empoweringmanagement

A lot of documentaries about serial killing sensationalize the crimes themselves, heightening the fear and fascination we have with the other, the psychopath. This is not a documentary about a serial killer. This is a documentary about the failure of the system to protect vulnerable people. It's focused on a particular time when homophobia was at a peak because of AIDS misunderstanding and fear (although not that much has changed, frankly). The documentary deliberates spends much of its time talking about the environment of fear and violence, because it puts these killings into perspective: there is hardly any difference between these killings and the daily anti-gay violence going on on the streets at that time. These people died because of purposely stoked fear and the culture of homophobia. These crimes weren't connected or solved for too long because the police didn't care about these people.

TL;dr: If you're looking for a documentary sensationalizing a serial killer, this is not it. If you're looking for a smart (if somewhat over-long) documentary on the failure of a system to protect vulnerable people, then this is for you.

As many of the reviews already said, this is a terribly moving and devastating episode. Evan Peters really does deserve awards for such a layered portrayal of someone it's easy to dismiss as the worst monster in the human race. But Rodney Burford, an actor that has only been in one reality show before this, deserves kudos for dominating this episode and portraying such a fully fleshed out, beautiful character. One that we know is doomed from the beginning of the episode, creating such a tragic beauty. I found myself wishing a hundred times that it had gone differently, that each choice the characters made had been made differently, even though I knew the truth. Ryan Murphy at his best can do that, like in People vs. OJ Simpson. Just wishing it could have gone differently for everyone.

Well, you can tell that a movie has racial themes, because it attracts the loony "1 star brigade" who pan the movie because they don't like to be challenged intellectually. This is a beautifully made film, but it was a mistake to bill this as a horror movie, because simple people expect jump scares and gore. The horror in this movie is the continued oppression of poor and black people in America. It is shot very artistically, and the use of shadow puppet animation in parts is very effective. Please don't go in expecting to be "scared" like it's the original. There are plenty of traditionally scary movies out there. Enjoy this one for the cinematography and the message.