Night Stalker: A Hunt for a Serial Killer is the newest obsession on Netflix. The limited series, directed by Tiller Russell, follows the crimes and capture of Richard Ramirez. Ramirez spent one year leaving the civilians of Los Angeles on edge, wondering if they were going to be his next victim.
Any true-crime lover will automatically be drawn in by primary sources that have to deal with a case. Recordings of Ramirez’s interviews, crime scene photos, media created during the time period, all grabs and maintain our attention as viewers. Before viewing this limited series, I read reviews that described it as having an “uncomfortable amount of gore.” People stated that they had to take a break because they were having physical reactions to the episodes. I viewed the entirety of this limited series in one evening. Forcing one of my friends to watch it with me, I began to realize the difference between viewing this series through the eyes of a true-crime fanatic and someone who is not. As I watched, eating my Ben and Jerry’s, I commented on things like, “he probably took the eyes as trophies.” After a few crime scene photos and descriptions of the attacks, I stated, “I don’t get why people had to turn this off.” I then heard the uneasy shiver in my friend’s voice as he stated, “…I do.” I guess it is safe to say that if you are not used to seeing or hearing things about criminal cases, you may not want to binge the series in one night.
There were two main negative opinions I had about Russell’s series. One, there were a few overly dramatic moments in each episode. The story of Ramirez’s life and crimes are dramatic enough within itself, so for me, zooming in on a slow-motion video of a rat or a hammer falling to the ground added a cheesy element that momentarily took me out of the story. Also, the glorification of police using brute force in order to get a confession was a staunch reminder of the intricate layers of glorifying police and overlooking tactics that were used during police questioning.
To end on a positive note, this documentary introduced me to two icons that I may never have learned this much about. Those icons were detectives Gil Carrillo and Frank Salerno. It is hard to watch this series and not fall in love with those two men. Seeing Gil Carrillo’s smile in all of the photos throughout the case actually made me squeal with joy. It became the perfect balance of a glimpse of happiness while hearing the recollection of some of the most brutal crimes. We now owe these men two debts of gratitude, one for catching the Night Stalker, and the other for blessing us with their adorable presence throughout this series.
If you have a Netflix subscription, I recommend that you watch Tiller Russell’s Night Stalker: A Hunt for a Serial Killer.
Please feel free to comment with any thoughts on this post. Hopefully, this is going to become a space in which we can interact with one another. I am also encouraging any constructive criticism you may have, as well as other cases you would like me to discuss.
Follow the blog and the Instagram page if you would like to join in my discussions!