Category Archives: Grisly

2017, Grisly, Jo Nesbo, Netflix Streaming, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Violent

The Snowman (2017)

From IMDB:

Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour film adaptation of one of Jo Nesbo’s serial killer thrillers featuring the damaged detective Harry Hole.

Jo Nesbo has written 13  novels whose main character is the Norwegian Detective Harry Hole.  Harry is a very smart alcoholic with a damaged love life and failed family structure.  Personally I am hooked on his stories.

You know what to expect from an exceptional cast of actors.

2002, Grisly, Horror, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Serial Killer, Violent

Red Dragon (2002)

From IMDB:

A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down “The Tooth Fairy”, a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour complete Hannibal Lecter movie.

Same old, same old, but still fun if you like that sort of horror show.  Somehow at least 7 known actors joined in the fray.

2022, Acceptable for teenagers, America of the 1830s, Attempted Murder, Bizarre, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Creepy, Dark family secrets, Detective, Devil Worship, Drama, Eccentric cast of characters, Fatal Disease, Grisly, Human Sacrifice, Jealousy, Magic, Military Academy, Military School, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Period Piece, Personal Betrayal, Plot Twist, Rape, Rape Victim, Revenge, Suicide, Suspense, Unexpected Ending, Unusual, Violent, Witchcraft

The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

From IMDB:

A world-weary detective is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet. Stymied by the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case – a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe.

From Netflix you can stream this 2 hour 10 minute complete film.

If only for the 1830 period clothing , surroundings and speech patterns, watching this film can be worthwhile.  But the story is clever, the acting is fine, and the plot twist toward the very end is quite unexpected.

Several of the actors are familiar to me:

  • Christian Bale plays the laconic detective Augustus Landor. In the past he played Batman in many Batman films.
  • Toby Jones, who plays Dr. Daniel Marquis, has an unusual physical appearance. Most recently he played Sebold Cusk in “The English”.
  • You might not recognize Robert Duvall who appears briefly as Jean Pepe. His resumé is enormous.
  • Gillian Anderson, who plays Mrs. Julia Marquis, will always be Scully from the “X-Files”.

Harry Melling is a very unusual looking but up-and-coming actor who plays Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).  His physical appearance, especially his face, is so striking that I could only stare. He played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movies.  Will he always be cast in eccentric roles?

Well worth the watch!

2011, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Ageing parent, Amazon Prime Brit Box, Based on a Book, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, British Mystery Series, British Police, Car Chase, Career Criminal, Clever Plot, Complicated, Contract Killing, Corrupt policemen, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Crime thriller, Death of a child, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Eccentric Detective, Emotional abuse, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Fight Scenes, Flirting, Forensics, Gambling, Grim, Grisly, Gritty, Hopeless Love, Human trafficking, Infuriating, Lawyers, Love Story, Mourning, Murder, Murder Trial, Pedophilia, Plot twists, Poker, Police Corruption, Police Culture, Possibly upsetting ending, Psychiatrists, Romance, Sad ending, Single Mother, Suicide, Suspense, Thriller, Trial Scenes, Upsetting ending, Violent

DCI Banks (2011)

From IMDB:

The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.

From Amazon Prime Brit Box (or just independently Brit Box) you can stream 5 seasons of this outstandingly tense British crime series. Almost all complete stories require two consecutive episodes.  All seasons contain 6 episodes (i.e 3 stories) where each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Season 1 contains 7 episodes because the first episode is the pilot called “Aftermath”. PLEASE DO NOT WATCH this episode because it is so ugly that you might not want to watch the rest of the series. Indeed the crimes in all the stories are disturbing but season 1 episode 1 is especially nasty.

Detectives Alan Banks, Annie Cabbot, and Helen Morton are  present throughout.  Alan falls in love with Annie and a constant theme is whether they will ever get together. Alan’s father is always an annoyance. Shaun Dooley plays a wonderfully infuriating evil criminal Steve Richards.

Kathy and I eagerly ploughed through all 30 episodes, exclaiming after each story “Wow!”  In fact in one sitting we always watched two episodes making one complete story.

DO NOT MISS!

