Sneha Jaiswal's Blog

The Mighty Nein Episode 1 Review: Begins With a Bold Heist and Explosions

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Look, I didn’t know anything about ‘Critical Role,’ the Dungeons & Dragons show, and ended up watching episode one of ‘The Mighty Nein,’ which is based on Critical Role’s second D&D campaign, because its live premiere showed up on my home page. But it turned out to be an entertaining impromptu watch and I am going to follow this dark fantasy show!

Titled ‘Mote of Possibility’, the pilot episode of ‘The Mighty Nein’ kicks off with the dramatic death of a royal and a daring heist of a precious relic called ‘the beacon’. The theft leads to a violent chase, and sets the stage for an imminent war between two Kingdoms.

A mysterious explosion along the border, and a bunch of brutally mangled bodies at the scene offer few clues into what might’ve happened. Powerful magicians, wicked wizards, scheming thieves, and a whole bunch of misfits and mysterious characters are introduced in the pilot.

The animation is engaging, though a wider color palette and brighter daytime scenes could have made it feel even more visually vivid. A goblin character called ‘Nott the Brave’ reminded me of Best Boy from Teen Titans, while Caleb Widogast, an asocial wizard voiced by Liam O’Brien, sounded a lot like Trevor Belmont from Castlevania.

Overall, the first episode of ‘Mighty Nein’ is fast-paced, packed with action, and filled with so many events that it’s hard to make out what the primary conflict is based on the first half. But toward the second half of the chapter, a clearer plot emerges: the stolen ‘beacon’ is a powerful relic that can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.

In just one episode, wars are triggered, political conspiracies and traitors uncovered, and a few new interesting alliances formed. How the main characters fit into the scheme of things will only become clearer in the coming episodes. Even if you haven’t seen ‘Critical Role’, but are a fan of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’, this animated show promises to be a wild ride.

Watch ‘The Mighty Nein’ on Prime Video. Episode 1 is available on YouTube.

Also Read: ‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ Review: 2025’s Best Horror Anime (Audio Version Below)

Baramulla (2025) Review: A Kidnapping Mystery That Opens Darker Doors

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

On a snow-cold day in Kashmir’s Baramulla, a magician promises to make a child vanish before a bored crowd. A politician’s son volunteers to enter his wooden box and disappears for real, leading to the poor magician’s arrest for kidnapping, but the police find no answers about the boy’s whereabouts.

Created by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and Aditya Dhar, the 2025 film ‘Baramulla’ stars Manav Kaul (Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper, The Fame Game) as DSP Ridwaan Sayyed, who starts to investigate the case, only to realize more children are going missing in the region, and the mystery may not be as simple as it seems. Meanwhile, his wife Gulnaar Sayyed (Bhasha Sumbli) and their children begin experiencing supernatural occurrences in their new home, which may or may not have something to do with the missing cases.

A parallel sub-plot of ‘Baramulla’ follows a young man called Khalid (Ashwini Koul) befriending children and indoctrinating them into joining militancy. So was the child kidnapped by militants, or the magician, or something else entirely? Well, there’s significant mystery through the runtime over the missing children’s fate, which reminded me a little of the horror film ‘Weapons’, but except for the missing children, the two works are a world apart.

Manav Kaul’s Ridwaan Sayyed is portrayed as a hardworking, honest officer still carrying the PTSD of an old anti-terror operation, the details of which remain deliberately vague until the final half hour. Despite his professional competence, Ridwaan struggles at home, especially with his teenage daughter Noorie (Arista Mehta), who is dealing with the trauma of surviving a violent hostage situation. His refusal to confront her emotional turmoil becomes a key fault line in the narrative, subtly showing how parental inaction can push vulnerable children toward dangerous influences and manipulative adults.

Children become the symbolic battleground in ‘Baramulla’, either steered toward healing through timely adult intervention, or left to be weaponised by those with darker agendas. The Sayyed home itself embodies this conflict, haunted by spirits that are both vengeful and protective, delivering blood-soaked justice in the final act while hinting that the cycle can still be broken.

