255. Web-series Reviews – 97

More web-series reviews…

Conversation with a Killer – The Jefferey Dahmer Tapes – Came out in 2022. Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer confesses to his gruesome crimes in unguarded interviews, offering an unsettling view into a disturbed mind.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Joe Berlinger resumes the "Conversations" series with one of the most horrible human beings to have ever walked the face of the earth - Jeffrey Dahmer. Hot on the heels of a dramatized series starring Evan Peters, this version (like its predecessors) adopts a non-linear approach to Dahmer's ghastly deeds, with some insight into his upbringing. The interviews involve reporters, investigators, friends of victims, and acquaintances of Dahmer's. The tapes themselves aren't what you call spine-chilling because by then, he's already in a confessional mode and acting saner than he ever was. That being said, the gruesome details, when narrated by the reporters and investigators, make your hair stand on end. Luckily, the imagery used sticks to the bare minimums, not putting off viewers.

It also takes a stab at the racism angle as more of Dahmer's victims were from the minority communities (Black, Hispanic, Eurasian) - this seems like fair commentary to me because there were certain instances (like in the case of Sinthasomphone) where the victim was further victimized as a result of cop negligence. Dahmer should also have been caught sooner, and his paroles should have been handled and monitored better to avert further damage. The irony in the last episode is when a district attorney mentions how we should forget Dahmer altogether (even when Netflix is striving to make us remember him all the more) whereas a reporter says we should talk about it more and make people aware of such predators. The most relevant take, however, comes from a friend of the victims who remarks that we can put less emphasis on Dahmer and choose NOT to forget his victims who were just trying to survive and live life.

Another review…

Netflix has done the same thing it did the Ted Bundy duo. They released 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile' (2019 with Lily Colin's & Zac Efron), and a week later released 'Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes'. The latter being far superior to the former. If I knew 'Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes' was being released, I wouldn't have watched 'Dahmer - Monster'.

These confessional documentary type mini series are full of witness accounts, conversations with his defence attorney, the people who knew the victims & were the last people to see them before Dahmer took their life. This is the stuff that makes a series interesting, news report clips, policemen on the record saying they stand by the actions of those on duty at the time.

Everything is laid out in a very logical fashion. It made things clear which had been muddied by the 'Dahmer - Monster' dramatisation. No recreation. You HEAR the phone call made by the neighbour asking about the 14 year old boy who was found stumbling out the apartment building, no clothes on, incoherent. You HEAR the officer inform her it had "been dealt with" & the boy had been returned to his boyfriend's (Dahmer's) apartment.

The final episode closes off with individual testimony that is deeply respectful to the victims. Their friends, their neighbours talk about the kind souls who were taken by Dahmer. Victim names are repeated, displayed at the end.

The series ended with my thoughts reverent for everyone who had been forever changed by the hurt caused by Dahmer that had spread like a disease in that community. I wish I could erase that Netflix dramatisation from my mind, by comparison it is camp, jumbled and very distanced from the facts.

My Take – Worth a watch!

The Devil’s Hour – Came out in 2022.  A woman who wakes up every night at exactly 3.33AM, in the middle of the so-called devil's hour between 3AM and 4AM.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

First off, let me state there was no devil or demon in this show. It took me on a mystery all its own without any supernatural padding. This British mystery-thriller demanded my patience, but it was well worth it in the end.

The unconventional out-of-the-box way they took this series was more than welcome, especially considering how many shows follow a 'safe' pattern these days. As I watched, "The Devil's Hour" soon proved to be a treasure-trove of suspense with great psychological thrills and metaphysical phenomena thrown in.

Directors Johnny Allan and Isabelle Sieb did outstanding work across all six episodes. Tom Moran did brilliant work on screenplay. Together, they left no loose ends and gave this genre something to be proud of.

The Newton Brothers did remarkable work scoring the series. Stuart Biddlecombe and Bjørn Ståle Bratberg were amazing on cinematography. Tom McCullagh's production design was aces. Noteworthy work on set decoration and stunts. VFX, sound effects, and art direction were superb. Tudor George's costume design was neat.

Peter Capaldi as Gideon made the series work in more ways than one. He was the rhythm that kept the show in sync. His performance and interactions with Lucy Chambers evoked (to some extent) the spine-tingling exchanges between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter.

Lucy Chambers, played by Jessica Raine, was great. Her heartfelt performance was compelling. Isaac Stevens, played by Benjamin Chivers, was noteworthy. Some good acting from this kid. Mike Stevens, played by Phil Dunster, was superb. He waxed despicable, but in a relatable sort of way. Sylvia Chambers, played by Barbara Marten, was great.

