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Cambrix; 800/992-8781, 818/993-4274
Street price: $30
486SX,
4MB RAM, 3MB disk space, Windows 3.1
If you entered a serial killer's mind, could you understand what provokes seemingly functional people to commit repeated, senseless acts of violence? And if you did so, would you be buying into a glamorization of the darkest side of human nature?Mind of a Killer gives you a chance to find out, as it probes the psychology of serial murders and searches for patterns and motives. While some aspects of the program are flashy and tabloidesque, its encyclopedic range--it includes the text of four important homicide-related books and video commentary from two forensic psychologists and two former FBI agents--gives it weight.
nature or nurture?
You'll find case studies of 14 murderers, including Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, and Aileen Wuornos. Learn about their childhoods (recurring themes include animal torture and violent sex) and their fetishes, and see re-creations of crime scenes. Revealing personal interviews supplement the factual accounts and expert analysis. In a poignant interview, Gacy remarks that "the dead won't bother you; it's the living you got to worry about." Ted Bundy admits that he has been impolite but insists that no man is truly innocent.
heavy reading
The essays, with their many useful hotlinks, offer the best introduction to the mind of a killer. In the Profile of Serial Murderers, the term psychopath leads to its definition, derivation, 16 associated characteristics, and further reading suggestions. More information appears in tables (one includes each serial murderer's nickname) and in charts. A map of the world, decorated with red dots, reveals the disproportionate number of mass murderers in the United States, with the highest concentration in California.If you just want to look at the pictures, the photo gallery is loaded with mug shots, crimes scenes, drawings, and more. If the sight of a blender used to mix drinks of human blood makes you queasy, opt for the installation feature that blocks the most disturbing images.
While this disc is insightful and informative, the intensity and disturbing nature of its subject matter limits its audience severely. Mind of a Killer will appeal only to those particularly intrigued by the mental workings of a serial killer--namely, to those obsessed, for whatever reason, with these infamous figures in modern history.
--Molleen Theodore
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