The Real Murders on Elm Street

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.

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.

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.

The Real Murders on Elm Street is fundamentaly a good idea for a crime series, as there are many Elm Streets around the US, and have been perhaps surprisingly many particularly dire murder cases in these streets, which naturally fits a reality follow up of the.1984 horror classic Nightmare on Elm Street. Without going over the top or making annoying exaggerations the creators manage to get this documentary rather scary cinematographically, with dark mode dramatizations, and some effects and classical edge of or jumping in the seat means of action. Together with a well composed music score this works effectively, at least in the first episode, which stands out among the four produced so far. If the creators can find back to more of this in episode five and six, the total might come up to 8/10 in my view.

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.