All the child actors are fantastic in the film, including actor Rohaan Singh who plays Manav’s younger son Ayaan. The little boy discovers a concealed box in his new home, leading him to befriending a creepy new friend, keeping viewers worried about the child’s fate.

The sprawling house framed by a bleak winter delivers some eerie atmosphere, but no real standout scares. The ghosts’ origins come off a bit contrived too. I went into ‘Baramulla’ expecting solid horror, but the story morphs into a political-social commentary that never quite provides the chills genre fans might anticipate.

A striking visual motif throughout the film is that of a blooming tulip, an unusual sight amid the snow, symbolizing that something in the region’s natural order has gone awry. Yet, the flower blooming out of season also seems to signify hope and life even where you least expect it.

In its two-hour runtime, ‘Baramulla’ attempts to thread together several themes, ultimately suggesting a dual message: that the region’s violence and distrust stem from long-standing disharmony, yet there remains hope for peace if future generations are guided with compassion rather than fear.

Ultimately, the film offers an intriguing blend of genres set against the haunting beauty of Kashmir, weaving together themes of militancy, violence, religion, and the supernatural. I’d give the creators brownie points for mashing themes that aren’t generally seen together.

Rating: 7 on 10. Watch ‘Baramulla’ on Netflix.

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Ek Chatur Naar (2025) Review – Blackmail Comedy Held by Dumb Luck

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘Ek Chatur Naar’ follows a poor but “clever” single mother Mamta (Divya Khosla Kumar), who blackmails a wealthy govt contractor called Abhishek (Neil Nitin Mukesh), after getting hold of his phone and a compromising video. Unaware of his power and influence, she soon finds herself caught in a dangerous game, as he tries to have her arrested.

Now the makers of ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ want us to believe protagonist Mamta is an incredibly clever woman. But the writers put in minimal effort to prove her wit, instead, it’s a series of lucky co-incidences that help her outwit the influential Abhishek. Case in point: in the first act, she hires someone to steal a phone in a place crawling with CCTV cameras, then creates a spectacle by chasing the thief. It’s less “smart woman outwits rich man” and more “luck saves her again.”

Or here’s a better example: she sends a note (you can consider it a blackmail note) through her son to a woman at a lavish wedding. Where for no real reason, except for cinematic effect, the servers are dressed in cheap masquerade masks. Again, a place filled with cameras. Why would you risk your son like that? Luckily for her, the woman believes the note is from someone else and does nothing to verify the source. Essentially, Mamta is pitted against a bunch of questionably dumb individuals.

Divya Khosla in EK Chatur Naar

The few fun elements exist in the first half of the film, like digs at melodramatic, exaggerated Hindi soap-serial, which Mamta loves to watch with her mother-in-law (Chhaya Kadam), who by the way has a drinking problem. So the family might be drowning in debts, but cannot do without drowning in their daily pegs either, since Mamta loves to join her saas with her own glass.

Mamta’s son Sonu (Abaan Imran Mughal) is forced to spend most of his time cooped up at home, out of school, because they’re all being targeted by violent loan sharks. Why her late husband left the family with huge debts isn’t explained, at least, not until it’s too late to care.

Neil Nitin Mukesh is entertaining as the greedy, corrupt, and politically connected Abhishek, whose main source of income seems to be fudging accounts and misappropriating funds. He’s meant to be a crafty cookie, but the character is dumbed down into a comedic caricature who behaves exactly as Mamta predicts.

The filmmakers should’ve embraced full-blown exaggerated comedy for ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ to draw genuine laughs. But in its current form, it’s neither funny enough nor convincing enough. As a viewer, you go into the film expecting a dark comedy, not a mystery. Yet the writers hold back crucial details only to spring them as last-minute twists, turning the film into a makeshift thriller. The sudden shift feels jarring, especially since those revelations could’ve made the story far more engaging if introduced earlier.

By the 90th minute of ‘Ek Chatur Naar’, I was bored out of my mind and chose to take a nap before resuming streaming. So I did watch this over-dragged 144 minute long movie, and it delivers one or two ‘clever’ twists, but feels extremely contrived than satisfactory. The title song sung by Kailash Kher, an upbeat number with energetic beats, is probably the only really entertaining ingredient of this film.

