A Review of ‘World’s Most Notorious Killers’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS KILLERS -- Pictured: "World's Most Notorious Killers" Key Art -- (Photo by: Peacock)

There are a great many things that fascinate us in this world. For we often wonder why the stars are where they are at, why we are here… and on a more intimate level… why this species is capable of such stunning duality. Because we are beings that are capable of great beauty, and great kindness, and stunning cruelty, and that latter aspect of the human condition, is what fascinates us the most. Simply because we cannot comprehend how someone can become cruel when they are born into this world in the most innocent manner possible, so we pour over how evil is born and that’s given life to some fascinating ways in which to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche.
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Such as the true-crime documentary. Because that allows for us to settle in and learn every detail, we can about crimes that are appalling, that went on for far too long and hopefully, it will explain what creates evil in this world so we can avoid it, be vigilant and perhaps someday… spot it and stop suffering. But alas, there are a bevy of them out there and not all of them take the time to properly explore such matters and answer our deep-rooted questions regarding evil. But thankfully, there are networks working hard to give us explorations that truly dive into the madness that man is capable of, and it just so happens that an incredible one is available on Peacock, starting today.

For earlier, World’s Most Notorious Killers debuted on the streamer, and it truly is… a quintessential true-crime docuseries. In large part because it is grand and sweeping in nature. For it harbors five, super-sized episodes that deeply explore five heinous cases in history and the scope of these episodes is truly impressive. Because each episode leaves no stone unturned regarding the murders in question, and they dive into the aftermath and reactions they engendered as well. Which paints a perfectly terrifying tapestry, one that truly informs us of the cruelty that people are capable of. But what matters more, is that it goes so much deeper than just giving us a re-telling of disgusting crimes.

Because these episodes also explore the lives of the killers, and believe it or not, there are moments where the killer is allowed to speak and that allows for us to dig deep into what drives people to kill, and this is indeed, the most disturbing aspect of the show. Since we learn about how unsettling moments in the past, shattered psyches, and that in turn helped make it easy for some of these monsters to outright commit the worst crimes imaginable. Over, and over, and over again if need be, to satiate their bloodlust. Plus, this in-depth examination of the mind of the killer, helps us to understand the demented thoughts that populate their head and how their actions, detach them from reality.

All of which provides us with the unsettling context we so crave and truly does explore how evil begets evil and how it operates in our world, which is perhaps the most unsettling aspect of this series. Since there are moments in these cases, where it is simply incredible that the offenders managed to evade law enforcement and even baseline logic. Which perhaps we can attribute to the fact that such crimes seem impossible in our minds. But this series goes to show, they are possible, and they happen. Which makes it seem as though perhaps one should in fact, avoid this series, but it is indeed worthwhile and should be seen. Simply because it does satiate that dark curiosity we have about such matters, and it does educate. But above all, it keeps the memory of the victims of these senseless crimes alive, and that is important, since it does rob much of the power these monsters wished to impart upon the innocent.

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