If these walls could talk…
Look, we’re not even going to list the reams of true crime content that have essentially taken over our Netflix accounts since the beginning of this year.
There has been far too many to count, and while most of them have been fairly entertaining, there’s also been a fair amount of duds in there too.
‘True story’ may always mean vaguely interesting, but it doesn’t necessarily always mean good.
However, there’s a BBC mini-series on Netflix that is both of the above so you may as well watch it.
It’s decent, like.
Rillington Place is a three part series from 2016 detailing the murders of serial killer John Christie across the 1940s and ’50s.
Starring Tim Roth, Samantha Morton, and Jodie Comer, the show documents the intertwined lives of Christie, his wife Ethel, and their neighbours Tim and Beryl during the years that they all lived together at the infamous address.
Without entirely ruining the plot of the whole show, here’s a short spoiler-free list of what you can expect.
1. Tim Roth looking nothing like Tim Roth but you know it’s him even though he’s doing a Yorkshire accent
2. Jodie Comer being adorable, nice, and ultimately tragic
3. A lot of confusion around the blind trust that certain people afford to certain members of their family
4. A set that is just is horrifying and bleak as you’d expect a representation of Rillington Place to ever be
That being said, if you’re expecting the show to be hyper-gruesome, terrifying, and chocked full of brutal murders, you may need to go somewhere else for your true crime fix.
Rillington Place is a slow burner, relying more on a sense of horror, dread, and deceit, rather than active portrayals of violence.
It’s unnerving, but in a subtle kind of way. One that leaves you wondering exactly what Mr Christie is doing when he’s alone in the bedroom at night, rather than actively showing his cruel crimes.
But the performances are great, and the story itself is absolutely horrifying, so it’s well worth a watch.
You may just need to spend an hour or two on Wikipedia afterwards.
Rillington Place is available on Netflix.
