While Netflix’s latest thriller series, “Mindhuster,” is largely fictional, it’s based on real events and is careful to stay true to the historical facts of the serial killers it depicts. Here are all the serial killers we meet (and hear about) in “Mindhunter” season one.
Edmund Kemper aka the Co-ed Killer
Kemper earned his nickname of “the co-ed killer” because he had a reputation for picking up female hitchhikers. In the seventies, he killed six women in Santa Cruz that he had picked up. As a teenager, Kemper killed both of his grandparents and later murdered his mother and her friend. He turned himself into police in 1973.
Richard Speck
Speck murdered eight female nursing students in 1966 in Chicago after previously escaping police custody for other brutal crimes. A manhunt followed the mass murdering and he was found two days later. He died in jail in 1991.
Rissell was a serial rapist-murderer, and started his horrifying behavior as a teenager. At 19, he was sentenced to four life sentences in 1977 for murdering five women in Alexandria, Virginia.
Jerome Brudos aka Shoe Fetish Slayer
Brudos was also known as the “Lust Killer,” because he would keep items from his victims and wear their clothing after killing them. He murdered four women in Oregon in the 1960s, and died in prison in 2006.
Darrell Gene Devier
Devier was convicted for killing a 12-year-old girl in 1979 after kidnapping, raping and beating her. He was executed in 1995 in prison in Georgia.
Rader is known as “BTK” because it stands for what he’d do to his victims: “bind, torture, kill.” He killed several people in Wichita, Kansas, while leading a double life. He left clues for police, but wasn’t arrested until 2005. He was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and is serving 10 life sentences.
Mentioned but not pictured:
Charles Manson
Manson isn’t featured as one of the interviews in “Mindhunter,” but he is mentioned in the first episode by Special Agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) as part of what is making the world so confusing. Manson was the head of the Manson Family Cult, which carried out 35 killings.
David Berkowitz aka Son of Sam
Berkowitz spurred on of the largest manhunts in New York City’s history after he killed six people in 1976 and 1977. He was finally captured 11 days after his last murder, and was sentenced to six consecutive 25-to-life terms. He believes he was told to carry out the murders by a demon-possessed dog, which is mentioned in “Mindhunter.”
Greenwood was suspected of killing at least 13 people between 1974 and 1975. He made his mark by slashing victims’ throats and sprinkling salt around the bodies. He was sentenced to 32 years to life.
Herbert Mullin
Mullin murdered 13 people in California in the early 1970s, believing that killing them in sacrifice would prevent earthquakes. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in prison.
Posteal Laskey, Jr. aka Cincinnati Strangler
Laskey strangled to death seven women between 1965 and 1966. Although he was only convicted of one murder, he was blamed for the strangulations that frightened Cincinnati for a year.
Gerard John Schaefer
Schaefer was convicted of killing two women, but told police and the press that he murdered more than 28 more. He was stabbed to death in prison in 1955.
'Striking Vipers' to 'San Junipero': Every 'Black Mirror' Episode Ranked, From Good to Mind-Blowing (Photos)
With the arrival of "Striking Vipers," "Smithereens" and “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” it's time to re-rank every episode of "Black Mirror," going back to the first episode, "National Anthem." There are no bad "Black Mirror" episodes, so we ranked them from good to mind-blowing.
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23. Season 2, Episode 3: "The Waldo Moment"
Many have made the now-trite observation that this episode, about a cartoon bear who insults his way into higher office, predicted the rise of Donald Trump. OK. This episode does a good job of again showing that we bend too easily before the loud and obnoxious. But "Black Mirror" usually has more novel things to say.
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22. Season 3, Episode 6: "Hated in the Nation"
It's disappointing that "Black Mirror" Season 3 -- one of the best TV seasons ever -- ended with a story that feels a little like "Sharknado." Great acting, though, and it can be taken as a friendly reminder not to cancel people over tweets.
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21. Season 5, Episode 2: "Smithereens"
Topher Grace's lovely performance as a tech guru who hates beeps, bloops and push notifications as much as you do saves this from being a pretty run-of-the-mill hostage drama. But it is a "Black Mirror" episode that could happen right now, in the present day, and we always like when the show pulls that off.
20. Season 2, Episode 2: "White Bear"
Sure, this one's scary, but it's just scary. There's some "Purge"-quality social commentary here, and that's nice. But "Black Mirror" is usually smarter. ("Black Mirror" creator Charlie Brooker seems pleased with this episode, though: "Bandersnatch" calls back to it aggressively.)
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19. Season 3, Episode 2: "Playtest"
This episode relies too much on typical scares to be among our favorites. The sudden turn into real-life horror is more affecting than the haunted house scenes.
18. Season 5, Episode 3: “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”
This feels like the umpteenth episode of "Black Mirror" in which someone's digital soul becomes trapped outside his or her body. This time the victim is pop star Ashley (Miley Cyrus! We like her), who ends up inside a robot toy owned by one of her adoring fans. A caper to reunite mind and body ensues, making this one of the funniest episodes of "Black Mirror." It feels deliberately light, and it's charming, but nothing about it will haunt you except Ashley's cheery take on a Nine Inch Nails classic.