Rating: 1 star on 5. ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ is on Netflix.

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10 Dance Trailer: Ryoma Takeuchi, Keita Machida Burn the Floor

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After playing a charming sessions guitarist for a band called TenBlank in ‘Glass Heart’, Keita Machida (‘Cherry Magic’, ‘Yu Yu Hakusho’) stars as Shinya Sugiki, a statesque ballroom dancer in ’10 Dance’, an ‘enemies to lovers’ romance based on the manga series of the same name by Satoh Inoue. Actor Ryoma Takeuchi of ‘Kamen Rider’ fame, plays his rival and romantic interest Shinya Suzuki.

Directed by Keishi Otomo (Rurouni Kenshin, The Vulture), the official trailer for 10 Dance opens with a flashy ballroom moment, as narrator Suzuki (Ryoma Takeuchi), a fiery artist excelling in Latin American dance, pulls viewers into the competitive world of rhythm, music, and movement.

The story centers on Suzuki’s rivalry with standard ballroom dancer Sugiki, as the two prepare to face off in a competition. However, the two first train together, giving them a chance to get closer than is comfortable.

Ironically, just hours before the trailer dropped, I was reflecting on how most Japanese BL dramas operate on modest budgets while reviewing ‘Journey to Killing You‘ (also a BL based on a manga). Then along comes 10 Dance trailer, with Ryoma Takeuchi and Keita Machida waltzing through a Netflix production that is evidently lavish, sleek, and richly choreographed.

In under two minutes, the trailer delivers an exciting promise of a drama that’s packed with heat, fire, dance, music, and passion. Ryoma Takeuchi stands out in the teaser, debuting a dirty blonde look, playing the fiery Suzuki with the requisite energy of a Manga protagonist!

Keita Machida has very few lines in the trailer, but looks fabulous as a graceful, dashing Ballroom dance. One can already sense the chemistry between the leads from the trailer and I cannot wait to watch the film when it comes out. ’10 Dance’ is set for a December 18th release, and hopefully, there shouldn’t be any delays!

Watch the trailer on YouTube, it’s also below.

Journey to Killing You Series Review (2025)

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Unlike metaphorical drama titles that don’t necessarily deliver what they mean, Japanese series ‘Journey to Killing You’ is literally all about a young man’s secret mission to kill his boss.

Based on Asai Sai’s manga Anata wo Korosu Tabi, the six-episode live-action series stars Takahashi Hiroto as Odajima, a young yakuza henchman assigned to protect his boss’s stepbrother, Kataoka Kinji (Wada Masanari), who’s been sent into hiding on a remote island. Unbeknownst to Kataoka, Odajima’s real mission is to kill him, but as the two grow closer, Odajima’s resolve begins to crumble. Will he pull the trigger or not? 

The charming Kataoka is  the illegitimate son of a powerful Yakuza boss, favored by most, so he is targeted by his jealous brother, Kirii Keito (Yuya Shintaro), who fears their dying father might pass on the criminal empire to the illegitimate heir. In a little twist, Odajima has his own personal vendetta to fulfill, which is explained through flashbacks. 

‘Journey to Killing You’ is a fast-paced, guilty-pleasure romance that thrives on the clashing personalities of its leads: Kataoka, who is flamboyant, confident, carefree, influential, and forced to go into hiding with the gloomy, asocial, exhauted, emotionally spent Odajima.

It’s got the existential angst, trauma, sadness of shows like ‘Happy of the End’, combined with the sunny setting of beach romances. So the story is a vivid mix of the dark, violent, blood-laden world of crime, splashing against the sun, sand, sea, and Hawaiian shirts. One second Kataoka might be sipping beer by the beach, the other he’d be fighting for his last breath after a fatal gunshot wound.

Most of ‘Journey to Killing You’ is driven by actor Wada Masanari’s easy charisma as protagonist Kataoka, whose rich voice is tailor-made of Manga protagonists. The first episode establishes him as a creepy, powerful gangster with little regard for others. It’s a shocking opener, an over-the-top scene that borders on the absurd, but then, this is a Yakuza romance adapted from a manga, where slight exaggeration comes with the territory. And as more chapters unfold, both the viewer and Odajima see new layers of Kataoka, ones that stretch beyond a simple black-and-white dangerous gangster. 

