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Post by Pavan on Oct 14, 2017 11:18:31 GMT
2 episodes in. It's chilling. A scene in the 2nd episode with that Ed Kemper guy.. it felt like watching the basement scene in Zodiac. In fact the show feels like Fincher's Zodiac but with less mystery.
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Post by Pavan on Oct 14, 2017 11:20:55 GMT
Just watched first episode. It's okay, nicely sleek and stylish, although the script isn't particularly lively or original, and I agree that Groff isn't great in the lead - a shame considering I thought he was great on Looking. I'll definitely carry on watching though. hows the rest of the cast?. I don't know who Ed Kemper is until now. I just googled his name and read a little about him. The guy who played Kemper looks so much like him or they made him look like exactly like Kemper. He totally gave a brilliant performance.
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Post by jakesully on Oct 15, 2017 12:06:34 GMT
^^^ Yeah the Ed Kemper guy is scary as shit. JFC
Been continuing watching this and I absolutely can't stand the big ass white font they use (to show where their location is ). Really jarring. But overall, I dig this show a lot. Gotta finish it today as long as I don't get distracted with football.
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Post by getclutch on Oct 15, 2017 15:51:45 GMT
I'm currently on episode six, intelligent and slow burning. I thought the two main characters were very well observed and portrayed. Also, who is that random individual they keep showing at the start of some episodes?
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Post by Pavan on Oct 16, 2017 8:10:26 GMT
Finished the season. It did struggle a bit occasionally but overall i really liked it. Fincher directed four episodes and they are the strongest, IMO. The show never shied away from showing gruesome details that includes pictures, verbal descriptions of murders and whatever ghastly things those murderers did. Some of those moments are spine chilling.
It was like The Silence of the Lambs meets Zodiac. What makes show different from other serial killer/investigation shows is the 'criminal profiling', which is what the show is about. Although our leads do solve some cases in between their talks with famous killers.
Acting is not it's strongest point but the cast did fine. I guess our leads will interview the likes of Charles Manson, Ted Bundy etc., in season 2.
There's this Kansas guy who shows up in the start of some episodes. Those scenes were not connected the story. Judging by the final scene, I guess he is some sort of killer who will be caught in season 2.
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Post by getclutch on Oct 17, 2017 17:18:39 GMT
Finished the season. It did struggle a bit occasionally but overall i really liked it. Fincher directed four episodes and they are the strongest, IMO. The show never shied away from showing gruesome details that includes pictures, verbal descriptions of murders and whatever ghastly things those murderers did. Some of those moments are spine chilling. It was like The Silence of the Lambs meets Zodiac. What makes show different from other serial killer/investigation shows is the 'criminal profiling', which is what the show is about. Although our leads do solve some cases in between their talks with famous killers. Acting is not it's strongest point but the cast did fine. I guess our leads will interview the likes of Charles Manson, Ted Bundy etc., in season 2. There's this Kansas guy who shows up in the start of some episodes. Those scenes were not connected the story. Judging by the final scene, I guess he is some sort of killer who will be caught in season 2. Dennis Rader.
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Post by jakesully on Oct 18, 2017 21:57:12 GMT
Just got done with the finale (directed by Fincher) . Holy shit, that was masterful imo . I agree with pavan90 that Fincher's episodes were the strongest . He really set the tone for the rest of the season and the finale where Holden reunites with Ed Kemper . Holy crap that was intense! Looking forward to season 2 !
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Drish
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Post by Drish on Oct 22, 2017 15:45:04 GMT
Was so excited to watch it. Finally saw the first episode last night and it's such a snoozefest! Wtf?! I don't know if I should continue. :/ And that lead actor is so dull (so far).
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Post by cheesecake on Oct 22, 2017 17:03:35 GMT
I'm three episodes in, only liked the second one so far. I'm on board with a slow burn but this is a slog. Groff is really stiff and distracting in the lead, and I don't care about the subplot with his girlfriend at all. The actor playing Kemper is super unsettling and perfectly cast -- I've heard the man himself tell all these stories so it's very eerie to watch. Being a massive fan of true crime and Zodiac, this has all the elements of something I should love but I'm not sold yet. It feels so uninspired and dry.
