Warning: This article contains references to violence of an extreme and sometimes sexual nature.
In terms of Netflix originals, crime shows don’t get any better than Mindhunter. This thriller supervised by Zodiac director David Fincher gets into the minds of serial killers like no other TV series in history. First-time viewers should be aware of what they’re getting themselves into before watching the show, however.
Basing itself on true stories like the Atlanta child murders, Mindhunter charts a pioneering FBI program launched in the late 1970s. The program saw detectives and criminal psychologists from the agency conduct interviews with convicted killers about the motives behind and circumstances around their depraved crimes.
The series is a must-watch for fans of crime thrillers, due to its painstaking approach to dramatizing some of the most fascinatingly frightening criminal cases in modern American history. Mindhunter bears all the hallmarks of Fincher’s signature clinical precision. But it’s certainly not a show for the faint-hearted.
Mindhunter Is A Great TV Show, But It Gets Incredibly Dark
Damon Herriman as Charles Manson sits on top of a chair in Mindhunter.
There’s no question that Mindhunter deserves its masterpiece status as a superbly rendered crime drama without direct precedent, but viewer discretion is of the utmost importance. When Charles Manson is one of the least horrifying real-life criminals in a TV series, then dark doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Manson’s interview with the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit in Mindhunter is surprisingly lighthearted compared to the appearances of serial killers like Ed Kemper and Dennis Rader in the show. Kemper notoriously beheaded his female victims, before practicing necrophilia on some of them. Meanwhile, Rader is known as the BTK Strangler, because he bound, tortured, and killed his victims.
The more Mindhunter focuses its attention on these mass-murdering interviewees, the darker it becomes. In a sense, the matter-of-fact conversations we see between FBI agents and serial killers discussing the details of their crimes in-depth are more horrifying than any depiction of the crimes themselves could be. It’s the emotional dissonance of the killers that’s most shocking of all.
Viewers Should Go Into Netflix’s Crime Show Knowing What To Expect
Image of Cameron Britton’s portrayal of Ed Kemper in Mindhunter looking offscreen
Mindhunter’s best episodes are its most terrifying. One scene in which FBI Agent Holden Ford appears to be in mortal danger is the very essence of a crime-thriller masterpiece. Yet, this show isn’t for everybody. Those who can’t handle graphic descriptions of extreme violence would be better off avoiding it.
For those who like their crime thrillers as dark as possible, though, Mindhunter is the perfect series. Its only shortcoming is the brevity of its run. The show was canceled after just two seasons and 19 episodes. Still, these episodes manage to cover darker subject matter than almost any other TV series in history.
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