The 12th Victim

Interesting docuseries about a case of which I wasn't aware (not a yank or a Springsteen fan thankfully), but that clearly has a hold on the American psyche.

As well as outlining the serious issues with how the case of the 12th (or 1st) victim and only survivor of the USA's first sociopathic spree killer of the TV news-age it contextaulises, both historically and culturally, those and future difficulties Caril has faced in gaining access to proper justice.

It also touches on the USA's obsession with glamourising guns, violence and misogynist men through pulp fiction, music, TV and movies, whilst sexualising,moralising and demonising the 'women' around them, even when those 'women' are children who've just turned fourteen.

It briefly alludes to the perilous and peculiar set-up of justice in the USA where law enforcement and prosecutors are elected rather than employed on merit, and therefore under pressure to get the results a baying mob of local constituents demand of them in a country that is uncivilised enough to still have the death penality in the C21th whilst pretending to be all sorts of permutations of 'Christian'.

BTW for UK audiences the cinematographer is Peter Hutchens (not Hitchens.... that was really confusing me....).

Again I believe its noteworthy to point out that I can not remark upon the actual subject matter (other than it definitely being worthwhile of being told, in terms of human interest), but merely the mechanics and technical aspects of the film ITSELF - {which is wierd because this is only true in cases of documentary films}

Here is my biggest issue, and it's a big one - shortly into episode one, we hear 'the words' of Starkweather read to us as if its the man's voice and inflection and cadance and emphasis, HOWEVER it's not the voice of Starkweather at all, nay, it's a voice actor and that's not fair - that's not kosher - that's BAD BUSINESS - especially considering they never do tell the viewer that it's an audible recreation

Similarly, much of it is filmed in what I like to call 'Confuse-a-Vison', where they smash cut quickly between and thru still photos and images that are circa 1950s but have zero connection to the actual case - mere filler shown under the guise that the viewer might see this and feel that the film maker has all of this never before seen footage - however once again this is NOT the case

Now I'm not saying this is unacceptable, however at no time are we told about these recreations but rather left to either be cowed into believing that we're watching and listening to authentic relics of the case when simply we are not

That all being said, for me, it's a massive detractor.

If you think that a 14-year-old girl should have attempted to prevent a murdering madman from killing people, you should excuse yourself from the planet. Clearly she is not a murderer and was not in a position to prevent murders at the age of 14 with no one intervening on her behalf at any point with this monster.

The documentary was interesting and well made. I appreciated the clips that they included that put you in that time and place. I also appreciated that they narrated some interviews that they did not have original recordings for. Well I normally think a four-part documentary is too long, in this case I found it interesting to the end.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

This is probably the best documentary you will find on the Starkweather killings. Starkweather comes across, rightfully, as a unhinged evil monster yet, somehow, and we will never know why, acted out all this horror in some form of love bond with Fugate. And that is what has spawned so many movies, mostly bad, based on the duo.

The filmmakers have a ax to grind though. They want us to believe in Fugate's total innocence. They defeat this purpose in numerous ways. The film clips and pictures of Fugate during the time of her surrender and Starkweather's capture show a young girl with nothing but a cold, emotionless, blank face. There is zero indication that any of the absolute horrors had any effect on her in any way. In fact, she is wearing the expensive coat of the wealthy Lincoln wife that was brutally slain and bragging about how nice it is.

Fugate changes her personality the longer she is behind bars and the brutal realization that she may be there for life sinks in. The authorities saw this at the time.

The documentary does allow for some comments from non-believers in her innocence who feel she was in her element the whole time only giving up "when the jig was up" and that no one but Starkweather and Fugate really know what happened because they left no witnesses. A fair point.

Ultimately, the authorities in Nebraska in 2020 had the final word when they denied her pardon.

As "The 12th Victim" (2023 release; 4 episodes ranging from 47 to 57 min. Each) opens, we are introduced to teenagers Charles Starkweather (18) and Caril Ann Fugate (14), restless and outcasts in Lincoln , Nebraska. We then go to "December 1, 1957", when a gas attendant is shot at close range by Charles. It marks the beginning of a murder spree that shook Nebraska, and indeed the country. At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from director Nicola Marsh ("Stay On Board: The Leo Baker Story"). Here she reassesses the events taking place in late 57/early 58, when two teenage kids when on a murder spree. Episode 1 of this mini-series is by far the best, as it paints a good picture of what US society was like at that time, and the enormous shock these events caused. The central question of course is: why did these kids do it? And what role exactly did Carile Ann play in this? In and of itself this could've been a very intriguing true crime documentary. Alas, the series is far too long for its own good and spends an inordinate amount of time on details that are just not all that interesting. Cut the running time in half, if not more, and we'd almost certainly be talking about a far better end product. This is a missed opportunity in my book.

"The 12th Victim" recently started streaming on Showtime. If you are a fan of true crime documentaries, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.