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Post by alexanderblanchett on Oct 25, 2017 15:35:36 GMT
It was a great show that may have stated slow but fast got some drive. I love true crime, I love psychological stories and I love a great detective story. This show had all of this which made it the right thing for me. It works so well because most of what goes on actually happens in your head. This is why we could easily compare it to a psychological thriller like "The Silence of the Lambs". The episodes directed by David Fincher were the best directed ones when it comes to style and love for detail. The episodes directed by Andrew Douglas,, Asif Kapadia and Tobias Lindholm were among the most interested and twisted ones. Acting wise it was a mixed bag. Generally well acted but I found the leading performance of Jonathan Groff too stiff for its own good. Sure it was supposed to be a stiff character but I found him very boring and uncharismatic. The complete opposite was Holt McCallany who gave easily the best performance of the show. I also loved Anna Torv who had a great character to work with. Hannah Gross was fine but sometimes tried too hard. I loved the performance of Cameron Britton who was intense and absolutely believable. It is a perfect show to binge watch because you just canst stop once your entered this dark world. I really look forward to the next season as I think they will enter even deeper into the psychology. Very disturbing but never fails to be interesting. Some episodes were too slow but I guess that was needed for the character development. 8/10
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Post by idioticbunny on Oct 25, 2017 16:58:33 GMT
"I think people are perverts. I've maintained that [...] that's the foundation of my career." - David FincherAnd sure enough, he makes his most perverse show yet. An entire show dedicated to us, as voyeurs, examining and getting in the nitty-gritty with the worst of the worst. The absolute scum of the earth. Low-lives who murder and rape, and sometimes that's not even the tip of the iceberg of what they do. Yet we binge the show, fascinated by the criminal mind. Wanting to spend more time with Ed Kemper and Richard Speck, and why? Why are we like this? Because we're perverts. And as Fincher has stated, it's an opinion he's maintained throughout his entire career. From his sophomore film, Se7en, he's learned that people strive to watch the ugliest goings-on of the world and we don't even bat an eye. In fact, we craft cult followings from it (just look at just about any of his most popular films, particularly Fight Club where he addresses and satirizes the audience directly yet we still take it). I will argue that the first episode was a total snoozefest in that it seemed to be rushing to get to somewhere good while setting up characters, locations, timelines, the status quo of the day, etc. But once all of that gets settled in, it gets to Episode 2, which might just be my favorite episode of the season (though episode 4, 5, and 10 are up there). Not only does it have one of the most well-edited/directed montages I think I've ever seen (set to "Fly Like an Eagle" nonetheless, a song I've long hated but now somehow love thanks to it), but Cameron Britton as Ed Kemper is so damn alluring that you suddenly are thrust into this dark, vile world that sets up the rest of the show and picks away slowly at Holden Ford's slightly sociopathic mind. I've always thought John Carroll Lynch in Zodiac was a hell of an underrated performance from the Fincher canon, but now I think Cameron Britton will rightfully hold that baton from here on out. The show is disturbing, unflinching in its brutality (even the opening credits give you that impression, and yet I never found myself hitting that "skip intro" button on Netflix anyway - because I, too, am a pervert), and still maintains a decent and consistent sense of humor and focus on its real-life characters as real, not over-dramatized people. So, for those like Drish and cheesecake, I'd say stick with it. The first episode is super weak, but after that gets so much better. I honestly thought it was going to be a show akin to Hannibal where they study crime scenes, and in small ways they do every now and then, but where the show truly shines is in the study of its characters. Not just the ones who have murdered and raped, but the ones who study them, too. How the things they learn and experience begin to have an impact on their day-to-day lives. Even on small bit characters like a particular small-town detective in Pennsylvania. Fascinating stuff, and truly perverse in every sense of the word. Can't wait for Season 2.
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Post by idioticbunny on Oct 25, 2017 16:59:49 GMT
Also, I'm still unsure how I feel about Groff personally. I think his character is supposed to be a bit stiff, so I forgave it after the first couple episodes, but he really starts to unravel and come into his own in the last handful of episodes. So I have high hopes for him in the next season and think he could grow on me in the same way Gyllenhaal grew on me with Zodiac.
But the MVP is easily Cameron Britton. Though, of the main cast, I think Anna Torv (despite some accent flukes here and there) does a great job as well.
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Post by cheesecake on Nov 1, 2017 0:59:09 GMT
So I have a serious like/hate relationship with this show, haha. I think there were only two episodes I actually ended up liking? The formula of detectives going on road trips to interview serial killers, only to be pulled aside by local law enforcement who need their big city input to solve crimes got old so fast. They even got reamed out for it twice. I don’t mind creeper of the week episodes, but the tone was always shifting and the main storyline was constantly losing focus. Serious lack of balance.
McCallany was the only main character I gave a shit about — I had to fight fast forwarding scenes with Groff and Gross because they are some of the most irritating and vanilla people I’ve seen on television in years. In the vein of many Fincher works, the characters/acting was stilted and didn’t leave me feeling very engaged. I loved every second of Britton being on screen though — immaculate casting there. Over all, it just… is? I have so little feeling for anything. All the ingredients are there for something I should adore, but swing and a big miss.
