Mindhunter

Mindhunter is a brilliant crime series, and it’s no surprise that David Fincher is the creative force behind it. Fincher has a knack for bringing stories about serial killers to life, and it almost feels like Mindhunter is his opus magnum. The show follows two agents in the 1970s as they start studying the minds of serial killers to apply their findings to future investigations. Both seasons are strong, though I felt the second one wrapped up a bit too quickly. The actors playing real-life killers really got to shine — regular scenes with Ed Kemper are some of the best in the series, while the encounter with Manson was more absurd than anything. There's no doubt the creators did their homework on the psychology of these criminals, making everything feel chillingly authentic. Sure, some episodes felt like filler and the pacing dragged at times, which keeps it just shy of five stars for me. The ending could have packed more of a punch, but even so, it's still one of the most impressive series on Netflix. (11/16/2021)

The first episode, by Fincher, is ironically the weakest. He slowly lays the cards on the table and it's not terribly interesting in the overload of dialogue, but from the second episode, from the meeting with Ed Kamper, things start to pick up and you just watch in fascination the main character's transformation from a nobody to an arrogant genius investigator. I consider the interrogation of the dude in the last episode to be the best thing I've seen in series production in years. I want the second season now!!! (01/08/2018)

Season One: A clever interview drama drawing on reality that tries to answer one of the many varieties of the question why… Fincher’s sure directing has anchored itself in a style somewhere between Zodiac and Mad Men and adds brilliant interviews with then still serial killers. Analytic dialogs dissect the worst of us and we realize with horror that it’s not just them whole are strange. A fantastic cast, including (or in fact primarily) murderers makes Mindhunter the biggest treat of this season. The movie provokes horror not by visual imaging of murder, but talking about it. Season Two: A very peculiar type of fear served to the viewer on a silver tray. In this film terror stems from everyday, comprehensible situations that could happen right next door to you, or even to you (a late issued search warrant). The last season was mainly about Kemper’s interviews with Ford, while here McCallany’s Tench comes to the fore. The storyline about the baby on the cross, with the undertones of Hill’s decaying musical score, sometimes slowing the pulse more than can be endured. It’s unpleasantly tangible and often overshadows the search for black children that is of key importance for Atlanta PD. This time, interrogations are not the main focus of events, which means that the important ones even more pithy. Manson’s solo is excellent, of course, but he certainly isn’t alone. The best crime movie for the past few years, and all dressed in a perfect Fincher overcoat. (11/26/2017)

There´s a tension. Zodiac goes Mad Men. Precisely refined (in all respects, from every single shot through every single sentence to every single actor regardless of the extent of the role / bit) distinguished slow-flowing procedural analytical thriller based purely on dialogs, which are packed with just as impressively subliminal tension and freezing atmosphere as the Zodiac. Not only the atmosphere will get under your skin but also ambivalence of deeds of the “good guys". The authors will let you grope in the moral gray zone about when, where and how good intentions become the famous road to hell. So, if you like "your Fincher" in the dampen, reserved and cold mode demanding a patient viewer à la Zodiac / House of Cards, then you must not (and especially don´t want) miss this masterpiece. Too bad the (non-existing) end of the introductory series didn´t do the job.| S1: 5/5 | | S2: 4/5 | (10/13/2017)

After a long time of procrastination, I finally got into Mindhunter and finished both seasons in a couple of days. Season 1 honestly didn't blow me away that much, it took me a while to get used to the slow pacing, the lack of violence and the action definitely frustrated me, but the closer it got to the end the more the series gradually won me over. The finale of the 1st season is very intense and made me want to watch the second season immediately, and I finished that one in one day. The interviews with the serial killers are definitely disturbing and some of the best the series has to offer. I was downright blown away when the storyline moved to Atlanta halfway through season 2, during the hunt for the killer of 25 children, where the police had almost no evidence. That's where David Fincher was at his strongest, in a stiffing and uncompromising atmosphere. Both FBI actors are excellent and Anna Torv downright annoyed me how unlikeable and cold she was. The disturbing music is also excellent. The series is definitely memorable and it's a shame there won't be another season. Story*****, Action>No, Humor>No, Violence*, Funniness*****, Music*****, Visuals*****, Atmosphere*****, Suspense*****. 9/10. (02/16/2021)