[Review] Mindhunter Season 1: David Fincher, Crazier Than Any Serial Killer!

Since 2014's Gone Girl, David Fincher hasn't had a new release. He directed two series for HBO during these years, but both were ultimately canceled before airing. Fortunately, his new series for Netflix, Mindhunter, which he executive produced and directed, finally premiered last Friday, and its quality is exceptionally high!

First, let's discuss the Hong Kong title for Mindhunter, which translates to The Detective Who Solves Cases. Generally, as a title for a series about serial killers, The Detective Who Solves Cases isn't problematic. However, Mindhunter is precisely an unconventional series; it doesn't feature many investigative processes and has almost no action sequences. Therefore, if audiences approach it with the mindset of watching shows like Sherlock or CSI, expecting a traditional detective drama full of police meticulously unraveling clues and intense standoffs, they will undoubtedly be disappointed. But if audiences are looking for something truly fresh, something they haven't seen before, then Mindhunter is perfectly suited for them.

Mindhunter, much like David Fincher's previous work Zodiac, is a series with virtually no climaxes, and the apprehension of serial killers is not its central focus. Each episode begins with a segment related to the BTK killer, Dennis Rader, but you won't see him or any other killer committing their crimes, nor will you see him apprehended. After ten episodes of buildup, we might not know his identity or how he commits his acts, only that he feels like a terrifying killer, perhaps a focus for the next season. This approach precisely tells the audience that the series doesn't aim to portray how terrifying or cold-blooded killers are, but rather to help viewers understand who they are, their daily habits, and their lives. This isn't a series about catching serial killers; it's a series about serial killers themselves.

Similar to the methods of the two protagonists in the series, Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), this series is very "academic," with few action scenes but abundant dialogue. The series centers around Holden and Bill's meetings and interviews with several incarcerated serial killers, detailing how they develop criminal profiling techniques by understanding these killers' psychological states, personalities, and backgrounds. Between each meeting, the series also depicts them assisting police departments in various locations, using these nascent techniques to identify perpetrators. In essence, this series is about the establishment and application of criminal profiling techniques, making it very different from typical detective dramas.

At this point, you might be wondering: if the series has no climaxes and almost no action, what makes it so compelling? As mentioned, the series attempts to explore why serial killers become serial killers, dissecting the motives behind their actions and why they kill in such ways. The subject matter is very fresh. In this series, serial killers are not mere villains but flesh-and-blood characters. When watching Holden and Bill interview them, we may not sympathize with them, but we at least begin to understand their behavior. Although the series is set in the 1970s and 80s, and serial killers are no longer a severe problem in the U.S., in real life, we still occasionally see criminals simply depicted as evil, as if the world only consists of good and bad people. This series precisely tells us that good and evil are not so simple; there are many gray areas, and these perpetrators are not simply bad people. They are human beings with complex lives, and many crimes stem from societal and familial problems.

I particularly appreciate the series' character portrayals and development. In the first season, several well-known American serial killers gradually appear. Although they may not look overtly sinister, viewers can still sense their difference from ordinary people and feel suspicion and unease towards them. However, among the killers, Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton) seems very different. He is friendly, intelligent, and likable in conversation, seemingly not very scary, and viewers only truly understand the writers' intent by the season finale. The two protagonists, Holden and Bill, themselves have clear contrasts, and their conversations are full of sparks. Initially, I felt Holden's character was too simplistic, not as compelling as characters in David Fincher's previous works. However, as the plot progresses, Holden's personality begins to change. We see how his interviews with serial killers gradually affect him and his relationships with others. Subsequently, he repeatedly uses their developed criminal profiling techniques to investigate cases, successfully employing this unconventional method to catch killers. These consecutive successes make him arrogant, believing he can now grasp the personalities and psychologies of serial killers and see through everyone around him. In the season finale, Holden becomes conceited, his behavior and personality damaging his relationships with colleagues and his girlfriend. In the final scene, he visits Edmund Kemper in the hospital and drops his guard. As a result, Edmund Kemper exposes his arrogance with a single remark and surprisingly reveals his terrifying side. Although he doesn't harm Holden, and even gives him a hug, his actions seem to be telling him: "You never understood me, and I've been fooling you all along; I am not a good person." I initially thought Holden would transform from a good cop into the series' antagonist, but after this scene, I believe he will shed his arrogance and change!

The first season of the series has ten episodes, with every two episodes feeling like a chapter: the first two introduce the two protagonists and some of the series' setup; episodes three and four introduce Dr. Wendy Carr (played by Anna Torv), and this chapter's conclusion directly echoes the end of the first. I am a big fan of Anna Torv from Fringe, so I was very much looking forward to her performance in this series. However, her screentime in the first season isn't extensive, and she doesn't have much room to showcase her acting, so I can only hope for more in the next season. In the series, her character spends some time feeding mysterious animals in a laundry room. Ultimately, she discovers that the feeding apparatus is teeming with hundreds of ants, seemingly warning her not to rely too much on appearances; sometimes, the truth of things is more terrifying and frightening than she imagines. Simultaneously, she also needs to reflect on what her actions have always led to. This point directly resonates with Holden's storyline and their relationship with the serial killers. It's also worth noting that her character is one of the few female FBI agents in the show, and her storyline also highlights the prejudices men held against women at the time, which is quite interesting.

And of course, the most captivating aspect of this series is director David Fincher's visual language and style. This marks the director's fourth time helming a crime thriller, following Se7en, Zodiac, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This time, he also directed the first two and last two episodes of the series. As mentioned earlier, this series has few action scenes, relying almost entirely on dialogue and subtle character behaviors to sustain the entire story. This approach might make some viewers feel bored, but David Fincher's control over visuals and pacing truly drives the plot, making the series not only unboring but also incredibly binge-worthy. Watching the four episodes directed by David Fincher, and then the six directed by the other three directors—Asif Kapadia, Tobias Lindholm, and Andrew Douglas (I quite like his visual style, but unfortunately, the pace of his two episodes seemed a bit slower)—truly showcases David Fincher's mastery: precise composition, subtle camera movements, a very dark sense of humor, unique color palettes... Essentially, watching the four episodes directed by David Fincher is like watching him demonstrate his own style and techniques. Just when you're marveling at how "Fincher-esque" the series is, full of stable shots, slow panning, and virtually no shaky cam, Fincher, in the very last scene of the season, delivers two consecutive handheld shots. This seems to tell the audience that it's not that he dislikes using handheld cameras, but rather that the previous plot wasn't suitable for their use. At this moment, the handheld camera, coupled with the era-appropriate and consistently precise music, truly captures Holden's emotional transformation.

Indeed, just when you think you understand Fincher, he's already toying with and controlling the audience. The serial killers in the series are certainly insane, but David Fincher seems even crazier than them. It's time for me to rewatch his directed works again!