Aileen: La reina de las asesinas en serie

Aileen Wuornos was taken advantage of and abused by just about every single person in her life. That includes the justice system in this case. She did murder people though. Her story is just about one of the saddest things I've ever heard about. For her, her victims, and the families. This documentary is very well done. It really does underline the documentaries Nick Broomfield did as well. I think it's clear she killed the first time in self defense. We could have found out for sure if the prosecution and state weren't so happy to get tv shows, movies, and books made. John Tanner should be brought up on charges for hiding and ignoring evidence. The media and the justice system wanted that "female serial killer" angle so badly that they ignored all else. Does any of that mean Aileen didn't murder people... no. She did, and the families and victims deserved justice. None of these things are exclusionary. You can have empathy for the victims and the murderer, and in this case it's difficult not to.

I have watched a few dozen documentaries on Aileen, going back to American Justice with Bill Curtis in the mid 1990's. This documentary is more of a sympathetic look at Aileen, from the sense that she was a battered woman, victim of sexual assault, and somewhere along the lines she fought back and lost her way and began to kill men. Part of her is a vigilante, but another part of her lost her way and veered into serial killing men who picked her up.

Some of what this documentary shows is very powerful, and it's hard not to feel bad for Aileen. I actually agree that deep inside Aileen had a good heart which had been broken, and she lashed out. I also think the State of Florida didn't give her a fair trial, but I'm not sure Florida knew what to do with her. Yes, she was a serial killer, but I'm not sure the death penalty was the answer here. And it was wrong for Florida to move her trial to a more conservative part of the State, and wrong to remove the judge who rightfully wanted answers to questions in the case. She deserved a fair trial.

However, I think there as a darker side to Aileen as well, and this documentary doesn't show too much of that. It never veers into her later victims, and I think that is wrong because my understanding is they did not sexually assault her but they reminded her of people who had. And I don't think this documentary explored her relationship with the woman she claimed to have loved very well, so I wasn't really sure what to make of the connection between Aileen and her parter and how that linked to the murders. Did Aileen kill to provide for her partner too? Etc.

Either way, I do think this documentary shows Aileen was a a tragic figure more than an evil person, and somewhere inside you wish you could help her. Also, I think if Aileen had a colder heart she probably never would have killed - but rather, because she had a big heart to begin with when life hurt her...she exploded.

One of America's most unique serial killers, Aileen Wuornos, has been the subject of several documentaries, but this one's a little bit different.

I've seen a few documentaries made about Aileen, and this one tells her story from an entirely different point of view. I enjoyed it; it's very interesting, and you'll hear some fascinating input, particularly the judge's story, which was shocking.

Aileen clearly had an incredibly tough early life; it's apparent that she had mental health issues, very likely as a result of years of abuse. One thing I have to highlight is that we're given an almost sympathetic viewpoint of Aileen.

For most of this documentary, we're led to believe that Aileen was justified in killing those seven men; it's only in the latter stages that she admits what had actually happened.

I'm not quite sure the loved ones of the murder victims would look upon her with such a sympathetic eye; she murdered seven people, and there's no justification for that.

Just remember, a filmmaker is giving you their take on Aileen's story.

7/10.

Concerning the sad story of Aileen, what perplexes me the most is how people can just jump past the horrific and violent upbringing she had... As if it had nothing to do with who she became.

These people, who can't see the cause and effect of abuse to Aileen(from her parents...to actually everyone in her youth)...these are the people who confound me.

The film opens with the Australian pen pal, Jasmine Hirst, saying that Aileen was only brought to justice because she killed 'white men'. It ends with her justifying the murders because most of victims resembled people who had sexually assaulted Aileen in the past.

This is the focus of much of the film - and it doesn't make for a compelling crime documentary.

I do feel sorry for Aileen on a personal level, given her traumatic upbringing and sexual assaults. But that doesn't mean she shouldn't be held accountable for her crimes (something this film actively tries to avoid).

It focuses heavily on the first murder and Aileen's claims of self-defence - which given the evidence, is plausible. But the film then tries to skip over the other 6 murders to paint Aileen as some sort of hero - despite her own admissions later on that she committed some of the murders due to financial problems, relationship problems and notoriety.

There was only one 10 second clip from a victim's relative. The filmmakers didn't want you to hear the other side of the story or the impact it had on the victim's families.

This would have been a much better film had it been more balanced and less apologetic. At least explain the 6 other murders.

As far as I'm aware, there's no other documentaries trying to justify serial killings due to the perpetrator's trauma. And nor should there be.

So why try to justify all of Aileen's killings?