How 'Mindhunter' sends chills down the spine with these seven dialogues by Cameron Britton as serial killer Edmund Kemper
David Fincher's 'Mindhunter' peeks into the minds of serial offenders and offers a new perspective on whether they do have a human side at all. What's fascinating is how the show actually involves viewers into grisly and gory crimes by means of a simple, sinless slice of dialogues. A major part of the crime-thriller series is set within four walls as FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) interview serial offenders in the show. Without graphic visuals, the series makes a successful attempt to strike terror with repartee, retort, and expression.
Highlighting how the conversations between characters were integral to the show, Fincher said, "For me, the conversations are obviously the lifeblood of the work they're doing... But it's also a power struggle. It's an elaborate... game of chess." Even without showing the actual crime, dialogues disclose it all. It begins right from the scene of serial killer Edmund Kemper's introduction.
In Bill's class, Ford is first introduced to Kemper as, "Ed Kemper, they call him the co-ed killer. Six teenage girls, he chops off their heads right off, has sexual intercourse with the corpses." As Ford expresses his disgust, his partner continues, "Kills his mom with a claw hammer, has sexual intercourse with her head."
Well, that was just the beginning. Cameron Britton brought life into the character as he came on the screen. With just the right gestures and hollow look, Ed Kemper comes across as a witty and intelligent man, one that neither Ford nor the viewers had imagined. The first time his dominance comes into the picture is when he ask Holden: "Would you like an egg salad sandwich?" Here are seven other dialogues that will you jump out of your skin.
"Why are you so tense? You're tense right now." — Season one, episode two
Even as Ford defends himself saying that he isn't tensed, Kemper leaves no stone unturned to overpower him. Just with a simple sentence, he disarms the FBI agent and shows how he can scan his persona in just one meeting.
"You see, Bill, I knew a week before she died I was gonna kill her. She went out to a party, she got soused, she came home alone. I asked her how her evening went. She just looked at me. She said, 'For seven years.' She said, 'I haven't had sex with a man because of you, my murderous son.' So I got a claw hammer and I beat her to death. Then I cut her head off, and I humiliated her. And I said, 'There, now you've had sex.' If there's one thing I know, it's this: A mother should not scorn her own son. If a woman humiliates her little boy, he will become hostile, and violent, and debased. Period." — Season one, episode two
It's all in his eyes. The way he utters every word tells more than anything.
"When you slit a person's throat, you need to cut it ear to ear in order to sever the windpipe and the jugular so that they bleed and suffocate at the same time." — Season one, episode two
The way Kemper traces Ford's neck will make you imagine like it just happened before you. It is this magic of words that no graphic presentation can replace.
"I visited there to be near her because I loved her and wanted her. I've never been much to look at myself, but I've always gone after the pretty girls, bet you're the same." — Season one, episode two
Through his words, Ed Kemper makes a sly move to tell Bill that even as he did visit a woman at the murder site, he is no different from the human that Bill is.
"People who hunt other people for a vocation. All we want to talk about is what its like. Shit that went down. The entire fucked-upness of it. It's not easy butchering people its hard work. Physically and mentally it's hard work. People don't realize, you need to vent." — Season one, episode two
The ease with which Kemper communicates simply bowls over Bill and Holden.
"No. My point is, in reality, it doesn't work the way you expect. When you stab somebody they're supposed to fall dead. They go, 'Oh,' and they fall dead, right? In reality, when you stab somebody, they lose blood pressure and they leak to death, very slowly." — Season one, episode two
Can't you imagine it all like a movie playing inside your head?
"I invited you many times to visit, but even with this, I never thought you'd actually come. Why are you here, Holden?" — Season one, episode ten
Taking advantage of his vulnerability, Kemper comes close to Ford and hugs him in an attempt to strangulate him. But, it is his words and his husky voice that haunts minds for days to come.
The dialogues let your imagination do the work and help create a mental picture in the head, don't they?
As the first trailer shows Charles Manson, Atlanta murders, more eerie cases and psycho fantasies, season two of 'Mindhunter' is all set to premiere on Netflix on August 16, 2019.
