Many people enjoy learning about or watching films and documentaries on serial killers and criminals, if only to learn about what they did. On July 16th, 2021, Netflix released the trailer for a haunting new documentary focused on the crimes of Dennis Nilsen.
Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes is an upcoming documentary following the life and crimes of notorious Scottish serial killer, Dennis Nilsen; but told from the man himself.
Dennis Nilsen was born on November 23rd, 1945, in Fraserburgh, Scotland. He is known for killing at least 15 young men by strangling them, and burying them under the floorboards in his London home; his crimes occurred between 1978 to 1983.
The truth as to why and exactly how he killed has been talked about for decades; some believe his sexuality frustrated him, and caused him to kill.
Now, with access to around 250 hours of cassette tapes of his private recordings left in his cell after his death, we will be able to travel further into Nilsen’s disturbing mind.
Set in Britain in the 1980s, when unemployment on a large scale caused young men to go to London in search of a job and the chance to earn a decent living, they sadly wouldn’t find any of that; instead, they found Nilsen.
The men became easy prey for the killer, as Nilsen lured the men to his home, and proceeded to strangle and murder them, before hiding them under his floorboards; at one point, Nilsen ran out of space to hide the bodies due to the sheer number he had at his house.
Interviews from police, journalists, survivors and bereaved families are sewn together to help tell the tale of Nilsen; we will hear the stories of those that got away, and the reminiscing of family members who lost someone they loved.
For the first time, the voice of the killer himself will be used to tell the story. Nilsen’s laid-back attitude can be heard on the tapes within the trailer, and it is truly spine-chilling to hear his account of murder, and to hear him say that “We’ve all got to die of something, don’t we?”.
The feature-length documentary is set to explore how Nilsen was able to get away with his horrendous crimes and multiple attacks, unchallenged, for five years.
The trailer itself is haunting to listen to, as we hear the killer speak about how he is “demonic”, and that he sees himself as “the harbinger of death”.
This movie will definitely be interesting to watch, and to find out why Nilsen did what he did will be a revelation in his case, as it will hopefully answer many questions posed by investigators, families of those killed, and the public.
Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes will arrive on Netflix on August 18th, 2021.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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