American Monster

One of the best season 1-6, for some reason season 7 is falling flat. Prior years, I was engaged, the story and the telling were riveting. Not sure what has changed, but, change it back.

This show is amazing. I watched the first episode and I was hooked. And every episode just gets better. Everything was perfectly done, from the production, to the audio, to the story lines of each episode as it keeps you glued to the TV often not having any idea what the outcome is going to be (it has plenty of twists and turns in each episode) This show takes you deep into the life, and I mean deep of the 'monster" and their family via home videos that are downright chilling at times. When you finish an episode it's almost as if you know these people. If you want to get a scare or a chill down your spine, don't watch a fictional horror movie, watch this show, it's the real deal. When they tell you it's the most terrifying criminals that often hide in plain site, they're not lying, at all. Highly recommend this show, as well as See No Evil. But warning - this thing may give you nightmares because I think it captures evil better than almost anything I've ever seen, and it's real.

I love the earlier episodes where the narrator had more prominence. It's interesting how this show has evolved over the years. The more recent episodes are still well done but I miss the heavy narration of the first six or seven seasons.

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.

I have watched a few episodes and it just drags on and on. Get to the point! I just watched one episode and it was 28 minutes in, before they even talked about a crime being committed. The first half was just introducing the members of the family. Lots of fast forwarding on this one.

I was looking for something to watch after Evil Lives Here, and was so happy to find this amazing show! The home movies and interviews with the families really set this show apart! They take you from the victim and the killer's early lives right up to the moment of the 911 call with every important detail and event, without revealing which is the victim and which is the killer, although it's easy to guess at times. Other times, it's absolutely shocking. Every case is unique, and indeed, a monstrous killer is exposed in each carefully crafted episode. The ambience is perfectly set, from the happy baby/child photos/videos, through the troubled times that build up to the violence, to the cruel act itself. The background music is a heart-breakingly beautiful melody, alternating with ominous sounds and music to make our hearts race. The aftermath reveals the victim's families' and friends' thoughts and feelings, as well as the fate of the murderer. In this series, every case is solved to satisfaction, with no loose ends. Between the velvety narration, families' assistance and law enforcement, by the end of the episode, we come to know everyone involved in the case, almost as if we'd met them personally. This show gave me goosebumps. I was left wishing for more episodes of this addictive show when the series ended. In my humble opinion, this is the cream of the crop of the true crime genre!