Mindhunter is a remarkable show that truly caught me by surprise. It managed to hook me from the very start to the last second. It caught my interest when we saw a naked man shoot himself in the head with a shot gun in the first 5 minutes, and managed to keep it with it’s absorbing scenes of the FBI interviewing psychopaths. Mindhunter is a show that excels at not just solving crimes in a unique way, but seeing how crime and the study of it slowly breaks a person down. (This review will have no spoilers)

The show is about the exploits FBI Agent Holden Ford as he and the Behavioral Science Unit attempt to understand the criminal psyche. There are many things I can say about Mindhunter, so let me start with the simple parts. The show has an absolutely amazing soundtrack that you just look forward to in every episode. I know every song or score I heard in the show brought a smile to my face because it truly enhanced every scene. I couldn’t imagine half of the show being as good as it was without the music to add tension or gravitas. The visuals are also nothing special until we get to our first interview with a serial killer. The desaturated colors coupled with the slow zoom ins just fit so perfectly to make each scene grim and interesting

The characters in Mindhunter are just absolutely fascinating as well. From the members of the Behavioral Science Unit to the very criminals they’re struggling to understand. The two characters that I think stand on top are Holden Ford and Ed Kemper. We see Ford’s fascination with the criminal mind slowly but surely turn him paranoid and cold. It’s character progression like this that makes the show so great. It focuses much less on getting a new case in and solved every episode and more on seeing how each character is affected by the criminals they study. Ed Kemper was interesting in every scene he was in, and he was both oddly charismatic but incredibly creepy. The relationship–if you can call it that– he had with Ford was very interesting and made the final episode of the series just amazingly emotional.

Lastly though, I think what makes Mindhunter a truly great show is it’s ability to make the most basic of dialogue fascinating. A majority of this show was about interviewing serial killers, and using psychology to understand them. A premise like that can get boring very fast, but the writers and actors pulled it off. The dialogue was gripping and the actors could have easily made it sound cheesy but they captured the disturbing reality of what they were saying so well. Even all the criminal psychology jargon was interesting and easy to understand. The series made the most technical of conversations an absolute joy to listen to and had me eager for more every time a conversation ended.

Mindhunter is not the average crime show in my opinion. It’s a strong crime drama that manages to push the envelope on the genre and leaves you hungry for more. I know I’ll definitely be checking Netflix daily for the next season of this captivating show.