User reviews

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.

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.

Look, she was a victim of her dad too, in a different way, but still a victim, and I won't argue that. However, to say authors, talk shows and social media were all so so wrong for exploring the case, when you wrote a book also, went on talk shows and told your story on social media, that just shows bad character. This case horribly affected so many, it can't be "just for her", just because he was her father. She was to off putting for me to enjoy this documentary.

The daughter of the infamous killer BTK gives her perspective on being the daughter of one of America's most notorious serial killers.

Beforehand, I came up with the idea that it was some form of cash grab; that was at a time when I had no idea who Kerri was. I knew zero about her, but she definitely changed my mind. It felt like Kerri was able to get a lot of stuff off her chest.

I thought Kerri came across very well, answering some tough questions and providing the human element. At the end of the day, he was her father, and she would have had a very different relationship with him.

We've all wondered and questioned one thing: how on earth could someone live with a killer and not know? I'm sure none of us would either believe it or want to believe that a loved one was a killer.

There's a fascination with serial killers. We've just had a documentary about Ed Gein drop; this gives a different perspective.

Interesting. If you haven't seen the documentary on Netflix about BTK, it's worth watching.

7/10.

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.

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.

It's a great watch for those who know nothing about the murders and everything about the murders.

I'm not a professional film reviewer but I am a very deep true crime enthusiast!

A lot of what we already know about the crime was detailed, but it was a refreshing watch to actually hear from the daughter of BTK.

The way society will run with their assumptions and opinions on anything even against Kerri who wasn't even born when the murders began. Just being related to BTK was enough to warrant death threats.

I hope this documentary is what Kerri needed to finally close this chapter on her life and live the rest of it in peace.

This show should really be called "BTK's Daughter: Attention Seeker". It primarily just focuses on her talking about how her life is a "lie" and how she's angry at people who tried to make a spectacle of her fathers crimes, all while she gives interviews and writes books doing the same thing. Don't expect to learn anything outside of her opinions or feelings. Seems like a sad attempt to use her fathers sadistic crimes to make herself look like a victim who's trying to save the world.

If Denis Rader had killed more victims would he not have owned up to this 20 years ago? He wanted the publicity, hence contacting the media all those times right? He did a whole monologue on serial killers during his court hearing, and wanted to align himself as one of the (perceived) great serial killers. If he killed more, seems to me, he would admitted to the exact number without external influence. The doco does not ad much for me, aside from the daughter's experience, bad as it is for her to be aligned with this involuntarily. She has had a unspeakably hard life due to her father's actions.

This documentary was, unfortunately, difficult to sit through. While it presents itself as an exploration of a daughter's reckoning with her father's horrific crimes, it largely becomes a one-sided account of her unresolved anger and trauma. Much of the runtime focuses on her personal grievances-particularly toward Stephen King, whom she blames for compounding her pain-rather than offering real insight into the victims, the crimes, or the broader psychological implications.

The tone feels more like a therapy session than an investigation, and while I can appreciate the unimaginable shock of discovering that your father is a serial killer, the storytelling lacks emotional range. Instead of empathy or reflection, what comes across is obsession and resentment. Her disconnect from her family seems to be at the heart of her suffering, yet it's never acknowledged in a meaningful way.

I genuinely wanted to understand her perspective, but after an hour of repetitive emotional venting, I found myself detached and uneasy. The film feels self-indulgent rather than healing or informative. I eventually had to turn it off-not out of disinterest, but because it became too uncomfortable to watch someone so consumed by unresolved pain.

She's done at least ten separate interviews about her father over the years, and that's just what I found quickly - there are probably more.

Why can't she look straight into the camera when she is talk about her father?

She keeps saying everyone is calling me btks daughter, no f.. girl? You keep shouting about being his daughter, so I don't know what kind of response you expect from that. No one would have known who you were if you didn't agree to be interviewed all the time, girl...

Why did they not just kill him in the electric chair, he was clearly sane and callous meticulous killer. I did a one point feel sory for his daughter, until you watch this documentary and see how much eviedence was present in house and out buildings, how do you live in a house and not look in bag without padlock. How did his wife and daughter not see any eviedene, I know lost were kept away from house at his office, but there was lots of trigger warnings. How did police fail to locate pine tree outside church, today maybe he would have been caught a lot sooner. He could quite as easly become local priest as he was so integrated in his comunity. So glad the caught him, just it anoying he had to go to trial and victums families had to relive it all again. His family were then victums of his crime and if he had died, no body would ever have known.

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.

Documentary was ok, I learnt some things. But the daughter, not unexpectedly, has issues! Everything was too 'matter of fact' and I don't get why she's so public about something so shameful. He'd definitely be dead to me. My name would be changed and disassociated from him 100%! I'd feel sick inside. Dutty dregs!

