Our thoughts on the Netflix crime documentary featuring Dennis Nilsen.
Known of one of Britain’s worst serial killers, the Nielsen Tape documentary was able to effectively compare archival footage to acting. The documentary focused heavily on the investigation itself, leaving very memorable dialogue from detectives and Nilsen himself. Although I found the Netflix movie slow paced, the story was still able to maintain unpredictability. I felt a mixture of emotions towards Dennis Nilsen, although he was deemed rational in his head by investigators, the thought that “love and death are one” was quite unsettling. The attitude and mannerisms of Nilsen, the calm and collected persona he portrayed, gave an eerie and chilling sensation; he truly was a killer who felt zero remorse and was pleased by their acts. His story has me suspecting that Nilsen thought that his actions were moral and justified, when in reality, he was a full fledged serial killer with premeditated deaths. Although one cannot deem another categorized by a textbook, it is remarkable how much Nielsen’s mindset fits the classic stereotypes of sociopath; he was a shaped from those around him which ultimately affected the way he perceived the world in his adulthood. I would love for them to interview those who worked alongside Nilsen in his “regular” life, but overall, I would end with saying this work showed the true capability of a necrophilic killer.
His point of view, also influenced by intense rage, after the death of his grandfather, led him to believe death and love to be one and the same. This, of course, impacted his mindset and emotions. Nilsen was angry at British society's discriminatory approach to homosexuality, displaying his frustration at the general perception of his sexual identity. Nilsen was a true psychopath, but his—seemingly—calm personality led others to believe he would not do any harm. Nilsen told his story with detail, displaying his lack of emotion towards his actions—he was able to justify his actions, and perhaps even take pride in them. Nilsen's trauma, appearing after being molested by a family member, his grandfather, contributed to his views on both himself, and others. Because of his grandfather's actions, Nilsen believed that the two shared a special bond, leading to the emotional turmoil he was struck with after hearing of his grandfather's death. This may have been the start to his lonesome, and dark, future.
Overall, I found the documentary really intriguing as it was mainly told through Nilsen’s own words. I would say that Nilsen pleading not guilty definitely surprised me, as there was so much evidence indicating that he was guilty of the horrific crimes. I also noticed some interesting similarities between serial killers that were present in Nilsen. For example, like the Golden State Killer who was a police officer, Nilsen had also held a position in law enforcement in the past. It’s also interesting that Nilsen was described as a loner but also appeared somewhat “charming” to his victims (Ted Bundy was also like this). From this documentary, I also became more aware on how prevalent homophobia was and still is in the UK and that as many of Nilsen’s victims were homosexual, they were ignored by law enforcement and their concerns disregarded.
One of the most chilling aspects of the Nilsen Tapes for me was that the tapes were authentic recordings of Nilsen himself, and not cinematographically dramaticized, and they portrayed no regrets whatsoever, which admittedly, despite being a generic sign of psychopathy, is a horrifying realization on its own.
This in turn, brings rise to the nature vs nurture debate for me: how much of that psychopathy was a programming of his genes, and how much of it was nurtured by his environment? This was a question made even more eminent for me not only when the series explored the abuse he went through under his grandfather but also the sheer disconnect and miscommunication with his mother (and the rest of civilized population, barring his grandfather of course), and him identifying as a homosexual in an era such as the 1950s-60s.
Cases like Dennis Nilsen’s shed light on important and often-ignored questions such as requirements needed to send an individual over the brink to actual psychopathy (and if it can be nurtured in the first place). These cases also seek to answer how much of an impact individual dispositions can have in the development of a psychopath.
Review by Emmaline, Elise, Angelica and Aiman
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