Wicked Game: Devil in the Desert

A fascinating, well edited, often shocking docu that moves at a lick and doesn't outstay it's welcome with just three episodes.

The perp here is a bonafide psychopath who neatly checks off all of Robert Hare's checklist. Watching him talk is quite chilling, seeing his cold, poker-face demeanor and claims of innocence, alongside the TikTok footage of his rampant narcissism. I'm glad the journalist wasn't sympathetic to his manipulations.

I wish there had been more focus on the main victim. I fully appreciate keeping his anonymity, and we hear his narration of the details of the crime itself. But it would have been useful to hear more about how it's affected his life.

The surfing DA dude deserves a spinoff series of his own, I'd love to read an autobiography of that guy.

I'm a fan of a good true crime documentary, and this is one of the best I've seen. The crime itself makes it a worthy story, but the criminal, the surrounding story and cast of characters, including DA Matt Murphy who describes it as a case unlike any of the other hundreds he's tried, well...there's just no way to not get sucked in.

The 3-part series is perfectly paced. Not a dull moment. While this starts with a brutal crime, there's just SO much more to this story; twists, turns, surprises and told by so many people with their own unique piece to share. It almost seems unreal. This could easily be a scripted movie - if not for the fact that it DID really happen!