Reviews
Born to Kill? (2005)
Just Enough To Spark Your Interest
BORN TO KILL is a British-made True Crime series documenting the life and crimes of prolific serial killers from the western world (1960's to Modern day.)
Christopher Slade gives this series a stark, eerie mood with his narration. Exclusive interviews and historical footage provide factual information for each case with additional explanations by psychologists and criminal profilers. The series looks closely at the upbringing of each killer and tries to identify significant life events that may have influenced their desire for murder.
As an introduction to serial killers, Born To Kill is a good starting point, documenting the most important facts and unique traits that identify each killer. I found it a reliable source that led me to some lesser-known cases.
Rather than B-Grade re-enactments and dramatisations, The video content is consistently high quality and features fresh interviews backed by actual footage.
Born To Kill dares to ask the age-old 'question: Nature or Nurture ? Are these criminals BORN TO KILL or are they the product of their environment, mis-shaped by a combination of traumatic incidents and events. There
-GENETICS (inherited traits) Provide an individual with a spectrum.
-ENVIRONMENT (development and otherwise) determines where the individual lies on that spectrum.
It's not a question that can be answered easily or even accurately, so it's pointless and embarrassing to hear professionals express their opinions. It's more likely to conclude that these anti-social criminals are the result of both natural and nurtured conditions. Some may have been born into a life of disfunction, unable to escape their destiny, but no one is born with a gun in their hand.
There are more important questions that could've been asked, such as:
- How could these killers be stopped before committing murderous crimes ?
-What factors have allowed serial killers to exist in our society ?
-What has each case taught us to lessen or prevent these crimes from happening in future ?