Le Traqueur de la nuit: Chasse à l'homme en Californie

There seems to be low rated reviews on here as it didn't contain enough information about Ramirez himself. What needs to be realised is that that is not what this documentary is. It is not a biography of Ramirez himself but a narration of how the detectives caught him. If you want a documentary on Ramirez there are plenty out there. There are books and movies as well. As someone who has seen a lot of them I wasn't interested in another retelling of his life. I personally found it refreshing to see how the detectives went about piecing it all together and eventually catching him. Well worth a watch.

Brought me right back to that miserably hot summer with all the doors and windows locked tight in my parents' house in Rowland Heights. Lt. Richard Walls of the Sheriff's Information Bureau, seen about half way through the last episode, was my late brother-in-law. He did a large number of news appearances and interviews, both local and national, during that investigation.

As a true crime fan who grew up in Los Angeles during the 1980's, naturally I was looking forward to this documentary series. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer however, quieted my concern that it would glamourize Richard Ramirez. It did not. Far from it.

It is a celebration of the lead homicide detectives who worked tirelessly to capture an elusive, vicious killer. It also shines a great big light on the survivors, who reflect on the victims.

I appreciated the fresh approach to showing the crime scene photos - avoiding the typical horror soundtrack and overly macabre display. There are countless documentaries on serial killers that do this, but this one took a more sober approach, perhaps out of respect to the victims and their families.

Richard Ramirez's childhood and his trial is glossed over, but this is hardly a complaint. It never set out to cover the same old story, but a few more minutes delving into this segment would've felt more complete. A strong 9 out of 10.

With a little taste for true crime following the Cecil Hotel documentary, we moved onto "Night Stalker", a four-part miniseries about the series of murders, rapes and assaults that terrorised Southern California and the various law enforcers, reporters and victims who the case affected.

Frank Salerno already has a reputation within the LA County Sheriff's department for his work catching the Hillside Strangler. With a new partner Gil Carrillo, Frank didn't believe that he'd ever have to suffer through another case like that, so is concerned when evidence links a number of murders and home invasions together. Soon they are on the trail of a prolific attacker, with a variety of different tactics for his crimes, who is dubbed "The Night Stalker" by the press.

The show is focused more on Salerno and Garrillo and their investigation - than on Richard Ramirez himself. He doesn't make any form of appearance until the final episode, which focuses on his capture, trial and incarceration. There are interviews with the pair of detectives, who breakdown their personal and professional experiences across the timeline of Ramirez's crimes. There are interviews with survivors, or the families of survivors, in that sense, it was very thorough. It pointed out a couple of occasions when opportunities to save lives were thwarted by infighting between the different departments, or cities, and though Frank and Gil are the stars of the documentary, it's a San Francisco cop who all but admits to beating Ramirez's name out of someone who knew him. He's then identified and captured by members of the public, rather than the Sheriffs.

There were some technical aspects of the documentary that I didn't like. They use a CGI Map of Los Angeles to show the locations of the crimes which is all but useless to anyone who doesn't already have a working knowledge of the layout of the county. I never understood the distances involved. I felt, though I am not squeamish, that occasionally the crime scene photography was a bit much and that the reconstruction moments were hit a bit too often (that bouncing bloody hammer is shown at least twice in every episode).

I too think I would have preferred a bit more about Ramirez and the arrest and trial, perhaps another episode on that and one less about the crime spree and the detectives would have been a better balance - but, on the whole, I thought the series was decent if a little confused as to it's overall point.

I've seen a few documentaries on Richard Ramirez that were kind of the usual formula. This film differs being largely centered around the two main investigators and their perspective. The pressure they faced, and the mistakes they made. Added to that, plenty of people who lived through this era are interviewed; the media, family members of the victims, and the victims who survived. There's also nice use of old news footage.

Admittedly, the series is not perfect. It doesn't go into much about Ramirez' motivation, his background, or his psychological issues. Despite that, if your a true crime aficionado, you should find this film to your liking. Seeing and hearing from so many credible people directly involved in the case is not the usual. That's where the series succeeds, and why I give it my recommendation.