an indisputable fact and an aspect of mankind that we may find unpalatable.

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With the evolution of forensic sciences and investigative techniques, as well as the elimination of public executions from all over the Western world, our attention has been captured by serial murderers, mostly due to the number of victims and often nightmarish ways in which they are killed. These individuals have often caused frenzies, mainly because their crimes seemed so random. Anyone could fall prey to a Jeffrey Dahmer or the BTK Killer.

According to the Crime Classification Manual (whose authors include John Douglas, the original ‘Mindhunter’), a serial killer is an offender who has killed more than three people across different locations, with cooling-off periods in-between each murder.

It often happens that these killers gain incredible notoriety thanks to the police’s public efforts to hunt them down. The authorities’ appeals to the general public through the press and the media inevitably turn these people into infamous, larger-than-life monsters. Of course, the authorities’ sole interest is to capture the killers before they create more victims. The newspapers and journals, however, spring for notoriety, which, in turn, feeds this public craving for morbid details of the actual crimes. 

Today, there are several names in the serial killer hall of fame. Men (and a few women) of a dark, legendary status. Jack the Ripper of Victorian London. H.H Holmes. John Wayne Gacy, nicknamed The Killer Clown. George Metesky, also known as The Mad Bomber. Aileen Wuornos, considered to be the most famous female serial killer. The mysterious Zodiac Killer. Ted Bundy. Charles Manson, the biggest monster of them all. Jeffrey Dahmer. Ed Kemper, best known as The Co-Ed Killer. The list continues, and it is filled with horror—eerily fascinating horror.

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‘Mindhunter’ and the study of monsters.

Forensic psychology has made great progress by studying these murderous behemoths, mainly through the efforts of John Douglas, Robert Ressler, Roy Hazelwood and several other agents behind the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI. The entire project started out as a study based on interviews with serial killers, combined with professional psychiatric and psychological insights, provided mostly by Ann Burgess and her colleagues. It is thanks to them that today we are able to identify patterns and capture serial killers before they reach a devastating death toll—and these are the heroes portrayed in ‘Mindhunter’, as well.

But the critically acclaimed series is not the only one tackling the subject, though it does it exceptionally well. Long before Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv teamed up to learn about serial killers in ‘Mindhunter’, the cinematic universe had already delivered chilling oeuvres such as Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ (1960), starring Anthony Perkins; ‘Monster’ (2003), directed by Patty Jenkins, which earned Charlize Theron an Academy Award; and Jonathan Demme’s ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991), based on Thomas Harris’s novel, featuring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. 

Today, ‘Mindhunter’ is not alone in portraying psychopaths. But all these productions share a common denominator: they bring the serial killer forth in all his wretched glory. They give us a glimpse into the most deranged of minds while pushing us to make a clear distinction between ‘clinically insane’ and ‘psychopath’. Serial killers are rarely psych-ward material, and they’re often incredibly charming.

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‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’, and yet, pants-off charming.

Zac Efron offered a surprisingly good portrayal of Ted Bundy in ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’ (2019), but people felt as though the movie was glorifying the ill-famed serial killer through the casting of Mr Efron. What they didn’t immediately understand was that Ted Bundy was exactly as the actor portrayed him—charming, handsome, a true ladies’ man. No one at the time could even believe that he had been the one responsible for more than thirty murders. Even Elizabeth Koepfler, his girlfriend, could not be convinced otherwise, until she learned he’d actually tried to kill her once. The tumultuous relationship led to her writing ‘The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy’, which was the basis for ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’.

And if Mrs Koepfler’s book and Mr Efron’s performance wasn’t enough, Netflix gave us another slice of Ted Bundy through ‘Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes’. What eventually got him arrested was his own inability to hide his tracks. Truth be told, despite his talent in leading a double life as a loving partner and a remorseless serial killer, Ted Bundy’s only advantage was his charm. He lacked the intelligence and critical thinking to continuously evade the authorities—unlike the Zodiac killer or Ed Kemper, for example. The latter was only caught after he surrendered himself. With every escape from prison, Ted Bundy sank deeper into his own despair, eventually devolving and killing a twelve-year-old girl.

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‘Zodiac’ and the allure of the uncaught. 

David Fincher tried his hand at serial killers before with ‘Zodiac’ (2007), starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo. Given that the real Zodiac was never found, the film focused on the authorities and the media’s efforts to capture him. But even here, we find ourselves drawn to the story—people kept dying, viciously shot in their cars, while the Zodiac Killer sent puzzles to taunt the police.

There have been numerous documentaries that explore this subject, to the point of absolute exhaustion. It’s how we know more about the killers than we do about their victims. And yet, we still can’t get enough. We’ve brought serial killers into the realm of fiction, too, with ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ being just two examples. However, the deeper we delve into the psyche of such monsters, the more fascinated we become.

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‘Barry’, the sympathetic hitman.

HBO’s downright superb drama gives us Bill Hader as a hitman from the Midwest who moves to Los Angeles in order to become an actor. While the main character may not immediately come across as a psychopath, he is just that. 

