Mon père, le serial killer

Today's modern society is obsessed with true crime and primarily the (mostly) men who commit the most horrendous acts. I am partially in the group of people that have always looked into these cases, although I believe I somewhat differ to most as I've always enjoyed researching more on the forensic side of things rather than the supposed reasons they done the their crimes after the fact. So I was quite relieved this was a documentary told from a different perspective rather than from a group of supposed tv expert's who had little to no relation to the actual case itself throwing in their two cents.

The documentary does bounce a lot between narratives, and although the documentary presents itself as from Kerri's perspective, in retrospect she really doesn't have that much screen time as compared to former detective's and news reporters from the time. While it was interesting to hear Kerri's story, it really didn't delve all that much into her life and story as much as I had hoped.

The detective's point of view, law enforcement and news reporters, to be honest ive seen so many documentaries on BTK now that I really didn't feel we needed their story again so that part of the documentary felt awfully repetitive especially when there was little of anything new being said from them that I didn't already know.

What I will say that the programme highlights on is the fact society doesn't just blame the perpetrator it blames those closest to them. Unintentionally myself I've always thought of this woman as BTK's daughter not by her actual name Kerri. It also raises concerns that society wether through media influence or whatever that we blame victims, we are made to at least think the question, "well how didn't the family realize what they were living with?", when if you think logically, the reason these people get away with these terrible crimes for long, is they are able to hide in plain sight, even right in front of the people that love them the most.

Like I said, I think this show was well intentioned, I admire Kerri's bravery, I think most would hide and try and move on, possibly rightfully so (for her own well being) but for herself she was blindsided too by evil, she got questions she wanted answered, and it takes a hell of a lot of bravery to face the horrible truth herself. Bit of a shame the programme couldn't focus just on that instead of trying to be a generic true crime doc as well, but overall a decent watch.

For people questioning why Kerri wrote a book, did interviews and was critical about Stephen King's book - you do realize she didn't choose to be his daughter, correct? So, yeah while she could've chose to attempt a quiet and private life and just deal with this on without media, she ultimately decided to do media for reasons that are hers alone. Yes, she's making money off it (true crime as a means of "entertainment" is its own moral issue) but, she's allowed to process the reality of how her dad's actions how she needs to. Imagine getting harassed and death threats because your parent is a serial killer. There's not a manual on how to deal with things like that. Did I wonder why she even had a bit of love or concern for him even after knowing what he did? Yeah, but I'll never have to deal with that. Cognitive dissonance is a thing. I'm glad she ended up cutting contact.

I know the victim's families declined to be a part of this documentary and who can really blame them? My compassion is ultimately with them. I do wish more spotlight had been on the victims themselves as people and the lives they lived but maybe that wasn't included due to the families not being involved in the documentary.

Either way, it's just a lose, lose situation for everyone involved.

My Father the BTK Killer had the potential to be a gripping and insightful exploration into one of America's most infamous serial killers, but unfortunately, it falls short and feels more like a cash grab than a meaningful documentary. The title alone seems designed to provoke curiosity and generate clicks, rather than convey a thoughtful examination of the story or its impact. From the very beginning, it feels like the focus is skewed-attempting to capitalize on the notoriety of the killer while centering on the daughter's perspective in a way that doesn't always feel authentic or compelling.

Once the documentary gets underway, the pacing and structure become major issues. Within the first 15-20 minutes, it's easy to lose track of the narrative because there's very little cohesion between the segments. Victims' stories are fragmented, timelines are unclear, and there's a sense that the film jumps around simply to fill runtime. Instead of building tension, providing insight, or offering emotional depth, the documentary becomes cluttered and disjointed, leaving viewers frustrated rather than engaged.

The daughter's participation is presented as a key selling point, but her perspective often feels self-serving. There's a persistent sense that she is leveraging her father's notoriety for attention or profit, rather than helping to shed light on the victims' experiences or the broader ramifications of the crimes. While it's understandable that family members are deeply affected by these events, the documentary misses the opportunity to explore the psychological and societal implications in a meaningful way.

On a broader level, the film hints at the difficulties faced by families of victims and the failures of the system, but these moments are brief and underdeveloped. The documentary touches on real issues, like government inaction and the struggles survivors face, but it never dives deeply enough to leave a lasting impact. What could have been a compelling examination of trauma, accountability, and justice instead feels rushed, superficial, and ultimately disappointing.

In the end, My Father the BTK Killer is a documentary that squanders its potential. With fragmented storytelling, shallow character exploration, and a sense of opportunism, it fails to deliver either emotional resonance or substantive insight. While there may be some glimpses of humanity or context for those directly involved, the film overall leaves viewers feeling unsatisfied and frustrated.

This was an interesting documentary but it did not exactly shed light into the things I wanted to know when the premise was set out. I wanted to know more about the daily issues they faced as a family, how did he deal with normal adversity, what did he buy them for Christmas, who did he root for in sports etc. I hoped that this documentary would tell us about what Dennis Radar was really like - but in the end I feel he is an enigma to his family and to the world. Why did he end up having a family in the first place? How did he and the mother meet?

Some good stuff, I do think we learned a lot about the psychopath who can hide among us - and some of the pictures he took with his victims possessions are...whoa. You would never know this guy would be someone who would pose in those kinds of images - pretty scary TBH.

The daughter herself seems like a person who hopes her story will help inspire others or help with some healing, but in the end, I think she would be better off just dropping this subject matter - cause her dad is WHACK and it's a shame he never got the DP for his crimes.

What I don't understand is why Kerri was angry with Stephen King for writing a story more or less based on BTK. According to her, he was reopening old wounds and exploiting the victims' families. Then Kerri herself went on TV to complain about it, wrote a book, went on social media, and now this documentary! The makers of this documentary even contacted the victims' families, which must have been very painful for them. But one sentence from King on a talk show is not done!?

I also don't understand why she complains so much about social media, about receiving threats, about people trying to contact her father through her, about people asking questions, etc. She could have chosen to live a quiet life, stay away from social media, not write a book, not appear on TV, not make a documentary. Then people would forget her.

I absolutely believe it's terrible for her that her father is a serial killer and that she's traumatized by it, but my heart goes out to the families of the victims first and foremost. They've lost a loved one violently and will never see them again.

I thought it was an ok documentary, but what I wrote above did irritate me.