When Dexter first arrived on our screens it took people off guard. Not only did the show focus on a sympathetic serial killer – with Dexter growing in popularity to the point of becoming a pop culture icon – it established a higher bar for brutal, disturbing violence on television.
It’s been a great couple of years!
Eight years later the show is entering into its final season, and three new serial killer shows have arrived to fill the void. Are any of them taking the place of the world’s favorite psychotic murderer, or are they pretenders to the blood soaked throne? Today we discuss The Following, Hannibal and Bate’s Motel to find out. After watching the first couple of episodes of each in a rather disturbing marathon we are ready to recommend the show to watch over the others.
The Following
Out of the three shows doing the rounds this is the only completely original concept (the other two being sourced from Red Dragon and Psycho respectively). We begin with Kevin Bacon playing Ryan Hardy, the standard issue damaged cop, drinking all day and sporting an impressive wound from the big time serial killer he brought in. The psycho in question is Dr. Joe Carroll, played by James Purefoy, a literary professor whose charisma made him popular with his students. Unfortunately he would torture and murder them before cutting out their eyes. After several years in jail he makes his escape, only to be recaptured by Hardy. What nobody expected was that Carroll has build himself a cult following out of other potential serial killers and put them in place for an elaborate plan. As the body count builds and more murderers come out of the woodwork it becomes clear that all levels of law enforcement and Hardy’s personal life have been infiltrated.
What is obviously the big hook for the series is the concept. Way back in 1997 show runner Kevin Williamson wrote Scream 2, which featured a line about the number of active serial killers operate in the US at any given time. Serial killers both terrify and fascinate the modern world and the show makes excellent use of this conflict in its design. During the pilot this appears to be a pretty routine crime drama but there is plenty of evidence of meticulous planning by Williamson in plotting this story out. Twists and information is revealed like a the layers of an onion being peeled away and some moments in the opening episodes are genuinely disconcerting.
Whilst visceral the show does not rely heavily on gore and splatter, instead touching on societies paranoia. Impact of the media, reliability of law enforcement and distrust of your neighbours all form part of the narrative thrust, with detective work making up the logistics of the story. It’s very much cat and mouse between Hardy and Carroll, although the mouse is keeping several tricks ahead of the cat. A cult of serial killers may look far-fetched on paper but it works remarkably well, especially with the killers adopting a gimmick to mark themselves (in this case referencing Edgar Allen Poe in their crimes).
There are plenty of good performers in the show but there’s no one person stands out from the pack. Everyone plays their part in the big machine. With the side of the FBI and the cult having their own group of characters who come in and leave at various points it’s good that everyone works so well together. If there’s any one criticism to level at the show it’s that it doesn’t have much long term value. It’s so tightly planned that it would be absurd for the producers to artificially extend the narrative. On the other hand with the number of shows that got bogged down in silly padding (such as Lost) this isn’t always a bad thing.
Hannibal
Next serve (boom boom) comes from one of modern cinema’s most proven villains: Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lector. Already brought to life by three different actors and five different directors on the big screen to varying degrees of success this is the world’s most sophisticated lunatic’s first time on television. Picking up the title character is Mads Mikkelsen, returning the role to his European roots. Best known to mainstream audiences as the guy who cried blood in Casino Royale he perfectly encapsulates the charm, refinement and psychosis of Lector. Joining Mikkelsen at the top of the credits is Hugh Dancy as the empathetic Will Graham (previously played in film by William Peterson and Edward Norton), whose uncanny understanding of serial killers gives him the insight needed to catch them. They work together to solve murders while Hannibal psychoanalyses Graham.
Calling the show Hannibal is quite misleading when you look at the concept for the show. Initially we expected a show detailing the life and crimes of Hannibal Lector prior to his incarceration. Instead it’s more of a monster-of-the-week show, a new case every week with the overarching narrative arc concerning the dynamic between two psychotic people – one with the innate sense for murderers and the other driven to consume human flesh. Both the leads are fantastic to watch and form the central interest for the show. Not all the characters are on par with the leads though, and combined with an occasionally hokey script causes a few cringes (tone it down, Lawrence Fishburne). Youngster Kacey Rohl makes an impression as the daughter of a serial killer who forms a relationship with Lector.
As to the weekly serial killers who form the backbone of the show, this area might feel as though it’s been done to death in the past decade with a bajillion CSI-type show. The horrific murder scenes that the writers have come up with are certainly disturbing and intriguing. The second episode features a killer who has been using live burial victims to grow mushrooms and it is downright nauseating – but I guess that’s the point. This is helped along by the rich, wonderful Although we know what the end game for the characters it’s a fascinating relationship to watch unfold, and Hannibal Lector is always going to be interesting. He is the definitive modern monster.
Bates Motel
From the definitive modern monster to the original modern monster. Like Hannibal this television series is sourced from older material, in this case Hitchcock’s Psycho (which in turn was based on the novel by Robert Bloch but the new series has more in common with the movie). Unlike Hannibal, which could fit into the established canon, Bates Motel is more of a reboot. It is set in the modern age and it turns the clock back on Norman Bates to show him as a teenager living with his over-bearing mother. Narratively it bears little resemblance to the 1960 film, instead taking its inspiration from Twin Peaks – something the producers and writers have openly admitted.
After the death of his father Norman Bates and his mother Norma move to the small town of White Pine Bay in Oregon to run a small roadside motel. There they quickly become embroiled in the small town mysteries – murder, kidnapping, drug running and other unsavoury business. What complicates matters is whether or not some of it exists only in Norman’s head, the untimely arrival of his troublesome step-brother and just how far the bond between Norman and Norma can be stretched. In addition there are two new love interests to divide Norman’s time – a typical blonde teenager who shows her human side when tragedy befalls her early in the series and a chronically ill girl who shares his fascination with the morbid. Although there are a number of characters around the town who fill out various roles in the mystery the stars are undoubtably Freddie Highmore (yes, the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Vera Farmiga who play Norman and Norma perfectly.
Unlike the other two shows the focus here is on the drama rather than the murder’n, and the drama is extremely well written. The scripting and performance from Highmore bring the character of Norman Bates to life, with realistic responses to the standard teenage dramas, the murky underbelly of the small town and his oppressive relationship with his mother. Farmiga is equally good as the manipulative and secretive Norma. In the beginning it was difficult to see where the series was going to be heading but when the mysteries of White Pine Bay began stacking up it’s impossible not to be drawn in. Like Hannibal we already know how things are going to end up for Norman Bates, but the links between that finale and the present story are much better drawn, and unlike Hannibal this feels like a story that can develop of it’s own steed.
Our Recommendation
We had hoped that the result here would be much more cut and dry, but we’ve been thrown a curve ball in that all of these shows are worth watching. Having said that the purpose of the article is to name one and one only as the show to follow, so let’s break it down. Hannibal is littered with amazing visuals (the camera unit must be loving their job) and it’s good to see Lector done well after the previous few attempts. Nonetheless it is the weakest of the three shows. Bates Motel is the strongest contender as a whole experience, giving us some damn fine writing and acting, and an intriguing storyline. With it’s perchant for final scene cliffhangers it’s very easy to kick back and watch them in a marathon. It is a bit impeded in this race by the lack of actual murdering going on.
If you’re looking for a new serial killer show and can only spare the time for one then pick The Following. The concept is unique and well plotted out, giving it a tight, well crafted feel. The performers and writing isn’t exactly the best television has to offer but the twists and turns make those points moot. Watching The Following is like having a great book that you cannot put down. If you can watch all three shows then watch all three shows – if you can only watch one then our recommendation is The Following.
