Customer Reviews

Serial Killers 2-pack

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My 2 favorites are the documentaries on profiling in general and on Charles Manson in particular. Very interesting. And as another reviewer here already stated, you do find yourself feeling sorry for the women of the "Manson family" serving life sentences. Given what the women did, however, my empathy was short-lived and forgotten about ten minutes after the DVD was over.

The other 2 documentaries, Dahmer & Gacy, were very well done and had more than a few little known facts included in them. To be honest, I found both of these documentaries so disturbing that I have a hard time saying I "liked" them, but they are most definitely well researched and eye-opening. They are [scary], will probably give you nightmares, but they are interesting.

All in all, this is a good collection. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 only because I doubt this is something anyone will watch twice (which is kind of the point in regards to owning a DVD!) I have never seen this collection for rent at a video store so that probably leaves you with the choice of buying it or never seeing it unless they air reruns on A&E. I don't know what to recommend, but personally I don't regret spending the cash.

This is a 2-disc set from A&E featuring hour-long documentaries about Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and Charles Manson, as well as a show about "profilers," the people who can find clues from serial killers' crime scenes and almost uncannily can tell you anything you want to know about the killer without knowing anything about them.

The Jeffrey Dahmer episode was the most disturbing as everyone has heard of his massacre in Milwaukee, but there were a lot of details in this episode that I had never heard before. Very scary stuff. Another thing I found interesting was the very mysterious similarities between Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy after watching those episodes back to back. Their methods and motives were strikingly similar which makes it terrifying to think that there are more people like that out there in the world.

The Charles Manson episode was kind of unique as it features interviews with Manson and his former "family members" from prison. The women that used to practically be his slave are now serving life sentences and it's sad to think that Manson's brainwashing turned these normal (at least they seemed very normal and apologetic in their interviews) women into brutal killers who ruined the rest of their young lives for pretty much no reason.

All in all, a very good purchase. There are no special features on the disc, but you are getting almost 4 hours of entertainment, so I think it's well worth it.

This is a great documentary on the selected serial killers(Jeffery Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and Charles Manson) which also includes the origin of serial killer profiling. A must have for any true crime follower and a steal of a price as well. I've viewed the Dahmer and Gacy profiles numerous times and have been captivated and intrigued after each viewing, so this certainly isn't a "one and done" DVD. I have yet to replay the Manson profile because the man just creeps me out! His interviews are pretty amazing and i'm sure would be a treat to anyone interested in knowing about Manson. Only reason i give this DVD a 4 star rating was for the exclusion of Ted Bundy. He gets a very small cameo but it would have been cream of the crop w/ Bundy included.

These dvd's are pure gems. You start out with the extraordinary John Douglas and anyone interested in profiling will be entranced by anything he writes or says, he's the master.
Then you have extremely researched and detailed reports on some of the most well known cases. If you fear what you might have to see, especially on the Damher case, then don't. Everything is very well done and explained enough without having to show some gruesome images. If you're interested in profiling, or just want to have more informations on some of the cases, and take advantage of John Douglas' experience, then go for it and buy it.

This item is a good purchase for anyone who is interested in they way serial killers think and act. With segments on Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and Charles Manson, this set provides a insight into the minds of these serial killers. The criminal profiler segment is very interesting. However, I feel Charles Manson does not fit into the serial killer catagory. I would have rather seen a segment on Ted Bundy or Ed Gein. But it is still an item worth buying.

Anyone familiar with criminal profiling or forensic behavorial science will find this A&E documentary insightful. This documentary gives a brief historical perspective on how the FBI's BSU became such an intricate tool for law enforcement in solving serial homicide cases. It also documents the cases of some of the world's most notorious serial killers like: Gacy, Dahmer and the psychopath, Charles Manson. This is a great starting point for the criminalogist- but for deeper insights, explore the pioneering research works of Douglass and Ressler.

If like myself you have a strange fascination with John Gacy, Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer, you should definitely watch this DVD. It is truly chilling.

It's hard to imagine living in a house where 29 murdered young men were buried underneath in the crawl space. It would give most people terrible nightmares. But apparently not John Wayne Gacy. Gacy definitely did not appear to be a scary person - in the DVD, one of his lawyers describes his outward persona as being that of a "Santa Claus" type figure. Gacy dressed up as a clown and visited Chicago hospitals to make young children laugh. He was a respected, hard-working, generous and popular member of the community, who was active in supporting his local branch of the Democrats, and even had his photo taken with then first lady, Rosalind Carter. However, behind this elaborate and convincing façade lurked a monster of unimaginable evil. For over six years in the early to late 70s, Gacy, who was later dubbed "The Killer Clown", raped and murdered 33 young men in the privacy of his own home. He was one of the worst serial killers in history. This DVD accurately tells the story of Gacy and his deadly compulsion. It covers his family history and includes interviews with key law enforcement officers who were involved in the case, as well as close friends of Gacy and the mother of one of the victims.

The second segment of disc 2 details the crimes of Charles Manson and his murderous "Family". I remember when I was 13 years old that I watched the 70s version of the movie Helter Skelter about this case. I recall feeling very depressed for a week or two afterwards, mostly due to thinking about the cruel and horrible things that human beings can do to each other.

