Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
This documentary on H.H. Holmes covers a genuinely fascinating and lurid piece of American criminal history, giving it inherent narrative interest and some novelty as an early dedicated treatment of the subject before the Devil in the White City boom. However, the production values are modest—talking-head interviews and archival images presented in a fairly standard true-crime documentary style—keeping cinematography and acting (in re-enactment segments) below average. The ending wraps up Holmes' trial and execution in a workmanlike fashion without particular insight or dramatic impact. A serviceable but unremarkable entry in the true-crime documentary genre.