Barry is just smarter because he’s actually making money from killing people. Sure, he wants to explore the city’s theatre arts scene, but his true nature simmers just beneath the surface. He might have good intentions, but he is a serial killer. Even so, we can’t help but like him!

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‘Killing Eve’, or liking the villain a little too much.

Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge for BBC America, ‘Killing Eve’ has another serial-killer-turned-professional-hitwoman as its central character, exquisitely played by Jodie Comer, going head to head with Sandra Oh’s Eve Polastri. 

We’re drawn to Villanelle. She’s beautiful, resourceful, and incredibly good at her job. We can’t look away, even though we know she’s basically as bad as Ted Bundy, Ed Kemper and any of the other ‘industry greats’, so to speak.

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‘Dexter’, our first favourite serial killer.

Showtime’s ‘Dexter’ is yet another prime example as to why serial killers as main characters works so well. As viewers, we felt better about ourselves knowing that Dexter, so wickedly portrayed by Michael C. Hall, only targeted other murderers. 

We were even compelled to consider him an avenging dark angel of sorts, even though he, too, is basically a textbook psychopath. We rooted for him. We certainly didn’t want him to get caught. A similar effect stemmed from ‘Hannibal’ (2013), as well, whose main character—the renowned psychiatrist turned serial killer, is superbly played by Mads Mikkelsen. These guys are terrifyingly irresistible…

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‘True Detective’ and the fight for justice.

Despite this appeal of serial killer, we do appreciate the hunt. We appreciate cinematic productions where the murderers get caught almost as much as we love the antiheroes who don’t get caught. In that sense, Nic Pizzolatto’s HBO drama, ‘True Detective’, stands out. 

The seasonal anthology series, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, among others, tackles the professional and personal lives of the police officers who chase the very darkness we’re so drawn to.

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‘The Fall’, or how the cat chases the mouse and vice versa.

Taking place in Belfast, ‘The Fall’ follows the incomparable Gillian Anderson as a policewoman trying to take down Jamie Dornan’s seemingly passionate father, who is, in fact, a serial killer. For the umpteenth time, we find ourselves wedged between the hunter and the murderer, drawn to both thanks to their complexity.

It is the same with real serial killers. The terrible nature of their crimes is only outmatched by their personalities. We’re continuously astonished by the fact that people who seem completely normal are capable of such terror.

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‘Criminal Minds’, the fictional compendium of serial murder.

Before ‘Mindhunter’, ‘Criminal Minds’ (2005) had already established itself as the go-to source of morbid entertainment—a cornucopia of serial killers stretched across thirteen seasons, now going into its final lap. Most of it is inspired from John Douglas and Robert Ressler’s work with the FBI, though Mr Douglas does mention in the eponymous book on which ‘Mindhunter’ is based that profilers did not run around, guns blazing and breaking down doors in order to catch serial killers. Most of their work revolved around close collaboration with the local police and studying the crime scenes.

Even so, ‘Criminal Minds’ has been, by far, the biggest fix for serial killer aficionados worldwide. And while that might be a relatively troubling thing to say, these productions aren’t just well written, they’re also responsible for bringing some awareness to the general public, where serial murders are involved.

Thanks to them, even we are capable of recognizing certain patterns.

EDMUND EMILE KEMPER, ‘THE CO-ED KILLER’. IMAGE CURTESY OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SHERRIFF’S OFFICE

The appeal of serial killers will never die out. As evidenced by the many titles above, along with the honourable mentions, it is clear that we cannot get enough of such complex stories. In many ways, fiction is far more interesting than reality—at least on the screen, the serial killers come across as slightly more three-dimensional than their real-life counterparts.

This fervour isn’t waning, either. More and more true crime stories are coming out. The ‘Serial’ podcast broke records with move than 70 million downloads, a figure never before seen in this particular medium. 

Michelle McNamara’s posthumous book, ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’, was completed by crime writer Paul Haynes, investigative journalist Billy Jensen, and Mrs McNamara’s widower, comedian Patton Oswalt. It wasn’t just a bestseller, it also helped Sacramento Police, who arrested James DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer and the very Golden State Killer that Mrs McNamara had spent years trying to track down. HBO is currently producing a documentary based on the book.

TED BUNDY. ©BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

There are museum exhibits about famous serial killers taking place almost every year, most of them sold out—as was the case of the Museum of London in October 2015, when 600 objects from the Metropolitan Police’s crime archives went on show. Harold Schechter, a true crime writer best known for his book ‘Deviant’ (published in 1989 and telling the true story of Ed Gein, the so-called ‘original Psycho’), considers this popular interest ‘a kind of cultural hysteria’.

While serial killers are responsible for less than 1% of murders in the United States, our fascination exceeds our concern as we continue to build this mythology of evil and murder. 

In the end, it is our way of accepting that none of the monsters we create through legends, folklore, books or films come close to the monsters that real people are capable of becoming. After all, and as Joseph Conrad was quoted in the very first episode of ‘Criminal Minds’, saying: ‘The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness’.