TV Review: Mindhunter (2017)

"David Fincher strikes again."

If any guy can make a disturbing, slow-burn of a story like this one come to life in the proper way, It's David Fincher. With Se7en and Zodiac, Fincher gave us two of the best movies about Serial Killers ever made, and as co-producer and co-director on Mindhunter, he's given us another disturbing gem to savor.

It's kind of like watching a 10-episode run of Zodiac.

Based on the book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas , Mindhunter tells the story of real FBI agents John E. Douglas and Robert K. Ressler, who essentially created criminal profiling in the 70's, which has since become an invaluable tool used to catch killers, especially those of the serial variety. The two agents, called Holden Ford and Bill Tench in the show, travel across the country to interview killers like Edmund Kemper, Richard Speck, and Jerry Brudos, in an effort to gain insight into their mindsets, so that they can catch other killers before their body counts mount.

Sound familiar? Well John E. Douglas was who the character of Jack Crawford of Silence of the Lambs was based on, as well as Will Graham, and the profilers on Criminal Minds.

LIKE WILL GRAHAM GOING TO VISIT DR. LECTER.

The show is a new, fresh spin on the Police procedural, showcasing the FBI agents and their personal lives as much as it does the criminals and their heinous crimes. We see Holden go from an odd but likable guy, who slowly loses his shit as he delves deeper into the minds of the killers. His partner, Bill, is an old school guy who is hesitant to go down the path that Holden is making, as his home life is less than ideal, and weighs on him heavily.

And the killers, well they're terrifying to behold, in a subtle, all-too-creepy way, especially Ed Kemper, who is played brilliantly by Cameron Britton; if his matter-of-fact, emotionless description of his crimes doesn't give you chills, I don't know what will.

MOTHER'S, PLEASE LOVE YOUR SONS, OR THEY'LL GROW UP TO BE THIS GUY.

Surprisingly, for a show with such a grisly plot, there's very little graphic violence in Mindhunter. It's a procedural in which cases-of-the-week are worked, but the Horror of it shines through in the interviews with the killers, not in watching them work.

I have to imagine that in Season 2, we'll get more about BTK (the guy in the cold opens of every episode), and let us not forget that Serial Killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, and Henry Lee Lucas were at work in the late 70's/early 80's, so there will be no shortage of disturbing ground to cover.

HOLT McCALLANY IS WAY UNDERRATED.

Mindhunter is an addicting piece of drama, anchored by top-notch directing, cinematography, and excellent work by everyone in the cast. David Fincher is the perfect storyteller to tackle the world of Serial Killers, and that's evidenced by the fact that he's able to do so with little to no bloodshed, and it's not even an issue.

Binge this show this Halloween Season. You won't regret it.

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Mindhunter is streaming on Netflix now.

Anna Torv and Hannah Gross are in this.