January 26, 2023

An exponential rise in the popularity of serial killer-focused entertainment brings several questions to mind, ethical and otherwise. A survey by Morning Consult revealed that 62% of American adults are fans of shows or movies about serial killers. Perhaps the most pertinent question is why do people love them so much?

Netflix’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” premiered in September 2022 and immediately gained huge popularity. The show became the 10th most-streamed program in a single week ever recorded by Nielson, Netflix’s audience-tracking partner. Viewers collectively watched 3.7 billion minutes between Sept. 19 and Sept. 25. The New York Post reported that it is now the second most popular Netflix show of all time. 

Netflix boasts a huge collection of shows, movies and documentaries about serial killers. Some titles include “Indian Predator: The Butcher of Delhi,” “Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” “Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes” and “The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness.” The internet is rife with curated lists of the best serial killer media to consume on streaming platforms. One such list by Augustman said “The Ted Bundy Tapes,” “is perfect for a weekend binge, if you want to gain some insight into the mind of a horrendous criminal and decode his murders.” This presupposes an audience for such gruesome content.

While documentaries and docuseries can be convincingly marketed as educational or historical, embellished retellings are another matter. The latest such Netflix production is “The Good Nurse,” which came out just before the Dahmer series. In this movie, Eddie Redmayne plays Charles Cullen, a real nurse who killed hundreds of patients between 1998 and 2003. Redmayne’s acting is at its best. He plays an evil character with precision, intentionally allowing the cracks of his facade to slip only a couple of times throughout the two-hour movie. In certain moments his character tries so hard to be lovable that it’s eerily convincing. 

The Dahmer show featured a similarly charismatic depiction of Dahmer. BuzzFeed writes that the “depiction of the real-life Dahmer … has endeared the serial killer to some people.” The actor, Evan Peters, is beloved by fans, and some of that adoration has been extended to the serial killer he depicts. 

In both “The Good Nurse” and “Dahmer,” viewers know the main character is a serial killer from the first minute. Therefore, viewers wait for the other characters to realize it too. The perverse scenario leaves viewers sitting on the edge of their couches, emotionally invested in an actor’s portrayal of a murderer who was caught and charged almost 20 years ago. Netflix profits from the retelling of a real man murdering real victims. 

The market for such dark television and movies may have a psychological explanation. Psychology Today writes that people enjoy the feelings of suspense and fear when they are in a safe, controlled environment. Watching something scary produces a hormonal response that floods the body with adrenaline, dopamine and endorphins. Paired with the knowledge that one is not in real present danger, the sensation can be enjoyable. 

Experts at the University of Southern California wrote about this subject. They quote Alessandro Ago, director of programming and special projects at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. 

“Horror as a genre is an expression of the collective anxieties of a society at the time in which these films are made,” Ago said. “They allow us to collectively get a sense of catharsis by the vanquishing of these fears.”

An article by “Today” echoes Ago’s theory: “Horror films in particular allow us to explore the experience of fear in an enjoyable and safe way,” the article said. “They also allow us to identify with the bad guy without getting ourselves into too much trouble.”

This rationale explains the attraction to frightening media. However, Netflix’s choice to use true crime, especially recent crime, to sate consumers’ desires has ethical issues. None of the victims’ families or loved ones were consulted or paid. 

According to The Guardian, the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, “said his team tried to speak with about 20 of the victims’ friends and family before the show’s release but no one called back.”

Rita Isbell, a woman who spoke during Dahmer’s trial after he killed her brother, gave an interview to Insider about her reaction to the show. 

“It’s sad that they’re just making money off of this tragedy,” she said. That’s just greed.”

Isbell’s cousin, Eric Perry, tweeted that the show was “retraumatizing [the family] over and over again.”

The Guardian also reports that Dahmer “got away with murder for so long because authorities ignored the concerns of Black and other minority community members.” 

The oversight of such community members in the creation of the show adds to the trauma they experienced when the murders were first committed. Entertainment value seems a low payout for the dramatization of such recent atrocities. 

“The Good Nurse” is similarly insensitive to the Dahmer series, though not as popular. The final moments of the movie show Redmayne escorted away in handcuffs with the overset text: “He never explained why he did it.” 

Netflix has imposed a macabre narrative without a resolution. There was no resolution for the loved ones of Cullen’s hundreds of victims and now viewers are left with the same lack of closure, simply for shock value.

Edited by Egan Ward | eward@themaneater.com

Copy Edited by Lauren Courtney | lcourtney@themaneater.com 

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