17. Season 2, Episode 1: "Be Right Back"
We recommend this episode, and all the ones that follow, with zero reservations. Starring Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleeson, "Be Right Back" is another look at the qualities that make us us.
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16. Season 4, Episode 2: "Arkangel"
This episode has the best setup of any "Black Mirror," and seems poised to launch a savage critique of over-parenting. But it doesn't escalate as much as we expected it to, and can't quite live up to its brilliant concept.
15. Season 1, Episode 2: "Fifteen Million Merits"
This twist on "American Idol"-style mobs is gorgeously acted by Jessica Brown Findlay and a pre-"Get Out" Daniel Kaluuya, and their chemistry helps sell familiar lessons about literal cycles of exploitation. We think about this episode every time we ride an exercise bike, which probably isn't often enough.
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14. Season 1, Episode 1: "National Anthem"
This mean little story feels all the meaner because it's so easy to imagine it happening in real life. It's a perfect first episode, because there's no better test of whether "Black Mirror" is for you.
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13. Season 4, Episode 6: "Black Museum"
“Black Museum” references every past episode in the anthology, but the ruthlessness with which it merges three vignettes into one nasty story. Letitia Wright and Douglas Hodge counter the ugliness with some beautiful acting.
12. Season 4, Episode 5: Metalhead
Hey, Alexa: Is this episode just a stripped-down survival story? Or a grim warning that our reliance on Amazon is a slippery slope into Terminator dogs chasing us down across a hellscape Earth? Just asking.
11. Season 4, Episode 3: "Crocodile"
If Alfred Hitchcock had done a "Black Mirror" episode, it would go pretty much like this. A frosty blonde antihero (Andrea Riseborough) tries to outsmart a relentless insurance adjuster. A rodent gets involved.
10. Season 2, Episode 4: "White Christmas"
If you're dreaming of a black Christmas, this showcase for madman Jon Hamm combines two imaginary technologies -- one of which allows you to "block" people in real life -- to tell one of grayest stories ever told. Sentiment-free, it's the most "Black Mirror" episode of "Black Mirror."
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9. Season 4, Episode 4: "Hang the DJ"
Boy and girl meet cute in The System, which is designed to find “true matches.” If you and your better half are fighting over complicated wedding plans and too-high expectations, stop and watch this episode and remember you don't owe anything to anyone but each other.
"Hang the DJ" is probably the sweetest episode of "Black Mirror," and is therefore not our favorite.
8. Season 3, Episode 3: "Shut Up and Dance"
No episode of "Black Mirror" will leave you feeling worse about humanity than this one. The ultimate prank is on you. Oh, also? It could happen. Similar things have already happened.
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7. Season 4, Episode 1: USS Callister
This one makes the Top 5 on sweep and ambition alone. And it's one of many episodes that remind us to never let anyone make a digital copy of your soul. Stars Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti should be in everything.
6. Standalone movie: "Bandersnatch"
By far the most ambitious "Black Mirror," "Bandersnatch" does something never before attempted in serious drama, using the "Choose Your Own Adventure" format to ask provocative questions about free will and power. Part film, part video game, it's incredibly impressive, and builds a complicated, stunning alternate-reality 1984 that we're still navigating. The one flaw is that the lack of a consistent narrative makes it hard to completely engage with the characters.
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5. Season 3, Episode 1: "Nosedive"
This is the episode that probably hits closest to home: We think about it every time we get in a Lyft or consider writing a negative Yelp review. The Bryce Dallas Howard story is a perfect sendup of our obsession with social-media approval. As soon as it ended we tweeted how much we loved it, then waited to see if anyone would retweet us, and... why didn't they? What's wrong with them? What's wrong with us?
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4. Season 5, Episode 1: "Striking Vipers"
One of the best written and acted episodes, with an especially good turn by Nicole Beharie as a woman trying to figure out what's wrong in her marriage. What's wrong is very hard to explain, but it revolves around a video game obsession shared by her husband (Anthony Mackie) and his former roommate (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). This is one of the scariest episodes of "Black Mirror," because the fear of a relationship disintegrating is so well-grounded. But there's also a beautiful resolution.
3. Episode 3, Season 5: "Men Against Fire"
We don't say this lightly: This episodes stands alongside "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Full Metal Jacket" as one of the best stories about how war really works. (Even though the speech about how most soldiers don't fire their weapons might be totally wrong.)
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2. Season 3, Episode 4: "San Junipero"
No other story better captures the 1980s' pulsing mix of hope, heartache, cruelty and perfect pop music. It's another episode that could have been a Best Picture, and it may be the best single episode of television at capturing raw emotion. (It also feels joyously defiant that this story of colorblind LGBT love was filmed in South Africa, a former bastion of government-mandated bigotry.)
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1. Season 1, Episode 3: "The Entire History of You"
If you've ever been in a relationship with anyone who's been in another relationship, this one will crush you. Should life be lived, or remembered? And can you separate the living from the remembering? We think of this episode every time our memories fail us -- or serve us much too well.
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There are no bad episodes of “Black Mirror,” but only one of the new episodes is among the best
With the arrival of "Striking Vipers," "Smithereens" and “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” it's time to re-rank every episode of "Black Mirror," going back to the first episode, "National Anthem." There are no bad "Black Mirror" episodes, so we ranked them from good to mind-blowing.
Netflix
Netflix
