Paramount+’s True Crime Drama Is a Rocky Examination of Serial Killer Obsession

True crime has all the time forged a perverse spell over society’s creativeness, however the subject’s contemporary popularity boom has propelled it right into a constant limelight. For some, devouring leisure dedicated to crime instances offers a secure avenue for them to discover their primal fears. For others, their fascination morbidly exploits real-life tragedies on the expense of respecting the victims’ reminiscences and the privateness of their grieving family members. Though Paramount+’s upcoming drama Completely satisfied Face is born from this ecosystem, the sequence voices a not often seen perspective. Completely satisfied Face relies on the podcast of the identical title by host Melissa Moore, the daughter of Keith Hunter Jesperson, the serial killer dubbed “the Completely satisfied Face Killer.” In 2021, Moore told Marie Claire why she determined to come back ahead after many years of avoiding any affiliation along with her vile father: “My intent is to inform these tales that we predict we all know, however from a distinct viewpoint, the viewpoint of a survivor, any individual who’s associated to or lived with the killer or the sufferer.”

Created by showrunner Jennifer Cacicio in addition to the powerhouse govt producing duo Robert and Michelle King (Evil, The Good Wife), Completely satisfied Face strikes a powerful blow in opposition to our tradition’s routine glorification of serial killers. This fictionalized chronicle of Moore’s life is the following step in her awareness-raising and community-building advocacy, and Completely satisfied Face largely accomplishes its purpose, however not with out some rocky bumps alongside the way in which.

What Is ‘Completely satisfied Face’ About?

As Melissa Moore (Annaleigh Ashford) prepares for her daughter’s party, she experiences a visceral response to particular gadgets within the grocery retailer: a roll of duct tape, a package deal of zip ties. The innocuous objects carry horrifying reminiscences — when Melissa was 15 years outdated, she found the daddy who doted on her was a rapist and a serial killer accountable for the brutal deaths of at the very least eight confirmed girls. In response to his confession letters, Keith Hunter Jesperson (Dennis Quaid), a long-haul truck driver, started killing in 1990 and went undetected till he turned himself in. Earlier than the court docket sentenced him to serve three consecutive life sentences, his signature on those self same letters was a boastful, haunting smiley face.

Together with the eight households thrown into eternally devastating upheaval, studying about Jesperson’s sadism left Melissa’s Pacific Northwest childhood in ruins. The person who brought on such hurt wasn’t the daddy she knew, regardless that she witnessed so-called warning indicators. Now an grownup, Melissa nonetheless carries the burden of guilt and disgrace. She will’t assist however really feel accountable, questioning if she might have stopped her father if she acted upon her uneasy suspicions. However Melissa was a child residing with an emotionally manipulative and abusive mother or father; it was unfathomable to contemplate that Jesperson’s inconsistencies hinted at a heinous fact.

By the point Completely satisfied Face opens, Melissa has reduce all ties with Jesperson, modified her final title, and married Ben Moore (James Wolk), with whom she has two kids, excessive schooler Hazel (Khiyla Aynne) and nine-year-old Max (Benjamin Mackey). She’s additionally turn out to be a make-up artist for The Dr. Greg Present, a daytime well being and wellness speak present. When her father efficiently reaches Melissa, he captures her unwilling consideration by dangling a shocking admission like a cat taking part in with a mouse – Jesperson claims he killed a ninth lady, Heather (Leah Jacksties), and has lastly determined to come back ahead.

The timing of Jesperson’s confession is essential, as the person convicted of Heather’s homicide, her boyfriend Elijah (Damon Gupton), is a Black man on dying row with lower than 50 days left earlier than his execution. To show Elijah’s innocence and ensure her father’s involvement, in addition to provide fellow survivors a sympathetic lifeline, Melissa broadcasts her connection to Jesperson by way of The Dr. Greg Present. Opening up on nationwide tv makes her weak to harassment from members of the family of Jesperson’s victims, however it additionally hyperlinks her to individuals in comparable conditions who’re in search of solace. And the extra Melissa speaks along with her father, the extra their precarious conversations shatter the preconceptions she as soon as used as safeguards in opposition to her trauma.

‘Completely satisfied Face’ Places Its Give attention to the Victims

When the sequence begins, Melissa insists her father exhibited some caring, optimistic qualities. That sentiment might not maintain by the top of Completely satisfied Face‘s eight episodes (all of which have been offered for evaluate). In contrast to different crime dramas based mostly on true tales, like Netflix’s Mindhunter or Apple TV+’s Black Bird, this sequence is not attempting to probe the depths of a serial killer’s psychology. Completely satisfied Face‘s dramatic impetus stems from exploring a really particular type of trauma: being the kid of a vicious mass assassin whom you as soon as liked, in addition to the life-shattering anguish felt by these associated to his victims. Moms grieving their daughters, a son left alone on the planet with out his mom, siblings desperately in search of justice — when a serial killer strikes, the ripple results stain every thing in sight.