Takahashi Hiroto’s portrayal of the poker-faced Odajima is on point, his face giving little away at any given point, so one never knows if he really would pull the trigger on Kataoka. Fleeting flashbacks through ‘Journey to Killing You’ reveal Odajima’s abusive, traumatic childhood, after which he joins the Yakuza, and then loses his only friend Asahi (Hori Kaito) to gang violence. 

The tension between Kataoka and his stepbrother Kirii deserved greater focus, as their feud serves as the driving force behind the story’s main conflict. Yuya Shintaro, though given limited screen time, effectively portrays Kirii’s insecurity and ruthless ambition to control his father’s criminal empire. Kataoka’s growing popularity among the younger ranks of the organization clearly fuels his resentment.

It’s evident that Journey to Killing You was made on a modest budget. This isn’t a flashy, big-ticket production, but the creators still deliver a visually engaging story supported by a memorable soundtrack, including an upbeat opening theme. The series could have benefited from one or two more episodes to develop its characters further. Then again, perhaps it’s the short, crisp runtime that makes it so watchable.

There isn’t any Japanese live-action series quite like ‘Journey to Killing You’, so if you’re looking for some fresh material, this is a show worth checking out. 

Watch ‘Journey to Killing You’ on GagaOolala. 

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https://youtu.be/CarFc9fKBUI

Concrete Short Film Review: Odd Orwellian Slice of Sci-Fi Horror

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Written and directed by Eli Vidis Newman, short film ‘Concrete’ is only about 15 minutes long, so I feel like writing anything about it might tread on spoiler territory. It popped up on my YouTube feed and was uploaded by ‘Dust’, a channel known for showcasing short sci-film. I went in blind and was thrilled to be served some dystopian existential horror (not the supernatural kinds).

‘Concrete’ is essentially a retro-futuristic tale set in an oppressive world where everybody is fitted with a neurological implant on their forehead. While it’s never stated explicitly in the film, one can safely assume this device is a way of authoritarian control and keep track of the masses.

Henry Fulton Winship plays the protagonist, an ordinary working man, simply heading out to work, when he is attacked by a stranger, upending his reality. While veteran actor Ed Harris plays a Yoda-sort of wise-old-man who guides Ed through his struggles with a philosophical pep talk.

The opening scene instantly reminded me of the Vision from Marvel, because, you know, he has a infinity stone on his head. But there are no superheroes here, just a regular worker, content with his drab life, until someone tears away his implant, throwing his mind into deep chaos.

Some bits of Concrete felt like you’re watching a horror film: it’s creepy and unsettling. showcasing how people are willing to be mindless sheep, just to ‘fit in’ with the rest. The climax wraps the short film with a deep, depressing ending, where even after discovering a sense of individuality, the lead chooses to go back to his old life, pretending nothing has changed. So what’s even the point?

This is worth a watch for those looking for offbeat sci-fi movies, with a touch of the absurd.

Watch ‘Concrete’ on YouTube.

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Exorcism Island Issue 1 Review: Priests Vs Demons, a Tense Round 1

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

The first few panels of ‘Exorcism Island’ instantly brought to mind the horror series ‘Midnight Mass’, which also centers on terrifying events unfolding on an isolated island after the arrival of a charismatic priest. But in Jordan Thomas’s comic, the twist comes early: two priests fly to a remote island already overrun by the possessed. Hence, the literal title.

No time’s wasted in setting up the basic premise of this horror comic book series. Colorful panels introduce a priest aboard a flight, a memory of a young woman clearly possessed by something Satanic, a flashback of him reporting his experience at the Vatican, and a present panel showing a small plane headed to an ‘evil place’ somewhere in the Caribbean. Of course, the reader is meant to assume it’s the Exorcism Island.