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Post by stephen on Nov 1, 2017 2:44:52 GMT
Yeah, I really wasn't much of a fan of Groff's character or his subplot with his love interest. I generally hate stiff, unsocial yet precocious characters like his, and even though he gets results, I find myself drawn to earthier characters like McCallany's or more complex ones like Torv's. Really, when the most engaging that your serial killer show gets deals with a guy who tickles kids' feet for discipline, there's an issue.
With that said, the guest performances were top-notch damn near across the board. Cameron Britton deserves an Emmy nomination; guy managed to outdo John Carroll Lynch's Arthur Leigh Allen with almost no effort at all, and that is a task worthy of Hercules.
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AKenjiB
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Post by AKenjiB on Nov 3, 2017 18:53:55 GMT
I just finished it last night and LOVED it. Probably more than anyone else on the board. Admittedly, I’m the target audience to the point of being biased. Fincher + real-life serial killers is basically the perfect show for me.
I guess I’m the only one who liked Groff. I didn’t mind his scenes with his girlfriend. They didn’t take up too much screen time and helped show how his professional life began affecting his personal life. I thought his work in the last couple episodes was especially strong and whenever he interacted with Ed Kemper. His character is a pretty flat, detached guy for most of the season and I thought he played that well, but in the last couple episodes when Ford gets more cocky and obsessive, is when I thought Groff was really strong. Sure, it's a predictable arc we've seen a million times before, but I thought Groff somehow portrayed it in a way that felt unique to the show. He was like a mix of Robert Graysmith in Zodiac and Mark Zuckerberg in the Social Network and I'm really curious how his character will develop next season.
Cameron Britton as Ed Kemper is obviously MVP and should be a shoe-in for an Emmy nomination next year. McCallany and Torv also embodied their characters really well and I dug the dynamic brought on by the trio of them and Groff working together.
Zodiac is also one of my favorite movies of all time, a film I’ve only grown to appreciate more on repeat viewings. This has really filled the void left by that film. My only fear is that it’ll become repetitive. But as a first season, I think it’s one of the best things Netflix has ever done. I never felt bored. Every interview scene had my eyes glued to the screen. And I can’t wait to see who else pops up next season. Sounds like Charles Manson and David Berkowitz are being set up. I don’t know if the FBI ever actually interviewed him but it’d be interesting to see Kenneth Bianchi who was caught in 1979 (he killed Western washington university students, which is where I go to school so I’ve always found him especially scary). Apparently, season 2 will also feature the Atlanta child murders committed by Wayne Williams. I hope they'll bring back the black agent from Atlanta who we met in episode 8, especially since he seemed like a much better candidate for the team than Smith, the guy they ended up getting.
But anyways, terrific season in my opinion. Can’t wait for season 2. Hopefully it stays fresh and Fincher keeps directing episodes.
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Post by Viced on Nov 7, 2017 14:49:49 GMT
Finished it last night...
Fincher directed the hell out of the first two episodes, but the writing and characters don't really come together until episode 3 or 4. I think it was episode 3 when Shepard berated Holden, and Bill came in to defend him where I started getting vibes that this was a great show. All the interview scenes are fascinating, and the actors playing the killers all deliver (especially Kemper and Richard Speck). The final scene between Holden and Kemper is amazing, and the music kicking in when he gets out of the room is one of Fincher's best moments.
Groff was pretty weak in the early episodes, but by the end he seemed more comfortable in the role and was pretty great in the last few episodes. I agree with AKenjiB about the stuff with the girlfriend, too. It wasn't uninteresting, and it demonstrated how fucked up his work made him (not only on the job) by the end of the season.
Holt McCallany is definitely MVP for me, though. When Groff was underwhelming in the early episodes, he really carried the show. There's not nearly enough of him in the final few episodes.
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Nov 22, 2017 20:01:21 GMT
I've only seen the first couple of episodes. So far, I like the show, but my one complaint would be that some of the dialogue didn't feel natural coming from the mouths of the lead character and his love interest. I don't know how much of that is the fault of the actors or the writing.
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Post by Viced on Nov 22, 2017 22:39:14 GMT
I've only seen the first couple of episodes. So far, I like the show, but my one complaint would be that some of the dialogue didn't feel natural coming from the mouths of the lead character and his love interest. I don't know how much of that is the fault of the actors or the writing. Groff is very stiff in the first few episodes. He gets better as the season progresses.
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Nov 23, 2017 17:39:10 GMT
I've only seen the first couple of episodes. So far, I like the show, but my one complaint would be that some of the dialogue didn't feel natural coming from the mouths of the lead character and his love interest. I don't know how much of that is the fault of the actors or the writing. Groff is very stiff in the first few episodes. He gets better as the season progresses. Okay, happy to read that because it is a show I can see myself getting into. Everything else works.
