| Director | Jan Zabeil, Caroline Schaper |
| Producer | Christian Beetz |
| Episodes | 3 |
| Genre | True Crime Documentary |
When gay men turn up dead at a bar called Berghain in Berlin, Germany, the police rush to stop a nameless killer who hunts in the dead of the night. However, when the evidence is few and far between, pressure mounts on the investigators to close this case that finds itself in every newspaper in Germany.
This true crime documentary showcases a dark and dreary case which will make your heart break for the victims of these senseless crimes. The series, with only 3 episodes, showcases these crimes in detail, breaks down different points that might raise questions in people’s minds and gives us an in-depth look into the gay culture in Germany in 2012. Full of interviews of victims’ loved ones, the police and other people involved in the investigation and a ton of recreational sequences and techno music, the documentary is glamorously made and is very snazzy.
However, in spite of being beautifully made, the true crime series never really reaches that level of intrigue or interest for me specifically because of the way that it was made – the recreational sequences make watching the series burdensome and take away from the gritty aspect of the show. Thus, in spite of being a documentary series, it looks oddly fictional sometimes. Most of these sequences look out of place and forced and reckless – it’s gimmicky and takes you right out of the experience because the documentary tries to overdo the thrill.
The series also showcases several testimonials of the perpetrator, who gives his justifications as to why he did what he did. It’s peppered throughout the runtime in voiceover format and adds some amount of shock for the viewers since the words will confuse you further instead of making things clear. However, again, the visuals that are added in these moments are so over the top that it’s just silly sometimes.
Plus, we don’t really focus on the LGBTQ+ aspect of it and how important it is in terms of the case. Sure, there is a ton of discussion surrounding gay bars and Blackrooms and whatnot but we don’t delve into the issue and neither did the police. The story is largely told from the police’s perspective so it is also apparent that the police didn’t focus on it at the time but the documentary doesn’t really point that out much. There are a lot of important points missing that make watching the documentary a bit confusing and half-hearted.
For once, though, there is a documentary that focuses on a case that is not only not ongoing but also outside of the US so it’s not something that mainstream media has had a hand on. So, fans of the genre will find themselves surprised with a new case as well as intrigued. It’s just that I wish it was told in a better fashion. The last three parts of the series, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer and Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields were a mixed bag of shows as well although I did quite like the last two.
Crime Scene Berlin-Nightlife Killer Review: Final Thoughts
The true crime documentary series feels a bit forced and gimmicky in the way that it is made. You don’t feel that thrill or fear by watching this documentary because the information is not provided in a way that will evoke those feelings. The excessive recreations with very few crime scene photos or videos feel like a chore to watch sometimes and take away from the reality of the series.
Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer is streaming on Netflix.