Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer

One of the most interesting true crime mini serie out there. Joe Berlinger and Ron Howard made a very good documentary and it's amazing to realize how many more stories are yet to be told as The Times Square Killer . I strongly recommend.

This is my first time writing a review here although I've been a constant reader for about 10 years.

I won't get into the details of the docu, that's been done above.

I agree with others, this is really two documentaries. I had never heard of this serial killer, which is shocking considering the amount of crime shows I've watched the last 20-25 years, that's why I decided to watch it. They jump right into the gory details, the detectives interviewed are old school and relaxed, and there's very little dramatization.

Times Square in the 70's needed to be described because it's atmosphere at that time played a part in who was being murdered. Although I have been to NYC many, many times, for some reason I was not aware how wild it was back then. Netflix begins it's documentary inside a documentary at this point. This doesn't annoy me, like others, because it's chock full of how Times Square evolved but they get so in depth you almost forget what the original story is about.

Like other Netflix documentaries, there are times when you expect more information and are left asking, "so what else?" They skim over details like forensics and evidence which are what people are looking for in a documentary.

If this is a new crime story for you, settle in. Times Square and The Torso Killer were a perfect storm. This documentary covers other topics, as well, like how women began to fight for new laws protecting rape victims, whether they are a prostitute or not. Just when you thought you've heard it all...

Could have been a very interesting documentary if it was 2 hours long. But as usual they had to stretch into 3 episodes. Very tired of shows on Netflix that are stretched out and turn repetitious and boring.

This is more of a documentary on the sex industry in times square. Consisted of 80 percent history and interviews relating to sex workers and 20 percent actually about the murders that occurred.

Joe Berlinger goes for a crisper approach with just three episodes of 45-50m each, using slick-looking archive footage. He does commit the apparent mistake of excessively indulging in the stories of sex workers and the rise of pornography in '70s Times Square, leaving less time for the killer's equally haunting New Jersey exploits and the victims themselves. It wouldn't rank among the top true-crime material you'd see on Netflix, but it sure as hell does its job of keeping you hooked for a little over two hours.