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Nov 26, 2017 20:06:18 GMT
I'm almost finished with the season and I found myself getting more into it as it went along. Groff did get more comfortable in his role, or maybe we've gotten more comfortable with him in the role. I don't know. Anna Torv is well cast in her role. I even like the parts dealing with some of the characters' personal lives away from their work, for example, Holt McCallany's family dilemma involving his son.
I also like that they keep giving us glimpses of the BTK killer at the beginning of every episode. Who else knew that was him from his very first scene? Boy did they cast someone who looked like him. He gives me the creeps in those little glimpses more than any of the other killers they've interviewed on the show so far.
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Post by stephen on Nov 26, 2017 20:13:10 GMT
I'm almost finished with the season and I found myself getting more into it as it went along. Groff did get more comfortable in his role, or maybe we've gotten more comfortable with him in the role. I don't know. Anna Torv is well cast in her role. I even like the parts dealing with some of the characters' personal lives away from their work, for example, Holt McCallany's family dilemma involving his son. I also like that they keep giving us glimpses of the BTK killer at the beginning of every episode. Who else knew that was him from his very first scene? Boy did they cast someone who looked like him. He gives me the creeps in those little glimpses more than any of the other killers they've interviewed on the show so far. I knew it was BTK from the absolute jump. Looks just like him, it was the right time period, and I think they called him "Dennis."
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Nov 26, 2017 20:18:54 GMT
I'm almost finished with the season and I found myself getting more into it as it went along. Groff did get more comfortable in his role, or maybe we've gotten more comfortable with him in the role. I don't know. Anna Torv is well cast in her role. I even like the parts dealing with some of the characters' personal lives away from their work, for example, Holt McCallany's family dilemma involving his son. I also like that they keep giving us glimpses of the BTK killer at the beginning of every episode. Who else knew that was him from his very first scene? Boy did they cast someone who looked like him. He gives me the creeps in those little glimpses more than any of the other killers they've interviewed on the show so far. I knew it was BTK from the absolute jump. Looks just like him, it was the right time period, and I think they called him "Dennis." Looked like him, and when he jumped into the ADT truck, that sealed it because I was always so disturbed by the fact that that man worked for a security company just so he could have access to victims. You get those house alarms for security, but the "security" is putting you right into a serial killer's path. How creepy is that?
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Post by stephen on Nov 26, 2017 20:21:08 GMT
Looked like him, and when he jumped into the ADT truck, that sealed it because I was always so disturbed by the fact that that man worked for a security company just so he could have access to victims. You get those house alarms for security, but the "security" is putting you right into a serial killer's path. How creepy is that? So creepy indeed. I'm a big true-crime buff, and details like that always keep me up at night. Shit, have you read about EAR/ONS? That was the case Patton Oswalt's wife was obsessed over, and she was finishing a book on him when she died. It's one of the most terrifying cases out there, and it's still unsolved. Definitely shades of BTK there.
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Post by ibbi on Nov 26, 2017 20:22:10 GMT
I'm almost finished with the season and I found myself getting more into it as it went along. Groff did get more comfortable in his role, or maybe we've gotten more comfortable with him in the role. I don't know. Anna Torv is well cast in her role. I even like the parts dealing with some of the characters' personal lives away from their work, for example, Holt McCallany's family dilemma involving his son. I also like that they keep giving us glimpses of the BTK killer at the beginning of every episode. Who else knew that was him from his very first scene? Boy did they cast someone who looked like him. He gives me the creeps in those little glimpses more than any of the other killers they've interviewed on the show so far. I didn't know it was him, because I have no idea who he is, but those scenes are maybe the best thing about the entire season for me. Look forward to your thoughts when it's over. Hurry it up!
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Nov 26, 2017 20:37:10 GMT
Looked like him, and when he jumped into the ADT truck, that sealed it because I was always so disturbed by the fact that that man worked for a security company just so he could have access to victims. You get those house alarms for security, but the "security" is putting you right into a serial killer's path. How creepy is that? So creepy indeed. I'm a big true-crime buff, and details like that always keep me up at night. Shit, have you read about EAR/ONS? That was the case Patton Oswalt's wife was obsessed over, and she was finishing a book on him when she died. It's one of the most terrifying cases out there, and it's still unsolved. Definitely shades of BTK there. I hadn't, but I just read a little about it. It's crazy that the person was never caught, even with all the DNA evidence. Scary stuff. Have you read about Dean Corll? That story was interesting to me because he was somehow able to get two teenaged boys to assist him in these horrible murders (for $200 wtf?), and eventually, one of those boys finally killed him to put an end to it all.
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