Television Best TV shows or films revolving around psychopaths?

Fortitude

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The trailer for Killing Eve prompted me to check out the show, and the portrayal of the psychopath in it has made me wonder if there has been a better one in a TV show. I've not seen Hannibal; does that delve into the mind of the Lecter character or is it more of plot-driven show?

Any recommendations?
 
Fortitude said:
The trailer for Killing Eve prompted me to check out the show, and the portrayal of the psychopath in it has made me wonder if there has been a better one in a TV show. I've not seen Hannibal; does that delve into the mind of the Lecter character or is it more of plot-driven show?

Any recommendations?
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Hannibal more delves into the mind of Will Graham, but it's still a great TV show that I'd highly recommend. Mads version of Lecter is great.
 
Fortitude said:
The trailer for Killing Eve prompted me to check out the show, and the portrayal of the psychopath in it has made me wonder if there has been a better one in a TV show. I've not seen Hannibal; does that delve into the mind of the Lecter character or is it more of plot-driven show?

Any recommendations?
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Netflix is littered with this kind of stuff right now.
 
American Pyscho is a must and 7even (seven) also Mindhunter on Netflix is a little different but has various psychos involved within the series.
 
Zarlak said:
Hannibal more delves into the mind of Will Graham, but it's still a great TV show that I'd highly recommend. Mads version of Lecter is great.
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I've put off getting the show for a while because I wasn't sure if it was worth the viewing time - and I hate it when shows get canned. I'll give it a whirl. I trust you! :)
Ian Reus said:
Netflix is littered with this kind of stuff right now.
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Any that come to mind?
 
Zarlak said:
Hannibal more delves into the mind of Will Graham, but it's still a great TV show that I'd highly recommend. Mads version of Lecter is great.
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Yeah i loved that show, also does Dexter count?
 
Fortitude said:
I've put off getting the show for a while because I wasn't sure if it was worth the viewing time - and I hate it when shows get canned. I'll give it a whirl. I trust you! :)
Any that come to mindhunter?
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Although you've probably watched that and the others too.
 
Mindhunter
The Jinx - documentary type show about Robert Durst and features almost exclusively a series of interviews between Durst and the director. It doesn't get into his justifications for murder, but its interesting seeing how a psychopath tries to cover his tracks
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
 
Heres a few, you’ve probably seen some.

Natural Born Killers
Hard Candy
Cape fear
No Country For Old Men
Misery
Sexy Beast
Zodiac
Hitcher (Rutger Hauer)
Eden Lake
Identity
Duel
To Catch A Killer
 
Mindhunter is probably your best bet. It's about the birth of behavioral profiling at the FBI in the 1970's, and how the FBI started interviewing serial killers and other violent offenders. The portrayal of Ed Kemper in particular is fascinating.

 
Fortitude said:
The trailer for Killing Eve prompted me to check out the show, and the portrayal of the psychopath in it has made me wonder if there has been a better one in a TV show. I've not seen Hannibal; does that delve into the mind of the Lecter character or is it more of plot-driven show?

Any recommendations?
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Evil Genius on Netflix is a great True Crime documentary revolving around a truly psychopathic woman. Also the Confession Tapes on Netflix is good.

For films, Fracture is an underrated movie with a great psychopathic character played by Anthony Hopkins.
 
off topic but it just suddenly occurred to me that Bill from Mindhunter is the same guy who plays 'the beast' in the movie shotcaller

both psychopath related, at least
 
Cheers all. Think I've seen about 50% of what's been listed.

@Pogue Mahone this is your field, if I'm not mistaken? Any shows you'd recommend?

I remember a few years back there was 'Psychopath Night' on channel 4, and they had some Professors, doctors and an FBI profiler do a countdown of the most authentic psychopath put to film in their collective opinion. They listed Ledger's Joker as #1. Actually, here it is:



Won't let me time stamp: 1:23:21 for Ledger.
 
Fortitude said:
Cheers all. Think I've seen about 50% of what's been listed.

@Pogue Mahone this is your field, if I'm not mistaken? Any shows you'd recommend?

