Review of Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003) by Alex S — 12 Mar 2009

I was completely glued to the screen watching this documentary. I personally find the subject of Serial Killers fascinating,and i'm forever looking for in depth studies into there behavior. What makes them tick ? why would they ? how could they ? are questions that constantly intrigue me.

When something this good comes along,i can't help but be drawn to it. This is such a powerful documentary,showing the last days leading up to Wuornos execution. This was the second time film maker Broomfield interviewed Wuornos,having already made a documentary of her life 20 years ago,when she was originally on trial.

This time,knowing her death was around the corner,she felt the need to come clean and reveal all. Broomfield is asked to testify in Wuornos's final appeal,and the footage of his original documentary was used as evidence to try and show that the original trial was a hoax.

The real meat of the doc is when he interviews Wournos for the second time,you can't help but pity this women,who finally admits responsibility for her actions. A person who admits to lying on trial before.

The sincerity in her face is genuine. I found this so compelling,and was gripped from the start. My only gripe,on a otherwise outstanding documentary,was Broomfield himself,the mans monotone voice irritated me,sounding much like an 80s news corespondent.

Apart from that,this was superb.