True Crime is an extremely popular topic in today’s society. While many people enjoy the subject for the rush of adrenaline that crime can induce or solving a good mystery, others have darker intentions for consuming true crime media.
In September of 2022, Netflix released a show called Monster. A unique show that sheds light on a different infamous serial killer each season. One specific season highlighted the story of the 1950s murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was known for killing many individuals from minority communities, such as the LGBTQ+ and Black communities. Monster graphically shows exactly how Dahmer would murder his victims, as well as uncomfortable scenes where Dahmer would wear women’s skin and undergarments while pleasuring himself. Naturally, the majority of the audience was horrified by the explicitness of the show and questioned why such sensitive content needed to be shown on screen. According to the co-director and screenwriter, Ian Brennan, scenes such as these are necessary for telling a true story. Brennan states, “This show is always trying to not be exploitative. It’s trying to actually show that you can pull back too much when you’re telling a macabre story. You must tell the whole story, even with the parts that are hard to watch.”
Brennan makes an excellent point. I think stories should always be told to their full extent. And yet Brennan ignored his piece of advice for the season, focusing more on Dahmer’s perspective without showing much from the victims’ perspective, highlighting the horror of the murders, which could’ve been crucial to the story. After all, you wouldn’t make a jury decision after only hearing one side of the case.
Another issue with Monster and other True Crime media is the way people and companies will often capitalize on the vulnerability of these victims’ stories without consent. Monster, as I previously mentioned, features a different serial killer story every season, like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein. Popular media such as this can often force survivors to relive the trauma of their worst moments, especially with multiple killers shown in one show. Director Ryan Murphy and Brennan explained in an interview how they reached out to several families of victims, only to receive no reply for participation in creating the show, resulting in their exclusion. This should have been a clear sign not to continue with the production. Charlie Hunnam, who plays Ed Gein, defended the series with his claim, “I never felt like we were sensationalizing it. I never felt on set that we did anything gratuitous or for shock impact. It was all in order to try to tell this story as honestly as we could.” While there is no confirmation behind Netflix’s motives to create Monster, there is still some evidence that hints at creating controversy for a cash grab.
Recently, people have been asking the question of whether people should really be watching and exposing themselves to this kind of media. Elizabeth Murno writes in her article The Glorification of Serial Killers, “It is not the role of the citizen to understand the way killers think, that is what we have psychologists and detectives for.” While Murno has a valid point, I would counter her argument.
Citizens are not required to understand the psychology behind serial killers’ motives, but many of them still want to. Why? My theory is because of curiosity or interest. It’s human nature to ask questions and solve puzzles. As for the psychologists and detectives, they chose to pursue a profession that studies the human brain and the reasoning behind its actions and thoughts. They were once curious citizens who wanted to find answers, too. Curiosity is not an excuse for unhealthy obsession that can lead to more death, but it is a reason as to why.
I do not think intaking horror or true crime is inherently bad – I’m a fan myself – however, it can quickly become dangerous. There’s a fine line between wanting to understand killers and acting out on the actions yourself. On March 28th of 2025, a young man who claimed to be a true crime fan himself, known as Nasen Saadi, murdered Amie Gray and badly wounded her wife, Sian Grey, to recreate one of his favorite shows. Police later found an extensive collection of knives in Saadi’s homes, as well as concerning search history. Saadi had also asked one of his college professors exactly how to get away with murder.
A recent movie called Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile showcases the infamous story of Ted Bundy. The film had many of the same problems that Monster had, like not showing the victims’ side enough, but its biggest flaw was casting Zac Efron as Ted Bundy. Efron is a conventionally-attractive actor who has starred in many films, but this has created unclear intentions behind the movie. Bundy was known for drawing in his victims through his alleged attractiveness and charm, so producers casting Efron as the lead isn’t a huge shocker. Unfortunately, this has caused fans to create a fanbase for Bundy on Tumblr and forget to distinguish the actor from his role. Many users romanticize and claim that serial killers are attractive and alluring. This is most commonly known as hybristophillia, the attraction to criminals.
Crime culture can be immensely insensitive to the survivors and victims of the stories and can cause a phenomenon known as Compassion Fatigue. Compassion Fatigue is when a person has become overly exposed to such extreme levels of violence that they become desensitized to crime and forgetful of the humanity within situations.
In Monster, the writers wanted the audience to leave with the question: Who is the real monster? In one scene, Ed Gein breaks the fourth wall and says to the viewer, “You’re the one who can’t look away.” He did not answer the question, nor confirm that he was talking about the audience, causing the public to speculate on who exactly Gein was referring to. It could’ve been the viewers, but it could also have been the directors and screenwriters of movies such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho who drew inspiration from infamous killers.
Humanity has become obsessed with true crime and will likely continue to be so for years to come. Horror and crime are fascinating topics to explore, but there comes a point where we must draw the line as humans. We cannot forget our sense of empathy for each other. No one wants to live in a world where acts of brutality are considered normal or accepted. I hope that for the sake of all of us, we recognize our ability to empathize with one another and build a better future for us all. Without emotion, there is no future.
