One could easily say that noirs are an evergreen genre. It has been this way since 1987, when Canale 5 broadcast “The Deliberate Stranger”, a miniseries on the life of Ted – Theodore Robert Bundy – the notorious man who was responsible for the murder of dozens of young women in the United States in the late 1970s, which captured millions of spectators. Today, thirty years later, crime thrillers are all the rage, as they continue to reinvent themselves, always adapting to new viewers, while crime series, in their most diverse declinations, have now become a must-see for the small screen.
How can one “appreciate” a serial killer and be moved by his bloody endeavors? Why does the public enjoy exploring the dark recesses of a murderer’s mind? The reason is simple: in addition to the clever choice of characters and the good soundtrack, some people recognize themselves in the executioner, and others in the victim. The controversial characters, who are constantly hovering between good and evil, fascinate and intrigue the audience, which is why, over the years, the followingtitles have become cult TVshows.
Among the forerunnersthere is “Dexter“. The protagonist of the series – which was first broadcast by Fox Crime and then by Rai 4 – Dexter Morgan, is a modern Dr. Jekyll: a police hematologist (played by Michael C. Hall) whose benign appearance conceals a fierce killer. Dexter is an ambiguous and irresistible avenger, themanabove suspicionpar excellence, and that’s why he ends up being believable.
“Criminal Minds” is among the most watched series out there: here the real protagonists are the killers (broadcast on Fox Crime and Rai Due). In its spin-off “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”, there is an episode entitled “Il Mostro,” which even mirrors the modus operandi of the monster of Florence.
Novels, however, are the main source from which authors and screenwriters drawfor their films and television series. It was the pen of Thomas Harris, in fact, that shaped the character of Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal psychiatrist of The Silence of the Lambs (played by Anthony Hopkins). “Hannibal” the TV series – based on the same novel – also met with great success and was broadcast on Italia 1 and Top Crime.
In “Bates Motel“, we again find the disturbing Norman Bates, the ‘sick’ figure from Robert Bloch’s novel, already famous for being the protagonist of Hitchcock’s “Psycho”. The series, which airs on Rai Due, explains how he became a terrible killer and viewers love it.
Whether creatures of fantasyor inspired by people who really existed, the world of serial killers is specializing and gaining more then ever the approval of the general public.
