HH Holmes: Original Evil, 2018
This documentary explores the legacy of HH Holmes, a man considered to be "America's first serial killer". The film discusses the myth versus the reality, and addresses several rumors about Holmes, specifically the idea that he might have been Jack the Ripper.
Okay, so at some point someone needs to explain the sunk-cost fallacy to the part of my brain that insists on watching films like this to the end.
On the positive side, I appreciated that the filmmakers seemed to have done a decent chunk of research. I also appreciated that they address from the very beginning that Holmes seems to have been determined to build up his own mythology, and that it's important not to get swept up in outlandish rumors.
Only then . . . the film gets swept up in outlandish rumors. The problem with making a film about a subject like Holmes, is that most people are going to show up for the gory details about his various murders. Wanting to give the "real story", yet unwilling to let go of some of the more salacious stories, the film instead tries to have things both ways: devoting several minutes to a particular account of a murder or to the theory about Holmes being the Ripper, only to then back up and say, "Well, but you know, it's probably not true."
The other thing that bugged me here was the film's insistence on using both really amateurish CGI for no apparent reason---such as CG images of the hotel or a street. The film is also peppered with live reenactments, but they consist of things like a terrified woman cowering in a clearly modern bathroom, wearing clearly modern clothing. It's just very bizarre. Like they just wanted to give the
idea of a sex-based crime.
I just . . . .meh.
Oh, wow. LOL. The film has a 1.8 rating on IMDb. Ouch. And the lead trivia item is "Do not waste your time. Worst "documentary" ever".
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