On the trail of serial killers: 9 films and series about brilliant profilers

Who wants exactly the world of thoughts of?know?Profiler, exactly that. The job title doesn't even exist in German criminology. Profilers are the secret superstars in the police or FBI. Sheanalyze crime scenes and know exactly how often the perpetrator made mistakesor what his favorite dish is. The downside? They usually end up on the radar of psychopaths themselves - at least if you do9 series and films about Profiler believes.

Most series and films about profilers (unfortunately) follow a tried and tested pattern. They are brilliant thinkers and analysts, but are on the hunt for murderersInside, they usually become victims or perpetrators themselvesinside become her obsession. This is often predictable, but there are still some series and films that are worth watching. So let's crawl into the heads of serial killers with the following profilers.

Copycatis one of the few really good films about profilers. Dr. Helen Hudson, a renowned psychiatrist and well-known author of books about serial killers, is one day attacked by the brutal killer Daryll Lee Cullum. Traumatized, Helen then completely withdraws into her apartment in San Francisco and avoids any contact with the outside world. Even when the two investigators MJ Monahan and Reuben Goetz ask her for assistance in a series of murders, Helen refuses. But similar cases soon become more frequent, and Helen realizes that she herself is once again in great danger: the murderer follows a certain pattern that she knows all too well, and leaves messages that are addressed directly to her. Helen is faced with the challenge of conquering her fears to face the threat.

The Netflix SeriesMindhunterbased on the bookMind Hunter: Inside The FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unitby John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, which is based on Douglas' experiences as an FBI agent. He is considered the inventor of profiling.
In the late 1970s, FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench want to find out how serial killers think. To do this, they conduct intensive discussions with convicted perpetrators in order to understand their motives and behavioral patterns and to gain insights for current cases. At this time, criminal psychology was still little developed and the term "serial killer" did not yet exist - the FBI was therefore skeptical about the two investigators' unusual project. Ford and Tench finally find support in the psychologist Dr. Wendy Carr, who is furthering her research.

Criminal Mindsreally popularized the concept of criminal psychological profiling. For 12 years and nearly 300 episodes, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit has tracked the work of criminal profilers who probe the darkest depths of American society. The "Behavioral Analysis Unit" (BAU) is a special unit of the FBI that tries to establish a profile of the perpetrator in order to use this profile to solve the case and find the perpetrator. The work of the BAU, which has its headquarters at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, primarily revolves around the psyche of the criminals and not the crime itself. With an appropriate perpetrator profile, the members of the BAU supported their colleagues' investigations and, with their profiles about the perpetrators' motivations, goals and psyche, made an essential contribution to solving the diverse cases - at the same time, they also had to struggle with personal problems.

Even ifCriminal MindsNow considered the standard for series about FBI investigators, it was not the first series to focus exclusively on an FBI-like special unit. Already ran between 1996 and 2000Profiler, a series about Dr. Sam Waters, who worked as an investigator for the Violent Crimes Task Force.Profilermay have laid the foundation for the genre, but it couldn't quite match the depth and excitement of its successor and was soon surpassed by it. History repeats itself like a template in many films and series about Profiler: Agets too close to an investigator, kills her husband and starts a cat-and-mouse game with her while she hunts down other murderers.

The Mentalistis not a profiler, but rather a charlatan. But because these are films and series in which mostly...can be analyzed and he can somehow do that, he still fits into this series. After serial killer Red John kills his wife and daughter, Patrick Jane vows to catch the perpetrator at any cost. Marked by this loss, he gives up his successful career as a supposed medium and publicly admits that his psychic abilities were a fraud. This means he can concentrate fully on his role as an advisor, where he actively helps the team of determined investigator Teresa Lisbon in the hunt for Red John. With his extraordinary eye for details that others miss and his impressive knowledge of human nature, he also solves many other complex murder cases. But he never loses sight of the actual goal:an Red John.

The Silence of the Lambswas a huge hit for Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, who also won an Oscar for their roles. A well-known FBI profiler served as a model. A mass murderer is ravaging the northeastern United States. The killer kidnaps overweight women, keeps them alive for a few days, and finally shoots them and removes their skin. The investigators are faced with a puzzle. Clarice Starling, who is still in training, is led by Dr. Crawford, the head of the FBI's Behavioral Research Division, was sent to the imprisoned cannibal Hannibal Lecter. Crawford hopes she can persuade the former psychiatrist to help identify and find the killer. But he has his own plans and penetrates ever deeper into Clarice's soul.

Between 1968 and 1969 he murderedfive people were confirmed to have survived in the San Francisco area; two other victims survived. In numerous letters, some of which were coded, the murderer sought contact with the press and police and mocked his persecutors.Zodiac – Die Spur des Killersimplements these events. The journalist Robert Graysmith works as a cartoonist for theSan Francisco Chronicle, where the Zodiac Killer's encrypted messages cause quite a stir. The killer demands that his ciphers be published on the front page of the newspaper the next day, otherwise he will run amok. The mysterious killer no longer leaves Graysmith in peace - in his free time he begins to do his own research into the case. He develops an obsession that increasingly takes hold of him.

Ex-cop Lincoln Rhyme, paralyzed after an accident, is asked for help when a serial killer plays a perfidious game of cat and mouse. The perpetrator leaves behind small clues in the form of dismembered bones, which the police are trying to decipher. In the thrillerThe Bone Hunteris Rhyme, a crime scene analysis specialist, working with patrol officer Amelia Donaghy. Connected via a microphone, he guides them in examining the crime scenes. Together they get closer and closer to the murderer. During the investigation, Rhyme gains new life energy, and his former depressive mood gives way to a positive attitude that gives him joy in life again. But his renewed energy also puts him in danger because the murderer is getting closer and closer.

Only one more week until Detective Summerset enters his well-deserved retirement and hands over his position to the young Detective Mills, who has just moved to the city with his wife Trace. On his first day at work, Mills is confronted with a gruesome series of murders. The first victim is a 400-pound man who is found in his apartment with his face in his food. It turns out that he was forced to eat so much that he died of internal bleeding. It quickly becomes clear that the murders follow a certain pattern: Each victim represents one of the seven deadly sins - greed, pride, envy, anger, lust, sloth and excess.Sevenis an exciting thriller whose crime scene scenes are really hard to digest. And then there is the final scene, which is one of the highlights.