2013, 2014, 2016, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Anxiety Attacks, Bloody scenes, Boarding school, Cold Cases, Corrupt Politicians, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cover-up, Crime thriller, Cruelty, Danish, Danish Detectives, Danish Police, Danish TV series, Dark, Disrespect toward women, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, Extremely Violent, Failed Father, False Imprisonment, Father-son relations, Fight Scenes, Flirting, Grim, Grisly, Hunting, Kanopy streaming, Murder, Murder Investigation, Narcissistic Personality, Panic Attacks, Police Culture, Prostitutes, Rape, Revenge, Sadism, Sex Scenes, Sociopath, Suspense, Thriller, Violent

Department Q (2013)

From Kanopy you can stream 3 full-length episodes of this series of intense crime Danish dramas. Unfortunately each episode will cost you one viewing credit.  There are many more Department Q episodes which are not available on Kanopy.

As you learn in the first episode,  chief detective Carl Mørck is such an oddball, that the police assign him to a dead-end job in the basement running Department Q where he is supposed to merely catalog unsolved cases.  Instead, he and his new partner Assad prove to be determined detectives doggedly solving difficult and ugly cases.

  • The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013) 1 hour 36 minutes

Police inspector Carl Mørck is put in charge of a department of cold cases, joined only by his assistant Assad. They dig into a case about a missing woman.

  • The Absent One (2014) 1 hour 59 minutes

The murder of young twins initially implicates a group of upper class students as the killers, though the case takes a turn or two from its starting point.

  • A Conspiracy of Faith (2016) 1 hour 52 minutes

Two intertwined cases linking the past with the present require the aid of Department Q to catch an elusive serial killer while time is running out.

All these stories involve brutal, ugly crimes. If  you can stand the nasty tension, then

DO NOT MISS!

2022, Abduction, Action sequences, Bloody scenes, British Drama, Bullying, Burglars, Creepy, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Failed Father, Failing Marriage, Father-son relations, Fight Scenes, Gay theme, Grisly, Jealousy, Missing Person, Monstrous Father, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Police Investigation, Psychopath, Revenge, Serial Killer, Thriller, Torture, Violent

I Came By (2022)

From IMDB:

Follows a young graffiti artist who discovers a shocking secret that would put him and the ones closest to him in danger.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 50 minute serial killer thriller.

As serial killer stories go, this one is fairly original and never proceeds quite as you might hope or expect. Earlier formulas need not apply.  Try not to get attached to any character in particular because that person might just disappear.

Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame plays the upper-class retired judge serial killer who never seems to lose his composure when threatened by exposure.  If  you want to portray a true psychopath, never show emotion, especially empathy.  Does that make it easier to act in such an acting role?

Will he ever get caught?  If you are  into serial killers, and ONLY if, then DO NOT MISS!

2020, Abduction, Action sequences, Amazon Prime MHz Choice, Bisexual theme, Bizarre Episodes, Clever Plot, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Eccentric Detective, Explicit sex, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, German, Grisly, Happy Family Gatherings, Hostage Taking, Husband leaves wife, Jewish Religious Observance, Kidnapping, Male Chauvinism, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder by Robot, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Physical fighting, Police Investigation, Psychopath, Revenge, Secret Society, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, Unhappy Marriage, Violent

Tatort: Streets of Berlin (2020)

From MHz Choice:

Berlin is sexy, deadly and dangerous, devouring unwitting victims and the cops who walk its streets. In this latest installment of the Tatort franchise, Inspectors Nina Rubin and Robert Karow team up as a uniquely competent and dysfunctional pair.

From MHz Choice directly or through Amazon Prime MHz Choice you can stream the 11 episodes of the only season.  Each episode lasts about 1.5 hours. German with English subtitles.

Robert Karow is a single, smart, sexist, overbearing, bisexual detective that drives Nina Rubin to distraction.  Nina Rubin is separated (temporarily) from her husband while she tries to raise her two sons with great difficulty.

As with most of all the many different Tatort series, the plots are well imagined, the characters of the detectives are distinctive, and the level of tension is palpable.

Tatort Lindholm is better. Nonetheless, once again for a Tatort series:  DO NOT MISS!

