They say serial killer documentaries are a girl’s comfort movie. Although I am not sure how true that is, I can categorically say that there has been a spike in the size of the audience these works draw in. If you are looking for a new addition to your comfort show list or just something intriguing to watch, Capturing the Killer Nurse comes highly recommended. It tells the story of a nurse, Charles Cullen who, according to himself and himself alone, cannot bear to see people in pain yet somehow ended up serially murdering people on the job.
Like many serial killers back in the day, Charles did not have to do much to cover his tracks. Where Dahmer had the police practically turning a blind eye to his crimes, Cullen had his employers, massive private hospitals with a reputation to protect covering his tracks for him. The documentary tells to story of how he was eventually caught and arrested at his 10th place of work, after a total of 29 confirmed kills. Although, he confessed to murdering as many as 40 people.
Cullen’s downfall occurred when the regional police covering Sommerset Medical Centre bit into the case and refused to let go. With a hospital once again getting in the way and trying to cover things up, the police were forced to recruit a senior nurse who worked closely with Charles Cullen and considered him a friend. At least up until she realised he was a serial killer. She worked alongside the police to get Cullen arrested.
Like many serial killer documentaries/stories, you are left with the feeling that if people had been a little smarter, a bit less self-serving, and a little more humane, perhaps it would never have gotten half as bad as it did. As far as serial killer documentaries go, this one lacks raw chill factor and gory imagery because the deaths are all cleanly executed via tiny injection points but it makes up for that with the chilling knowledge that Charles Cullen was and can be anybody. It was almost too easy for Cullens who sometimes only had to contaminate patients’ IV bags with lethal doses of medications like digoxin, insulin or vecuronium. He did not administer these IV fluids himself. He merely contaminated them when it was convenient and lay in wait. Without a confession, it would have been nearly impossible to convict him of his crimes. If this documentary falls under your interests, be sure to give it a watch and let me know what you think.
PS. I’m also open to recommendations in this genre.