This is the opening scene of ‘Exorcism Island’

I thought this was a fantastic first issue for a horror comic, where the creator pits a small posse of priests against a group of the possessed on ‘Exorcism Island’. Sure, the story uses familiar tropes, like foul-mouthed demons riling up God-fearing priests with expletives, but it also has some entertaining fresh twists.

The colorful artwork is animated and engaging, and I love how the comic book uses different colors for different timelines and settings. This helps avoid confusion and readers don’t have to scratch their heads over what is happening when. For instance, the scenes on the exorcism island are drenched in fiery orange shades, at least for this first issue.

Among the primary characters is Father Amato, a young priest skeptical of the supernatural, yet sent by the Vatican to a desolate island where a group of weary exorcists struggles to contain a horde of possessed individuals. All the other priests seems to be much older than Amato, and even though it’s too early to distinguish them, it’s easy to see that they all have their own distinct personalities.

In just 27 pages, Exorcism Island delivers multiple possessions, demons, deaths (yes, plural, if you count the animals), and a creepy twist that occurs far from the island… at Vatican City. So we’re promised a big horror adventure. I’m pretty excited to see where this comic book series goes.

Rating: 5 on 5 stars! Exorcism Island is on Kindle Unlimited.

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Del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) is a Darker, Grander, Gothic Horror Classic

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

For gothic-horror fans, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) is a must-watch, whether or not you’ve read Mary Shelley’s classic or have mixed feelings about it. While it draws from the novel, del Toro reshapes several core elements of the story. The changes are evident right from the opening scenes, where Victor recalls his childhood and a strict, distant, authoritarian father, whose coldness fuels Victor’s egoistical obsession with playing God. In Shelley’s version, by contrast, Victor’s father is doting to a fault.

The film stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious scientist haunted by a powerful creature (Jacob Elordi) he brought to life. Rescued by a ship’s crew stranded in the freezing Arctic, Victor recounts his tragic tale of obsession, horror, and loss. Christian Convery of Sweet Tooth fame portrays his younger self in flashbacks, driven by the loss of his beloved mother and resentment toward his brilliant doctor father (Charles Dance), who fails to save her.

The flashbacks are grand, cinematic, set in a lavishly ornate estate the Frankenstein family lives. Their wealth is so immense that even funerals unfold like magnificent, theatrical celebrations of death. But fortunes fade, and Victor eventually leaves it all behind to study science at a distant university. And unlike the novel, where a young Victor secretly toils with dismembered human parts to stitch together a being, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein shows a Victor who is publicly vocal about his scientific pursuit to ‘defeat death’.

Actor Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front, All the Light We Cannot See) plays Victor’s younger brother, William, who is engaged to the beautiful Elizabeth (Mia Goth), an intelligent yet deeply religious young woman. Elizabeth’s uncle, Harlander (Christoph Waltz), offers to finance Victor’s experiment to create a living being, promising him unlimited resources in exchange for a favor to be named later. So there’s considerable mystery over Harlander’s suspicious generosity.

Victor Frankenstein is granted a old tower by the sea for his experiments, and his work-space looks more like a gothic cathedral than a lab, filled with ominous machinery, eerie decor, and an air of decaying grandeur. It mirrors Victor’s own mind: brilliant, haunted, and teetering between creation and destruction. There in his tower, he works alone, sawing and cutting parts of fresh corpses to assemble his project. So viewers with a weak heart should think twice before watching the film – it features lots of blood and gore. In some brilliant imagery, when the creature is still a ‘work in progress’, his body is perched like Jesus on a cross, awaiting his maker’s magic to animate him.

A brief romantic subplot finds Victor drawn to his brother’s fiancée, but Harlander quickly senses the tension and imposes a strict deadline for him to bring his creation to life. I just wish the relationship between both brothers had a few more minutes of screen time to make a climactic twist more powerful. But well, the true conflict, however, begins once Victor’s hand-crafted being awakens, leaving its creator stunned and unprepared, unsure of what to do with the “monster” he has fathered.

Yet Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein diverges from Shelley’s tale, this Victor doesn’t spiral into despair or flee from his creation. Oscar Isaac’s portrayal is of a man older, shrewder, and far crueler than the remorseful scientist of the novel. But just like the original, viewers are treated to both sides of the tale, that of the creator and then of the creation, while dwelling into the perils of blind ambition. Victor never once pauses to think of the consequences of his actions and is quick to blame others for his errors.