Rightly so, the rest of family distanced themselves.

We've seen all this before with the exception of the addition of the daughter.

We need fresh footage and new interviews or just the story of the daughter. Why is it so difficult to tell the story with fresh content, you know "Never before seen footage,blah, blah, blah. Watch BTK:Confessions of a serial killer and save yourself wasted time on the daughter trying to make a buck.

Don't bother. She complains about the media attention the case brought and the fact that some people made a profit from telling the story. But it all reeks of jealousy considering she wrote a book about it herself and is now in a Netflix series about it. This had nothing to do with privacy and was, in my opinion, all about getting herself some attention.

The elements describing the crimes, the investigation and his capture were relatively interesting although no new information was presented. The daughter came across as a developmentally backward, cold, and emotionless. She has a real Sling Blade vibe. She was unable to make eye contact and rather unpleasant if truth be told. Not sure if she was trying to gain sympathy. If so, she failed. If my father had perpetrated those crimes, the Otero little girl being the most heinous I've possibly ever read about, I'd stay hidden for the rest of my sad life.

It's my fault that the title wasn't a massive clue for me with what this was going to be about. It's just to much of the daughter and although terrible for her she's really cashing in. She doesn't want any of this anymore and wants done with all this (her words) but she is really cashing in documentaries and books. The issue is for me and others from the reviews I've seen she is just very unlikeable and she makes a fascinating story very unwatchable and frustrating. I understand the victims families wouldn't want to be involved but more about the victims would have been better rather than his daughter's sob story. I have heard of BTK before this documentary but not his daughter but she will have you believe this is all about her and all these headlines about BTK's daughter?? Never seen a single headline about her.

One thing Netflix does very well is documentaries, and even more so when they're about serial killers.

Those of us who are fans of the series "Mindhunter" and are, in a way, widowed, know that the underlying plot revolved around the BTK killer. Those who are avid readers of this type of character know that he was a very prolific and organized serial killer who evaded the police for over 30 years. He was characterized by torture and sadism, with crimes that had a very strong sexual connotation, and he was ahead of his time. Too intelligent to be caught, but too impulsive to have outbursts of rage that ended in murder.

It was only with the advent of computer technology and mistakes he made that it was determined that Dennis Rader was BTK. How is it that something so interesting and morbid gave rise to this documentary that sounds more like an attempt to whitewash his daughter's image? It's been a long time since I've seen such a blatant attempt to whitewash the image of someone who was clearly a victim, but who is BTK's daughter. Throughout the entire documentary, she's constantly portrayed as a victim, focusing more on her life afterward and neglecting the families of the victims and survivors. We only get a brief glimpse of them during Rader's trial, which could easily be the subject of an entire documentary.

It's a shame this documentary was approached this way; it loses the impact of showing everything this despicable character inflicted on countless families over so many years. In short, a complete disappointment.

A gripping insight into one of history's most notorious serial killers-told objectively and through his daughter's eyes. What makes him truly terrifying is how ordinary he was, just like any of us but very clever and cheeky just like any killer. He was both "Dad" and a deadly monster. Evil, it seems, has never looked so ordinary.

This was difficult to watch, but I couldn't look away. And I must say, I admire Kerri for being so willing to tell her story & be so vulnerable. I felt like she enabled me to get in her head & experience first hand what she went thru each step of the way. I found her account very personal, even intimate. From start to finish her account made sense & I ask you, how often have we had such a revealing & personal account from a family member who was so close to a serial murderer? Her father was the most important person on her life! Can you even try to imagine what she has gone thru in her life? Some reviews are critical of her. I absolutely don't understand that & it makes me angry. I wish I could say I enjoyed this film, but I can't! I can, however, say that I'm glad I watched it. I think the more we can try to understand why killers do what they do, the closer we can get to an answer as to how to prevent these killings. The human psyche is a complicated thing. And yet, Kerri never got the answer to "why" her father did what he did. She even asked him in a letter she sent him if something happened to him as a child. He didn't answer her. Bottom line is that here Kerri is able to show us the after effects of what happens to the people, family members, left behind. I feel for her & I am very glad she has become an advocate for the victims & other people left behind. I wish only peace for Kerri now. She definitely deserves it!

Kerri Rawson is a survivor of Dennis Rader... as much as anyone. He left a week of victims from the murders, but he also left a week of victims with his own family.. They didn't ask for this. Rader was a psychopathic narcissist and a Sexual Deviant.. All that mattered to Dennis Rader was Dennis Rader.

So few people are put in the same position she finds herself now.. SHE IS STRONG.. She's dealing with this the best she knows how. I hope someday she finds peace and understanding.