Mindhunter: Episodes One and Two

Continuing to raise the bar higher and higher, Netflix are releasing the next instalment off their barnstorming production line. This time, the focus has shifted onto the minds of serial killers and how to understand them. The series is titled Mindhunter and depicts the changing perspectives and mental states of criminals in the 1970s. It was a time of change for the FBI, with approach methods proving unstable with the development of mental illness issues in the United States and it was down to a special few agents to work out how to “get ahead of crazy” by working out “how crazy thinks”.

London Film Festival is screening the opening two episodes in promotion for its release on 13^th October. The show follows fictitious FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they travel across the United States, lecturing at Police Departments and interviewing some of the most prolific serial killers in the country at the time. The opening preview episodes focus on the coming together of Ford and Tench, who at the time are lecturers for the FBI Academy. Interested in criminal psychology, Ford decides that whilst he is touring California he shall visit Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton) to study how his mind works. In the process, the pair of agents discover that there is actually a substantial amount the Bureau could learn from serial killers about why they commit their crimes.   

In what is to be a ten-part series, Jonathan Groff appears set to show he can handle the principal role in a high-budget Netflix production, masterfully encompassing the character of the psychological study-driven Ford. The partnership between the two leads looks promising and it’s clear to see that the two actors have an instant chemistry. Britton is fascinatingly chilling in his performance as the serial killer Edmund Kemper and it shall be exciting to see what he will do next with this character.

The show will look to display an alternative side to that often thought of the FBI, with action taking a back seat in this psychological thriller, although there are still glimpses of case studies yet to come and crimes to solve. In a full 1970s setting, Mindhunter is directed by three different artists, with David Fincher, Andrew Douglas and Asif Kapadia splitting the episodes between them. With music that will make the audience’s feet tap and moments to make them grip their chairs, this promises to be a very original and unpredictable series, with sudden turns as displayed in a racy and gory opening sequence. The question is, will Mindhunter maintain its momentum through to the end? Well, since it is Netflix, probably yes.

Guy Lambert

Mindhunter is released nationwide on Netflix on 13^th October 2017.

Read more reviews and interviews from our London Film Festival 2017 coverage here.

For further information about the festival visit the official BFI website here.

Watch the trailer for Mindhunter here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gZCfRD_zWE