I remember a few years back there was 'Psychopath Night' on channel 4, and they had some Professors, doctors and an FBI profiler do a countdown of the most authentic psychopath put to film in their collective opinion. They listed Ledger's Joker as #1. Actually, here it is:



Won't let me time stamp: 1:23:21 for Ledger.
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Not really my field and not my sort of telly. You should read this book though.
 
duffer said:
Heath Ledger's joker seemed to be having more fun than I thought a psychopath could. He was a really bored nihilist.
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Psychopaths revel in 1upping the world around them and being one step ahead of everyone else, particularly pursuers. I guess it depends what his mirth is based on that we would have to consider.
Have you ever seen the footage of Rader or Bundy in court? They seemed to be 'enjoying' that in pretty much the same manner, I thought.
 
There’s so many but the first five that come to mind are...

Christian Bale in American Psycho.
Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Mads Mikkelsen in Hannibal (Series).
Ezra Miller in We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Kevin Spacey in Seven.
 
Fortitude said:
Psychopaths revel in 1upping the world around them and being one step ahead of everyone else, particularly pursuers. I guess it depends what his mirth is based on that we would have to consider.
Have you ever seen the footage of Rader or Bundy in court? They seemed to be 'enjoying' that in pretty much the same manner, I thought.
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My knowledge of what makes a psychopath or sociopath is admittedly not great but Joker just seemed a bit too fun!

I remember an episode of House where one of his patients was a psychopath, I think that's why most of my medical knowledge is a bit wrong!

I must admit, there's something about a female psyco I find oddly compelling. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Rebecca De Mornay in The Hand that Rocks and the Cradle, this actress from house...

 
duffer said:
My knowledge of what makes a psychopath or sociopath is admittedly not great but Joker just seemed a bit too fun!

I remember an episode of House where one of his patients was a psychopath, I think that's why most of my medical knowledge is a bit wrong!

I must admit, there's something about a female psyco I find oddly compelling. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Rebecca De Mornay in The Hand that Rocks and the Cradle, this actress from house...

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Psychopaths are born that way with different brain wiring, and sociopaths are made by traumatic events at key points in their development (usually childhood), although, for both, trauma can induce a full-fledged state, is how I've always read it. Psychopaths can't actually 'feel' 'emote' or 'empathise' properly/correctly, whilst sociopaths have that switch dialled down to a state of numbness but can form genuine attachments as it suits (sort of like turning the dial up for a moment or for allowances). I went on to watch the full clip:



And this woman isn't the definition of a psychopath because she feels and emotes at the end of the clip and also protected someone else (sister) before becoming what she is. Sociopath, then... in my non-medical opinion.

Although, I've read that the medical community frown upon the phraseology and lazy labelling of the movie/TV definitions we've become all too familiar with instead referring to it as APD, but still...

About The Joker. We have to consider what it is that he's supposed to be revelling in. Chaos, anarchy and the disorder and deconstruction of things/people for the purpose of tormenting and, ultimately, breaking them either physically or mentally. Akin to a predator and it's prey when they don't put it out of it's misery first time even though they could. The more chaos, the more 'fun' - still reminds me of Rader in the way he said he 'enjoyed' the fear and terror his victims would give to him during the process of infiltrating, binding and having them at his mercy.
 
Oaencha said:
There’s so many but the first five that come to mind are...

Christian Bale in American Psycho.
Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Mads Mikkelsen in Hannibal (Series).
Ezra Miller in We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Kevin Spacey in Seven.
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That's Perhaps the most realistic portrayal of a psychopath I've seen.
 
LuisNaniencia said:
That's Perhaps the most realistic portrayal of a psychopath I've seen.
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It's a good portrayal because it's not all blood, guts and violence. I liked that it showed that he was always that way from a child that was completely unresponsive and non-interactive to societal norms all the way through to what he would do to his mom and sister before the more extreme tendencies of his adolescence turned him into the more generic movie-style psychopath.

The kid in City Of God is also a really good portrayal, I thought. Also Ellen Page in Hard Candy.
 
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