User reviews

The true story of lifelong criminal and serial killer, Carl Panzram who wrote his autobiography for a jail guard in 1928.

Unless you happen to be interested in serial killers, you probably never heard of Carl Panzram. He does not rank as high in public consciousness as Dahmer, Gacy, Zodiac... and yet, he is no less fascinating. I am quite happy that someone took the time to make a documentary on this enigmatic figure.

I am even more happy that a prison guard encouraged Panzram to write his memoir and that San Diego State University decided it was worth keeping. This does not seem like the sort of material that you would typically find in a university's special collections, but it has a value to any number of people for different reasons.

Is it really Carl Panzram's fault that he was born into a family of poverty, alcoholism, abuse and neglect? Carl Panzram was the type of man that the world would have been a much better place not running into him. He knew only one way to survive and that was to brutalize and rape his victims. His pain threshold and abnormal strength were well documented as were his very long list of crimes.

Like a bad car accident that you cannot turn your head away from while driving by, I had to watch this documentary and I am glad I did. I wouldn't want to ever be 1,000 miles near Carl Panzram but in some weird way I still empathize with the life that Carl Panzram was subjected to living in and out of multiple hardcore prisons.

I give this documentary a credible 8 out of 10 IMDb rating.

This is a unique documentary about one of America's lesser known serial killers, and what a nasty piece of work he was too. In 1930, Panzram was hanged at Leavenworth Penitentiary for the murder of a civilian prison employee. There is no doubt whatsoever that he committed that murder, but it remains to be seen how many of the others he claimed he did actually commit. Did he really sail to Africa where he raped and murdered an underage boy? There is no doubt that he murdered others closer to home, but much of what he boasted about was clearly bunk. About the only things of which we can be certain is that he hated humanity with a vengeance, and the world became a slightly less evil place as soon as he breathed his final breath, his infamous last words being: "Yes, hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill a dozen men while you're screwing around!" There are variations on that quote, but there is no arguing with the sentiment.

Why anyone should want to do anything with a creature like Panzam other than isolate him from the rest of mankind remains to be seen, but one of his prison guards, Henry Lesser (1902-83) encouraged him to write his autobiography, and these writings are now preserved in the Malcolm A. Love Library, part of San Diego State University. Archive footage of the elderly Lesser is used in this film.

It is clear from the fragments herein that Panzram was a fairly literate individual; he had heard of Oscar Wilde, and was clearly intimate with Wilde's vices, which he shared. He could have made something of his life, albeit by using his ill-gotten gains. Instead...

I have watched many documentaries of all kinds and attempted to be as open-minded as possible. In this case, however, I simple cannot be. I have never seen such an attempt to excuse, and soften the story of someone who was quite frankly and monster. All this by people, who would quite likely have been amongst Carl Panzram's victims had the opportunity been provided, this to include the hero of the story, Prison guard Henry Lesser…. Disgusting. Pity I suppose for this same cast of characters that they didn't have access to Hitler or Pol Pot so as to find out about their tragic childhoods and thus soften the evil of their crimes….

Near the end of the documentary it tries to portray Lesser as some kind of hero. Why? What did he do except have a morbid curiosity about Panzram? Why does saving a serial killer's manifesto make someone a hero. That was irresponsible.

Also, they try to portray Panzram as some kind of Sherpa who is telling humanity that they need to change their ways.

The guy was a complete psycho. Let's not forget that.

He murdered.

He raped.

He stole.

A horrible human being.

I just finished Ryan Green's book on Panzram and this film is a perfect companion piece to it. Carl was a vicious rapist and murderer who left behind a surprisingly well written journal of his many misdeeds. With little formal education, he was a natural born killer and writer. I am not fond of reenactments but they are well done in this case. The story is an amazing one and I highly recommend this documentary.

A complete waste of time. Nothing new is learned about Panzram.

This documentary delving into the warped mind of Carl Panzram is fascinating and disturbing.

Learning about this man's early life and what shaped his murderous and demonic journey through his tortured life and those he prayed on.

I have difficulty believing that this scantily education man wrote his "memoirs" and they are not the work of a third party, namely his prison guard. The language used seems far to erudite. There are also references that don't quite add up to my mind.

This is put forward as fact without any true investigative work or fact finding. It would make an interesting piece of work to take this perspective instead of blindly accepting "his" writings as fact.

Just another guy cooking music a lot of murders nothing special about him it's sad when Riders producers or whoever gets around the table and talk about what they're going to work on running out of ideas and you just put anything it's nothing special about this man what he did director had no imagination:JOHN BOROWSKI

Diving into "Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance" with the expectation of uncovering the dark, complex layers of one of history's most infamous criminals, I instead found myself lost in a sea of cinematic despair. This documentary manages the remarkable feat of making a story about a notorious murderer and anarchist about as engaging as watching paint dry - and at least the paint has the common decency to change color. From the monotonous voiceovers that sound like they were recorded in a janitor's closet to the bewildering decision to use reenactments that wouldn't look out of place in a high school drama class, the film leaves much to be desired.

The narrative flow of the documentary is as erratic as Panzram's own criminal career, but without any of the intrigue. It zigzags through time and space with little regard for coherence or the viewer's sanity, leaving one to wonder if the editor was using a dartboard to decide the sequence of scenes. The filmmakers attempt to humanize Panzram, but the execution is so ham-fisted that it inadvertently turns him into a caricature. Imagine trying to paint a nuanced portrait of a deeply troubled soul but your only brush is a sledgehammer - that's the level of subtlety we're working with here.

In what could only be described as an act of sheer defiance against the concept of entertainment, "Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance" turns a fascinating subject into a test of endurance. The documentary's only saving grace is that it serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of amateur filmmaking. By the time the credits mercifully roll, you'll find yourself filled with a spirit of hatred and vengeance - not against Panzram, but against the film itself for robbing you of precious time that could have been spent doing literally anything else. In conclusion, this documentary is a cinematic crime, albeit one that sadly won't be featured in any thrilling retellings.

The female "expert' in this film is pathetic. She parrots typical and expected rubbish without any reason to do so. All of her statements and why she said them have been proven to be incorrect. I hope she doesn't practice anymore as she is dangerous.

Very disappointed in a documentary for allowing such garbage to be put on TV.

The reinactments are also a bit sad. But don't go for too lone so they are bearable.

Some good information if you haven't heard of this person before. Just ignore the rubbish from the female "expert".

Quite disappointed to see someone who should know better spouting such damaging and incorrect information.