Top Five Creepiest Moments from Netflix’s Mindhunter

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Five Creepiest Moments from Netflix's Mindhunter

David Fincher's new serial killer-centric series MINDHUNTER just hit Netflix streaming a few weeks back and we here at AITH finally caught up on all of the episodes. The series is as good as anything Fincher has produced throughout his stellar career but is most reminiscent of his take on the ZODIAC. So if you were a fan of that Fincher film, MINDHUNTER will be just your cup of tea. That said, this top five contains light SPOILERS and some graphic language. Now let's get into the creepy shite. 

5. The Majorette's Rock

In one of the series' more disturbing subplots, a 12-year-old girl is raped and murdered in the wild woods of Georgia. Desperate to elicit a response from his top suspect, our lead agent (played with Mr. Spock level stillness by Jonathan Groff) brings in the perp's murder weapon during a routine investigation. A bloody rock. Directed by Fincher himself, the suspect's reaction to the rock, moving instantly from creepy confident to shockingly silent is one of the most chilling visual confessions on the screen. TV or otherwise.

4. Richard Speck's Bird

At one point during their investigations, our lead agents pay a visit to the notorious spree killer Richard Speck. During Speck's interview, the nurse-killer gently holds a baby bird in his hands, telling the agents he's allowed by the guards to nurture the animal if he "sucks their d*cks." Pleasant. But nothing compared to what Speck does when accused of attempting suicide. You see, Speck takes this as a knock against his "Born to Raise Hell" facade, and so to demonstrate how much of a hellraiser he is, he throws his baby bird into a metal fan. Feathers (and my tears) flew. Richard Speck is kind of a d*ck, huh?

3. The Stray Cat

This is a minor subplot that may sneak past many a viewer. But it is one of the more subtle and scary bits in the series overall. During her stay at a local by-the-week hotel, one of our lead agents, played by Anna Torv, is doing laundry in her building's basement and comes across a stray kitten. We never see the cat. She begins to feed the kitty and then a few days later the cat disappears. What happened? Researching the series I found out that Fincher inserted this bit as a way of saying that Torv's hotel was inhabited by a disturbed child. A child that, right under Torv's nose, would one day grow to be just like one of the many serial killers she currently hunts. Poor kitty.

2. Rader Rising

A majority of MINDHUNTER's 10-episode first season begins with a series of strange fleeting moments depicting a man who – in the context of the series – we've never met. Virtually silent, we watch him go through seemingly random daily tasks such as arguing with a coworker about tape, helping a customer with her security system, and… burning drawings in the backyard? Quickly, we realize from the costume/makeup design (see above) we're witnessing the rise of Dennis Rader, aka the BTK killer. The series never introduces us to Rader in any real fashion. He is merely a gathering storm on the horizon.

1. Ed Kemper's Neck

Cameron Britton's performance as the Co-Ed Killer Ed Kemper is the single best element in a series filled with top quality work from all involved. His performance is one for the books and constantly chilling. But no moment is quite as creep-inducing as when his polite conversation about women turns into a nightmare.  "This new girl, she take it up the a**?" Kemper asks our lead agent politely. "An a**hole will suck your c*ck right in, literally," he continues. "But when you f*ck somebody in the neck, it's entirely the opposite. It's nothing but resistance." Je-sus. Christ. That escalated quickly.

In the end, come to Netflix and David Fincher's MINDHUNTER for the thrills and the mystery. And come back again and again for the performances, such as Britton as Kemper. True classics.