Jacob Elordi, buried under layers of prosthetics, brings a childlike humanity to the freshly awakened creature, first filled with curiosity for his surrounding, then consumed with anguish over his tortured, pitiful existence. Those who were dissatisfied with the abrupt development of the creature in the original classic will appreciate that Guillermo del Toro gives him a more humane character arc and a fitting, if tragic, end.

Mia Goth is mesmerizing in her brief supporting role, gliding through scenes in ethereal gowns that make her look like a princess from a dark fantasy. She serves as Victor’s foil, a believer in both science and superstition, who sees the act of creating life as a blasphemy. Yet she’s the only one who doesn’t recoil from the creature, recognizing him for what he truly is: a lost child who shouldn’t exist, but now that he does, deserves compassion, love, and dignity.

Much like his dark, twisted yet emotional take on Pinocchio, Guillermo del Toro’s retelling of Frankenstein beats to its own rhythm, steeped in gothic elements, with skulls, bones, blood, and morally grey characters who stand in sharp contrast to the supposed “monster” Victor creates: an innocent, pure-hearted being discovering the world’s savage, paradoxical ways with no one to guide him.

At 2 hours and 29 minutes long, ‘Frankenstein’ might test the patience of those hooked to short 30-second videos, but is an absolute treat for patient gothic horror fans. At the risk of perhaps upsetting fans of the novel, I will have to say, this ‘Frankenstein’ will go into the rare list of movies that are better than the books. It’s darker, grander, and is bound to become a modern classic.

Rating: 10 on 10. Watch ‘Frankenstein’ on Netflix.

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Michael Trailer: Jaafar Jackson Moonwalks Into the 90s as the King of Pop

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The first few seconds of the Michael Jackson biopic trailer might seem confusing to some viewers, as if you’re watching a documentary’s teaser with re-mastered footage. That’s how strong the resemblance is between the iconic singer and Jaafar Jackson, who is playing Micheal in the upcoming movie. The same surname isn’t a co-incidence, Jaafar is Michael’s nephew, the son of his older brother Jermaine Jackson. So he gets to moonwalk in his uncles shoes for the movie.

Created by director Antoine Fuqua and writer John Logan, ‘Michael‘ revisits the life and times of the King of Pop, who began his musical journey at the age of five, performing with his brothers before rising to become a global solo sensation. Miles Teller (‘Whiplash’, ‘Spiderhead’) plays John Branca, Jackson’s longtime career manager, who worked with the star for nearly three decades.

At just 13, Michael launched his solo career with the albums Got to Be There and Ben. His disco-pop record Off the Wall became his major breakthrough at 21. By his early 20s, he was already a global pop phenomenon, with fans swooning and fainting over him around the world.

The official trailer for ‘Michael’ is packed with iconic Michael Jackson moments, be it the trailblazing moonwalk dance, or the immortal 1983 hit ‘Thriller’, a song that remains a Halloween essential in America.

Remember the viral Jenna Ortega dance from Netflix’s hit show Wednesday (2023)? Michael Jackson’s Thriller is believed to be one of the inspirations. In-fact, the ‘Thriller’ album continues to hold the record for the bestselling music album of all time (70 million copies sold). Of course not as many people buy records since the 2000s, but Adele did sell over 30 million copies of ’21’ on 2011.

Of-course, in close-up shots, the differences between Jaafar and Michael Jackson’s are evident, but he nails the smooth, soft-spoken tone of the singer with pitch-perfection in the trailer. What makes the casting even more intriguing, beyond the family connection, is that this marks Jaafar’s acting debut. With no past performances to compare him to, there’s a touch of genuine curiosity over how he’ll carry the role.

Fans who grew up in the MTV era ( you know – when ‘video killed the radio star’) will know MJ was among the first few pioneering video stars. His music videos were elaborate, like mini movies, and were viral sensations even before the term became popular.

