It’s surely the case that the most effective trailer is one that shows us very little, but fully prepares us for what we’re about to experience. In that sense, the new trailer for upcoming Netflix series Mindhunter is very effective indeed. It provides only the briefest of glimpses of footage between long shots of a growing, blood-red ink blot, while chilling dialogue clips tease our ears. This promotional snippet leaves us in no doubt whatsoever – this thing is going to get very dark, very quickly.
That’s hardly surprising, given the subject matter, and the professional histories of those bringing the series to the screen. It’s based upon the book Mind Hunter: Inside The FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, which was written by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Douglas is a legend in the field of behavioural science, and is widely held as being an early pioneer of the psychological profiling of criminals. In his 25 years as a Special Agent, Douglas spent time interviewing a vast range of violent offenders – including John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and Sirhan Sirhan. He’s so highly regarded, in fact, that the character of Jack Crawford in The Silence Of The Lambs was based on him, along with the character of Jason Gideon in Criminal Minds.
Douglas receives credit as a writer on Mindhunter (along with The Road’s Joe Penhall), which means the show has factual expertise and accuracy built right in. Then, there is David Fincher – the filmmaker that put himself on the cinematic map with such desolate vistas as were found in Alien 3 and Seven, and who continued to deliver disturbing snapshots of violence in films such as Zodiac, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl. Fincher brings this series to Netflix as both director and producer, along with co-producer Charlize Theron, who won her acting Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003’s Monster.
All things considered, this trailer is effectively a warning that we should brace for impact. We’re about to become closely acquainted with the inner workings of violent minds, in new and unsettling ways, courtesy of talented people that have been acquainted with the same for decades already. Starring Jonathan Groff (Glee), Holt McCallany (Sully), and Anna Torv (Fringe), Mindhunter arrives in October – just in time for Halloween…