The brutality and dreadful horror of these crimes is hard to comprehend. Nevertheless, it was fascinating to watch the interviews with Patricia Krenwinkle and Leslie Van Houten, two of the murderers responsible for committing these crimes. Krenwinkle and Van Houten appear sincerely regretful and at least had the courage to go on film. Of course, one cannot know how genuine they really are. I personally tend to be more believing of them than two of the other murderers not interviewed in this DVD, the deranged space cadet Susan Atkins, and Charles "Tex" Watson, the latter of whom apparently delivered most of the fatal blows to the victims.

From my understanding of the case, Watson, Atkins and Krenwinkle were perhaps the most active participants in the delivery of these heinous crimes. Atkins personally stabbed one of the victims, the actress Sharon Tate, and when Sharon, more than eight months pregnant, pleaded for her life and the life of her unborn child, Atkins cold-heartedly responded "look bitch, I have no mercy for you". I feel very sad for the victims in this story, such as poor Sharon Tate and her friends and the La Biancas, just sitting at home and relaxing one night, having no idea that their homes were about to be invaded by a pack of disturbed and heartless killers. According to Vincent Bugliosi's definitive book about these crimes (also, like the movie, called Helter Skelter) one word that was repeatedly mentioned to describe Sharon Tate by people who knew her was "sweet". She was also described as "a woman of astonishing beauty" by a journalist who wrote about the case.

Manson, who is interviewed in this DVD, is still as frightening and crazy as ever - and this description is decidedly conservative. In reality, the man is a manifest lunatic - take note of the part in the DVD where he talks about the La Bianca murders and the gruesome messages written in blood on the wall (e.g. "DEATH TO PIGS") and says to the interviewer "just like I would say to you woman, if you're going to do something, do it well... And leave something witchy. Have a good day" (!?) It is reassuring that in some instances, unlike with Gacy, evil is apparent for all to see.

It is clearly appropriate that Manson should never be released from prison - there can be no doubt that his warped charisma would be a danger to society even now. The aspect of this story that I found most unnerving is the influence that one person can have over another, even enough to murder another innocent human being. The whole story, including how Manson believed that the Beatles were trying to communicate with him through their song "Helter Skelter" (from their White album) is exceedingly more bizarre than most people could come up with for the plot of a fantasy novel. As a Beatles fan, I wonder what John Lennon thought of it all...

The segment on Jeffrey Dahmer is also fascinating. He appeared to be a docile, good-looking, young man. But however placid Dahmer appeared on the outside, even as his defence lawyer later said, the being that he became was the "embodiment of evil". One really does have to wonder how someone who perpetrated crimes such as Dahmer's could be considered sane, particularly in relation to his cannibalism and dismemberment of the victims.

One of the statements shown in this DVD that I found particularly spine-chilling was made by Dahmer's last victim, Tracey Edwards, who survived his ordeal and was largely responsible for the long overdue exposure of Dahmer's crimes. Tracey, who comes across as a decidedly likeable and sincere person, describes how during his visit to Dahmer's apartment, Dahmer's face and demeanour abruptly changed from being pleasant, courteous and engaging, to something demonic, threatening and aggressive in nature, all with the sinister backdrop of the movie "The Exorcist 2" playing in the background.

To sum up, if you have a fascination with mankind's darker nature, you will find this DVD enthralling. This is without a doubt the most well-constructed and researched true crime documentary I have seen - five stars.

I bought this for the Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy documentaries, like I imagine you might. I'm not disappointed really, I don't regret buying it in any sense, it's just that this DVD isn't very good at all. It doesn't attempt to make any insight, which isn't something I particularly care for anyway. What each documentary offers is a limited and quite dated view of the serial killers. I can't imagine anyone learning something they didn't already know from them. It's mostly told through pictures when it seems there's option to use video. The Dahmer documentary, made in 1993, doesn't feature anything of interest. There's no interview with his father or anything, just a voice telling a story over pictures we've all seen before, with occassional clips of victims' families in court. The Gacy one, made in '96, is the same. There's also a program, made in 1997,on criminal profiling. This look at three farely well known killers whose capture supports profiling. It's told often with video rather then photos, which is good, but still they're somewhat boring subjects. The Criminal Profiler, Dahmer, and Gacy are all episodes from the A&E series Investigative Reports, if you didn't realise. The last program is on Charles Manson. It's quite different from the others on the disc. Made in 1997, it originally aired on television as Biography: Charles Manson: Journey Into Evil. I don't with have any interest in Manson, but I guess it's ok. It features significant interviews with Manson and main female members of the Family. All programs run for about one hour or more. I wouldn't reccomend any of them, none are good at all. I might even describe them as terrible, considering what else is out there.

This DVD was truly incredible. The one i liked most was the Dahmer story. Why? I thought the guy that was able to escape the wrath of this demon was very lucky to have been able to tell his story. You can tell as he was re telling his story that he was very grateful to have come out of that alive. I really enjoy when programs like these go into as much detail as possible and this one does just that. I wish they could share more detail as it is very intresting to me. I wonder why and how, but then i think they are not human. Well to whomever reads this, i hope it helped.

not worth the cash at all. these two discs are essentially, a summary of the most infamous serial killers, and not a very good summary at that. if you want quick facts of the cases, google them up instead. for those thinking you might get some cool info from the criminal profiling section, you'd be wrong. it's poorly done and not informative at all. they make profilers out to be psychics.

i'd recommend this disc set for someone who doesn't know anything about these criminals, but for those of you who have done their research and are looking for that extra something, you won't find it here.