IslandGuru
Who payed the critics
Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
ski-32802
He may be the first documented serial killer but the Law of Probability suggests that there were serials in America since almost the founding. I just don't think it's ethical to say he was the first one. According to former chief of the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, John Douglas, there are 25 to 50 active serial killers in the United States at any given moment. Today. It's not unreasonable to believe that the same wasn't true since the founding. There will always be, unfortunately,those people who prey on others
grumblinggargoyle
First off, I usually love documentaries, and am fascinated by the story of H. H. Holmes. My partner is always teasing me about watching 'boring' shows, and how I tend to become so transfixed by what's being portrayed that I never notice things like one of the cats eating off my plate or drinking from my glass. This documentary did NOT live up to expectations. Honestly, it played out like the kind of show that gives documentaries a bad name--the kind my old schools usually showed when the class had been too rowdy. The main problem I had with it, I think, was the narrator. He had a great voice, but spoke completely impassively--not much fluctuation in tone or volume, and with the kind of dry manner that gives the impression he was completely bored out of his skull. As mentioned in the title, this put me straight to sleep, TWICE. Other than the dull, dry manner of narration, the film was pretty good. It had lots of interesting information that I'd not found in my online reading about Holmes, and I loved how they followed along the floor-plans whenever they could, in relating incidents. Holmes was a complete nut-job, to say the least, and even my partner was disturbed by some of what Holmes did--Eric isn't easily disturbed. So overall, it was a good film, but probably won't be watching it again unless I have an early start the next day and can't sleep.
David Satterlee
...at least they didn't have to sit through this piece of garbage!Take an interesting subject and present it with the directorial finesse of a mentally retarded 12-year-old on Quaaludes who's just been handed a video camera and you'll come up with something pretty close to this pseudo-documentary. I'm not sure what was more entertaining, the fake mustaches in imminent danger of falling off during the reenactments or trying to count the number of different ways the director tried to use the same three pictures of the perpetrator.And let's not forget the 1,914 uses of the closing-iris-fade-to-black effect (not sure what it's called but if you managed to get through at least 10 minutes of this cinematic abortion then you'll know what I'm referring to.) Perhaps the best use of "H.H. Holmes - America's First Serial Killer" would be as a primer on how *not* to edit a movie.Look up "amateurish" in the dictionary and it'll lead you to HHH-AFSK. Those with in interest in the exploits of the good doctor would be best served to read Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" or, at the very least, to look him up on Wikipedia.Ugh...I think I need to go take a shower.
Syl
Who says you have to spend so much money to make a good quality film, well you don't. John Borowski's documentary on the notorious Dr. H. H. Holmes born as Herman Mudgett is a perfect example. It's creepy and reminds you of the golden days of good thriller films where it didn't take much to scare the life out of you. The story of Dr. Holmes should not be forgotten. The reenactments are not that graphic or bloody. I like the fact that Tony Jay narrated the documentary. He was wonderful. John Borowski is an up and coming director from Chicago where the house of horrors and part of Dr. Holmes' crimes took place. Nobody could imagine the horror not even by reading Harold Schechter's book, Depraved, about his crimes. Schechter gives great commentary but I think he could have been used more regarding his knowledge of information. The forensics specialist came off kind of too detailed for the average person. The criminal profiler reminded me of Chris Parnell with blonde hair. He kind of had a good sense of humor despite the horror. I recommend watching the behind the scenes the making of the documentary. It's well documented and looks 100 percent professional.
