The Real Murders on Elm Street

If you're hoping for a deep dive, this isn't it. This is a trashy, low-budget attempt at true crime that mostly falls flat The re-enactments are cheesy, poorly acted, and shot on what looks like a budget of spare change. The production quality isn't great, with cheap effects and editing that feels rushed. What's worse is that the producers barely skim the surface of the actual story. A quick Google search will show you how much they left out, about 90% of the important details aren't even touched. This show is more about sensationalizing than telling the full truth.

I'm also really tired of producers putting dumb 'angles' on shows. The Real Murders on Elm Street desperately tries to shoehorn mentions of Elm Street into their story, which serves no purpose. At one point in this show, a detective says that this particular case (Gustafson murders / Danny Laplante) has 7 connections to Elm Street. Yeah, no kidding. That's because it's the most popular town name in America. It's a statistical certainty that crimes are going to happen on Elm Streets in the USA. I live in a small town in Indiana and there are 3 Elm Streets within spitting distance.

Won't be watching the rest of the series. It's easier to just watch YouTube videos instead. Avoid.

As an avid true crime viewer, it's rare to find a new show that's worth watching, but this one is an exception. It's well presented, doesn't suffer from overly-cheesy "re-enactments', and it profiles some interesting cases.

The Elm Street connections are of minimal interest, but also not a big deal. So far, it's avoided excessive recaps and time wasting, "coming up..." teasers-- that alone makes it rare within the genre.

As true crime shows go, this one's a solid 8. It's not exactly Dateline, but it's nowhere near as cringeworthy as those "I Married A Murderer" type shows with the painful narration.

I hope this one lasts a while, assuming the current quality is maintained.

This is a Podcast.....

For visuals... they throw in a collection of stock footage pieces and photos, or perhaps 10-30 seconds of any court or police related video (if they have it)... If they do actually bother to shoot any scenes, it's clear these scenes are intentionally as generic as possible, in the hopes they can reuse the footage again later.

And then they weave all the above in between repeated shots of talking heads.

Truth is one doesn't need to LOOK at any screen at all, you can simply listen..... it's a Podcast.

The problem with many of these new "true crime" series is that cops are cops.. they aren't radio presenters or announcers. They don't do a good, much less decent, job at using vocal inflections to maintain any interest.

It all starts droning on and on in rather monotonous tones - but again, cops are cops. I don't expect them to be any better with vocal talent than the would be at professional sports. Some may be more adept than others, but none are at a level worthy of a professional production.

The story may be interesting, but the harsh reality is.. READING it may be more entertaining than these Podcast-esque television productions.

Overall, I have enjoyed this show so far. I was disappointed in the fourth episode because of the violent depictions of the murder. These were not included in the other episodes, especially at that level. I think it was extremely insensitive considering not all the victim's family members were comfortable being interviewed for the show. I am comfortable watching more gory or violent movies or shows, however when telling real people's stories it is important to remember the victims still have friends and family members who may watch the episode to see how the victim was depicted. And if I had known the victim in this episode, that would have been traumatizing and triggering to watch.

The 80s horror movie spin they put on this show is really unique. I watch a lot of true crime and most of the shows are a cookie cutter of one another.....but not this one! It does have some of the typical production that you see with true crime, but you can tell they put a lot of thought and effort into giving it an 80s horror movie vibe.

So far, the cases have been interesting (especially the first episode) and well researched. Hopefully the rest of the season plays out just as good!

The only thing I don't like is that they release the episodes on a weekly basis rather than all at once... Let me binge this MAX! All in all? This show is unique, and I am a fan.