The 12th Victim

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.

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.

I cried out loud all by myself, clapped out loud to an empty room, jumped off my couch like a teenage cheerleader (im actually a 46 yr old exhausted woman who works 10.5hr nightshifts at Amazon), and dropped to my knees and prayed while watching this documentary. Caril..I left home at 11yrs old and watching this made me think of all the times i went with or stayed with an older, possibly slightly dangerous man because I was either terrified of him, cold, hungry, or just so tired i needed a warm soft bed. Therefore, there is no doubt in my mind that i would've followed any crazy idiot ANYWHERE if my siblings or my parents lives were threatened in ANY way and hearing your story has made me look back to what i've went through and made me see how easily something like this could've happened to me. And terrifies me to think of how many other women this has happened to. I am so sorry for what you went through but it sure has made me awful Damn proud to be a woman because you have reinforced my belief in the fact that WOMEN WILL NEVER STAND FOR BEING HELD DOWN!!!! When we live the truth, stand for the truth, and speak the truth.... WE WILL BE HEARD...and your vindication in the form of a pardon is at the top of my daily prayer list. May the balance of right and wrong be in your favor because girl....you certainly deserve it. I am so sorry for the shittiness of society and I wish for you the seat at the front gate of heaven cause i dont about you but, instead of getting in, i think it'll be a whole lot funner to see who gets kicked outta line!

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.

Some interesting footage from the events inter-spliced with questionable use of hypnosis, lip reading, current feminism and the usual amount of spinning events toward the outcome desired by the title.

Fair enough. As expected. It's not advertised as even handed.

The Starkweather rampage is a seminal story in Lincoln and Lancaster County Nebraska. No one who has lived there as have I for long stretches, has not known or heard eyewitness accounts of the terror that prevailed. Lincoln at the time was more like a small town with a city population. To say everyone knew everyone is only slight exaggeration.

Many citizens had personal ties to officers closely involved with Fugate during and after her return from Wyoming. Near all, if not all, believed her demeanor was belligerent and showed little remorse.

So, as intimated we'll never know. But let us recognize that key questions remain unanswered.