Shane Fisher, played by Kyle Rowe, was amazing (despite the brief screentime he received). Dr Ruby Bennett, played by Meera Syal, was good. DI Ravi Dhillon, played by Nikesh Patel, was captivating. DS Nick Holness, played by Alex Ferns, was memorable.

Aiden Stenner, played by Brandon Bendell, was notable. Bella Holness, played by Jane McCarry, was great. Malcolm Shepherd, played by Mark Cox, was good. Rhia, played by Alexandra D'Sa, was quite good. Moira, played by Emma Ballantine, was amazing. So was Lawrence, played by Stephen Ashfield.  Everyone else did great work in "The Devil's Hour" now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Better known as the 'witching hour', the 3 a.m. Timestamp has been stereotyped and misunderstood to no end. In this series, however, it found a fresh twist that was gripping, suspenseful, and unnerving. The story was not even about the so-called devil's hour but had more to do with time-travel, recurrence, parallel world memories, and reincarnation with a lace-loop twist (you'll know it when you see it).

The pace of the series was slow and drawn out, but the path along which they took the later episodes made me applaud that creative decision. The ending was most impressive, making "The Devil's Hour" finale brilliant. I never saw the twists coming, to be honest. The final reveal tied up all lingering loose-ends in an ingenious fashion that was also convincing and breathtaking.

My Take – An engrossing watch!

Unsolved Mysteries – Combines dramatic re-enactments, interviews and updates, to tell stories of real mysteries, from human to the supernatural.  Came out in 1987 and went on till 2010.  It is still continuing in Netflix.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Excellent television series that went on for a decade on NBC, found a home for less than half a season on CBS (only completing six episodes for the network) and still living in syndication on the Lifetime Network. The series finally hit a brick wall for all intensive purposes by 2002 as nothing new was really being added to old episodes and new mysteries were only given a quick glimpse. The series is an intense study in crime, history, religion, the super-natural and seemingly everything in between. The show started slowly in the late-1980s with Karl Malden and Raymond Burr starting out as hosts (never hosting at the same time). It was not until Robert Stack took over very early in the series' run that the program found a permanent audience. His golden voice spooked and intrigued for over a decade. As the years passed the program struggled in spite of the fact that many bad people were caught and innumerable mysteries were solved. Gimmicks followed with co-hosts like Virginia Madsen and Keely Shaye Smith, but by that time "Unsolved Mysteries" had sadly become a Nielsen Ratings dog. All shot in a documentary style, the series was always endearing to me. However its purpose was never really to entertain and the sometimes dark and disturbing subject matter turned many in the viewing public away. Even in syndication it is fun to look back to a part of television history that will stand the test of time. 5 stars out of 5.

My Take – An ok series.

Fargo – Came out in 2014 and the 4th season in 2020.  5th season is supposed to come in 2023. Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.

Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman in Season 1.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

The movie "Fargo" is one of my favorite dark character studies with an appropriate comedic element, and I re-watch it at least yearly. I knew about this TV series but only was able to view it now, in 2017, on HULU streaming. 

I give lots of positive credit to the series. It has much the same mood of the movie but handles it through different characters and different stories. Still it is the contrast between the slow pace of "nice" people in Minnesota and the hardened gangsters who visit to maim and kill.

In the movie Jerry was a car salesman, in season 1 the analogous character is Lester, an insurance salesman, who in fact is even darker than Jerry and more willing to have people killed for his benefit. In the first season the bad guy who comes to town is played by Billy Bob Thornton.

There is even a pregnant lady cop, there is a car with 'DLR' plates, there is a showdown at the secluded cottage in the winter snow. Lou Solverson is the older, retired Minnesota State Trooper. His daughter Molly is on the police force. The stories take place in relatively modern times.

Season 2 is essentially a prequel to season 1. It takes place in 1979 and Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson) is a 40-ish State Trooper with a sick wife and Molly is his young daughter. The series focuses on a dim-witted hairdresser (Kirsten Dunst) who wants to better herself and after an accident on a snowy road ends up in the middle of a war between two crime families.

The series does feature its share of graphic violence but in the end the good guys manage to prevail. I watch it on HULU streaming so I may need to wait 6 months or a year to get to season 3.

Edit January 2019: I just finished season 3 on a 4 disc DVD set from my public library. Episodes are set in 1980 and 1981, featuring Ewan McGregor as both feuding brothers, a parking lot magnate and in makeup as his slightly younger brother, a parole officer who gets into a relationship with one of his parolees. The big thorn is the Brit who comes to town to usurp the parking lot business and use it for money laundering. As we have come to expect the stories are very dark and many people die over the course of the season.

My Take – An engrossing fare!

Cheers till next time😊!!