2018, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amazon Prime, Amputation as revenge, Amputee, Bloody scenes, Boating, Bullying, Clever Plot, Conspiracy, Controlling personality, Corrupt policemen, Corrupt Politicians, Corruption, Could Be Hard To Watch, Creepy, Dancing, Dark, Dark family secrets, Disturbing Image, Dysfunctional Lives, Eccentric Detective, Ethical struggles, Explicit sexual discussion, False Accusations, False Imprisonment, Father-daughter relations, FBI, Flashbacks, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Gory, Grim, Grisly, Hopeless Love, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Masturbation, Murder, Narcissist, Nuns, Occasional gore, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Prostitute, Psychopath, Revenge, Ruthless Killer, Sex Scenes, Sexual Perversion, Sociopath, Strongly Discouraged, Suicide, Suspense, Unscrupulous drive to power, Upsetting ending, Violent, Well developed plot, Wrongful Arrest

Goliath Second Season 2 (2018)

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From Amazon Prime:

Billy McBride returns to criminal defense, taking on a grisly double murder case. His client is a 16-yearold boy, and Billy’s damn sure he’s innocent. Billy, Patty, and the team fervently build their case in the seedy underworld of Los Angeles. As the murders’ true culprits come to light, the implications reach as far as the mayoral race — and the city’s preeminent billionaire developer.

From Amazon Prime you can stream 4 seasons of this lawyer series.  This review is just for season 2 which consists of 8 episodes where each episode is roughly one hour.

Normally I am recommending films. Here, however, I am strongly warning you that this is a ugly season. For one example, the chief villain amputates limbs from people who offend him.  For another example, one of the chief’s underlings suffers from “eroticized childhood trauma”, in which he can only get sexual pleasure from watching someone sooth an amputated limb. Heard enough?

To further clinch my discouraging review,   although some of the criminals suffer their just punishments, several innocent people are falsely imprisoned or killed.  As a final nail in this season’s coffin is that I purposely reveal that the chief villains succeed gloriously in their crimes and are so clever that they escape prosecution.

On the positive side (really?) the plot, good acting, detailed clever deceptions, utter evil of the conspirators, and the interactions of multiple characters make the story grimly watchable.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!  STRONGLY DISCOURAGED!

2009, Abandoned child, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Amazon Prime, Bad Acting, Bloody scenes, British, British Mystery Series, Bullying, Child abuse, Could Be Hard To Watch, Emotional child abuse, Father-son relations, Grim, Grisly, Narcissistic Personality, Occasional gore, Pedophilia, Psychopath, Rape, Sadism, Serial Killer, Suspense, Unloved Child, Violent

Above Suspicion (2009)

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From Amazon Prime:

Does rookie detective Anna Travis have what it takes to succeed in what is still mostly a man’s world? Based on the bestselling novels by Lynda La Plante, this hit British police drama is a “younger, sassier successor to Prime Suspect” (The Telegraph, U.K.)

From Amazon Prime you can stream seasons 1 and 2 of the 4 existing seasons. Season 1 consists of 2 episodes lasting roughly an hour each. Season 2 consists of 3 episodes each lasting about 45 minutes.

“Grim” is the word that immediately comes to mind.  An effort was made to present some really gory scenes.  Fortunately the two stories offer plots that are good enough to warrant watching. Fortunately, I say, because the lead detective DCS James Langton is played by Ciarán Hinds who as a loud ham of an actor is a bit hard to take.  His sidekick opponent Anna Travis learns to stand up to Langton’s offish bullying.

Gory but watchable.

2017, Abandoned child, Adopted child, Adultery, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Brother-Brother relations, Character Driven, Clever Plot, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, French, Grisly, Marital Infidelity, Mother-son relations, Netflix Streaming, Prison, Serial Killer, Suspense

La Mante (2017)

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From Netflix:

Faced with a series of grisly unsolved murders, a police commissioner turns to imprisoned serial killer Jeanne Deber and her estranged son for help.

From Netflix you can stream the only season of this French serial killer story.  Each of the 6 episodes lasts about an hour. French audio with English subtitles.

Jeanne Deber is an imprisoned serial killer.  Now someone who has studied her crimes is a copy cat who reproduces her murders in exact detail.  Damien Deber, her estranged son, has been enlisted to work with his mother to find the copy cat.  Possibly Jeanne’s intuitions will help the authorities.

Damien is a tortured soul (who always looks tortured)  whose personal relations are equally tortured.  More than just another serial killer series,  this highly inventive story centers around family, friends, and a past filled with secrets.  Jeanne Deber is a beautiful but stone-faced mystery woman.

Warning; the murders are very, very, very grisly. If you can get past those sights, then

DO NOT MISS!