For Melissa particularly, Jesperson’s confession and her subsequent investigation causes friction inside her in any other case loving household. Generational trauma proves not possible to keep away from and almost not possible to navigate. In spite of everything, grief by no means leaves; it merely transforms earlier than sneaking up on you want a thief within the night time. Past this uncomfortable truth, Melissa herself can now not deny her biggest concern — that she inherited her father’s darkness.

‘Completely satisfied Face’ Refuses To Glorify Serial Killers

Specializing in the victims doesn’t suggest Completely satisfied Face ignores Jesperson’s psyche, however it does demystify the celebrification of serial killers. Hazel’s finest buddy Eva (Momona Tamada) self-describes herself as a “murderino,” a time period for the fanbase of the My Favourite Homicide podcast, and eagerly drags Hazel to a museum exhibit dedicated to serial killers, together with Jesperson. Folks move round trivia and promote artwork in regards to the man who brutally ended eight lives, however cannot be bothered to honor his victims’ names.

As for Jesperson, he sometimes demonstrates what seems like tenderness on the floor. But when Melissa utters a single phrase he dislikes, he turns visceral and venomous on a dime. A strolling instance of narcissism, every thing he does is to satiate his ravenous ego. It is regular to wrestle our manner by way of understanding how anybody might commit such heinous acts, and a part of that psychological excavation is questioning whether or not a person like Jesperson can really feel love. With out revealing any spoilers, Completely satisfied Face positively solutions that query — and even when it chooses to stay ambiguous, Jesperson undeniably gaslights Melissa and weaponizes their reminiscences in opposition to her. No hunt for the slimmest of redemptive qualities is well worth the scrutiny these males obtain.

‘Completely satisfied Face’s Tone Doesn’t Solidify Till Its Again Half

With this survivor-first focus in thoughts, Completely satisfied Face winds up as extra of a household drama fused with investigative journalism than a typical crime-based sequence. Total, the present is not as sinister as one may anticipate. The writing and directing workforce emphasizes a dryly ironic side — a tactic that does make the subject material simpler to swallow, but additionally raises an emotional barrier in opposition to the viewers. For a subject so fraught, intimate, and misunderstood, Completely satisfied Face‘s tonal consistency and thematic authenticity imply that the sequence would not really discover itself till the midway mark. As a result of it would not absolutely decide to both a black comedy temper or the grime-infested toxicity of a sequence like True Detective, its early episodes really feel disconnected from the required gravitas. Key emotional moments fizzle out quite than burn the constructing down. Although its items do solidify right into a coherent and satisfying complete across the halfway level, combining that preliminary take away with generic dialogue and performances that learn a bit of too synthetic throughout the board makes Completely satisfied Face‘s first half troublesome to know.

As for these performances, Quaid’s Jesperson is half-menacing and half-kooky in a fashion that calls to thoughts an off-brand Joker. Whether or not that is an correct portrait of Jesperson’s demeanor or not, one can not help however marvel if a calmer, much less unraveled interpretation would have produced a extra chilling consequence. Quaid is neither fairly excessive nor diabolical sufficient to the purpose of feeling miscast. His finest second happens when one other character confronts him about his actions, and as a substitute of placing out with considered one of his deplorable rants, he crumbles, mumbling his manner by way of nugatory, self-serving apologies. Jesperson’s manipulative energy may lengthen past the jail partitions, however he is nothing greater than a pathetic man who kills for pleasure.

Ashford, in the meantime, takes a second to settle into her position; the sequence’ uneven tone appears to restrain her talents. As soon as the sequence ranges out, so does Ashford, and she or he sells the manifold nuances of Melissa’s existence. As a household drama at the beginning, Completely satisfied Face indulges in a number of candy, quiet, and mandatory moments, like Melissa mendacity on Hazel’s mattress as they share an intimate dialog or Ashford pretending she isn’t a Tony Award-winning singer on the karaoke microphone. When Melissa weeps, her face streaked with moist mascara, the scene rings out as shattering and cathartic.

‘Completely satisfied Face’ Shines a Flawed however Profitable Mild on True Crime Tradition

Completely satisfied Face‘s closing scene leaves the door open for a possible Season 2. If that renewal happens, the sequence should not backslide Melissa’s growth. The character’s journey hinges upon her reconciling with the ghosts of her previous and re-seizing management from her scheming and loathsome father. Regardless of the sequence’ future could also be, regardless that Completely satisfied Face‘s preliminary tonal and dialogue weaknesses contribute to it falling simply wanting its potential, its complete message — residing with intricate wounds, elevating the scum of the earth whereas abandoning the victims, America’s profoundly flawed justice system, and the racist incarceration system — slices by way of the noise loud and clear.

Completely satisfied Face premieres March 20 on Paramount+, with new episodes airing Thursdays.