It will be interesting to see how ‘Michael’ the movie covers his life, and from the trailer, it looks pretty thrilling.

Watch the trailer on YouTube, it’s also below.

‘Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers’ (2025) Docu Review – Dead Johns and a Murderess

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

As an Indian viewer who is more familiar with serial killers like Charles Sobhraj, Mohan Kumar, and Cyanide Mallika, I didn’t know jack Aileen Wuornos, the focus of ‘Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers’, the 2025 true-crime documentary. In-fact, within the first fifteen minutes of the documentary, I kept thinking about how either Hilary Swank or Charlize Theron would make interesting picks for live-action adaptation of the criminal’s life. Funny, because Charlize won an Oscar for playing her in the 2003 film ‘Monster’, a title I know of, but haven’t seen.

The title seems to be inspired by one of the tabloid headlines that appeared when Aileen’s case was under media attention, labeling her the “killer queen.” Aileen was 34-years-old at the time of arrest, suspected of murdering at least seven men, while working as a sex worker along Florida’s highways. Her girlfriend at the time, Tyria Moore, helped the authorities get a confession out of Aileen.

A judge who presided over the case poses an interesting question: The suspect serviced over 200 “Johns” (American slang for men who pay for sex) in a year, so why did she kill only seven? The documentary doesn’t directly answer that, though it drops plenty of crumbs for viewers to draw their own conclusions. And If you take Aileen at her word, she claims the first murder was an act of self-defense, not premeditated, and that after that, she claims to have vowed to herself that she wouldn’t take any aggression lying down.

Filled with real life courtroom footage, police tapes, old interviews of Aileen, and several media clips covering the case, the documentary surprisingly doesn’t feature many new interviews. This is largely a profile of ‘America’s first woman serial killer’, perhaps that’s why the tabloid anointed her ‘killer queen’. Through archival footage, we see investigative reporter Michelle Gillen uncovered key details about the murders, facts conveniently overlooked by those eager to see Aileen in the electric chair.

Journalist Michele Gillen interviewing Aileen (Netflix)

Interestingly, the documentary opens with a voice-over, a recording of a police captain who sniggers, “I honestly don’t know how anybody could be attracted to that.” He refers to the woman as “that,” dehumanizing her and casually exposing his own sexist bias. You can sense the derision in his tone without even needing to know who he’s talking about.

In one of the court recordings, an attorney questions the absurdity of a sex worker claiming she was raped and attacked, to which Aileen fires back, saying she knows no one will believe her simply because of her profession. It reminded me of Netflix’s Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, which explores how a man got away with murdering several prostitutes for years, simply because nobody cares when a sex worker goes missing.

Violence and abuse within the profession are well-known realities, and sex workers are far less likely to report an assault. Yet, a 2015 Huffington Post article on sex work revealed that “one in five police reports of sexual assault from an urban U.S. emergency room were filed by sex workers. Sex workers were younger, poorer, and suffered a greater number of injuries than other victims.” So imagine the number of cases that go un-reported.

“She was like the trifecta. Gay, female, sex worker, and killing white man. So very easy to execute with no conscience,” a filmmaker states about her. These were the same reasons why the case invited a media frenzy, making Aileen both a celebrity and public villain. The killings were heavily politicized, becoming the focus of several debates on gender, violence, and death penalty.

Like I wrote, this documentary is more of a true-crime profile of the infamous killer, than a deep dive into the case, victims, and what the families had to say. So for viewers who already know about the serial murderess, this Netflix offering might not have much in terms of new insights. It also comes across as lopsided, with several affected parties having no representation. Still, the documentary serves as a compelling think piece on how sex workers are perceived, and whether Aileen was born a “monster” or pushed into becoming one by childhood abuse, trauma, and circumstance.

For me, the novelty factor was high, besides, since almost all the footage is from before 2002, it feels like you’re watching a long news feature from the 90s. But that grainy retro factor might not make engaging viewing experience for those who are used to high-definition videos. Overall, I’d say, this is an interesting addition to the true-crime docu genre, but only because I haven’t seen any other documentaries (and there are plenty of them) on the same subject.

You can stream ‘Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers’ on Netflix.

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