If you are a fan of True Crime, H.H.HOLMES:America's First Serial Killer, is a short, but informative biography of one of America's lesser known, yet spectacular, mass murderers. The fact that Dr. Holmes was able to construct a 'Murder Mansion' in the center of Chicago, and then freely troll the 1893 Worlds Columbian Expositon for victims is nothing short of astonishing. This structure, which took up an entire city block, and included living quarters, shops, and rooms for rent, was honeycombed with numerous torture chambers, execution rooms, and secret passages. Many graves and burial sites were linked to H.H. Holmes, yet rarely was there enough evidence to positively connect him to the bodies. In the late 19th century The Bertillon Method was employed to identify victims. This was a system which used physical comparisons of body parts, and for the most part, was based on conjecture and guess work. The Bertillon Method was the cornerstone of forensic science at the time, and fingerprint technology was still several years in the future. This huge deficit in investigative procedure allowed Holmes to get away with many of his crimes, and it makes one wonder how many of his sinister and horrific killings remain undetected to this day. Everyone is familiar with Jack The Ripper, however H.H. Holmes is, by far, a more terrifying and baleful figure. The film employs a fairly effective use of 'voice over, and archival photos to examine this most gruesome individual. This entire documentary can be streamed at You Tube.
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valis194912 April 2009
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moselekm9 May 2010Alright. Not much to say, other than READING is far more entertaining than this horribly narrated and presented documentary is. I will just get right down to what wasn't good about it. And there wasn't that much bad about it. It's just that the falling points to the film are constant and never expand nor decrease.
The narrator to me was like an older Ben Stein telling me all about the 19th century. I really don't like listening to Ben Stein attempt to educate me. The information is also poorly presented. For example, a big part about Holmes was his building he designed. Now they do have a segment on it, but they really don't emphasize (enough in my opinion) how he really went about it. They did a sad little black and white RE-ENACTMENT of a innocent victim going through the labyrinth and being caught and placed inside the trap-walls. But it seriously just belittled Holmes.
The chronology was poorly paced and just didn't have much direction to it. I found myself wondering what was pacing through Holmes as his evil began to really take part.
Now I understand that Holmes existed before modern science and psychology, so everything about who he was, how he was, and all of that is pure assumption. But we have a thing called educated guess and I don't think anyone will be upset about several educated guesses to breathe some life into the film. This was not done at all.
The entire film seemed to drag on. The first thirty minutes felt like two hours. Literally. I was hoping that it would pick up so pace towards the end. But it actually just slowed down.
Overall, this film is very educational, but I would seriously recommend having some background knowledge first. I would seriously expect this film to be on a shelf at some high school; an idle threat to force the students to watch and take notes on the film. Because it's extremely dry on a very INTERESTING subject. Honestly though. You will thank me and yourself for picking up a book or essay vice watching this dry cardboard cut out of HHHolmes. -
gavin694226 January 2011Torture 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.
As a resident of Wisconsin, I have always found serial murder interesting. Yes, I do think there is a connection, because we have Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer in our state legends. And HH Holmes, being from Chicago, is one of those that captures my interest -- Chicago is the closest large city, and its history is almost local.
This is a pretty good documentary. Of course, being a story that happened in the 1800s, you can only have so much video footage. But they flesh it out with photos, reenactments, and plenty of modern-day experts on Holmes and murder. I was pleased, and at just over an hour it gives you plenty of information without dragging on. -
captfontaine22 August 2015This came across like a documentary made by very talented eighth graders. The only saving grace is the narrator which ultimately actually makes the whole thing even more cheesy with his delightful British accent which has no connection whatsoever with this American killer. The one thing I'm grateful for is the very minimal amount of bad reenactment acting- t although its limited presence is, indeed, terrible. The only reason I suffered through this is because I'm interested in serial killers and I have never heard of this particular one- it was seriously a chore to watch this whole thing. Additionally I think it should be noted that in my 48 years of movie watching I've never been compelled to write a bad review about anything before today. Let that alone be a testament to its quality
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Often forgotten, mostly unknown H.H. Holmes was the first of note to string murders together just for the hell of it. Holmes was born Herman Mudgett in New Hampshire. He would use dozens of aliases during his life of crime. Holmes actually graduated from the Michigan Medical School in 1884, with the fascination of the human corpse. In the late 1800's, he personally designed a building, called The Castle, in Chicago with the sole purpose of having secret torture chambers, acid vats and small crematory in the basement. Most of his victims were unsuspecting visitors to the 1893 World's Fair. He would offer them rented rooms, where he would torture them. He would admit to killing over 200; but was never proved. This documentary at times will seem haphazard and a bit confusing as it rambles about the life of Holmes with use of still photos, newsreels and stock footage. Holmes was hanged in 1896. Written, directed and produced by John Borowski and narrated by Tony Jay.
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First off, I usually love documentaries, and am fascinated by the story of H. H. Holmes. My partner is always teasing me about watching 'boring' shows, and how I tend to become so transfixed by what's being portrayed that I never notice things like one of the cats eating off my plate or drinking from my glass. This documentary did NOT live up to expectations. Honestly, it played out like the kind of show that gives documentaries a bad name--the kind my old schools usually showed when the class had been too rowdy. The main problem I had with it, I think, was the narrator. He had a great voice, but spoke completely impassively--not much fluctuation in tone or volume, and with the kind of dry manner that gives the impression he was completely bored out of his skull. As mentioned in the title, this put me straight to sleep, TWICE. Other than the dull, dry manner of narration, the film was pretty good. It had lots of interesting information that I'd not found in my online reading about Holmes, and I loved how they followed along the floor-plans whenever they could, in relating incidents. Holmes was a complete nut-job, to say the least, and even my partner was disturbed by some of what Holmes did--Eric isn't easily disturbed. So overall, it was a good film, but probably won't be watching it again unless I have an early start the next day and can't sleep.
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jellopuke10 August 2021You'll learn as much as is possible with as much archival footage as is possible about a gruesome killer. Thankfully the re-enactments were kept to a minimum. The narrator was great and the whole thing is a nice (horrific) 60 minutes.
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AvionPrince161 November 2023So i just watched the documentary and just realised that it was that one used in the video game "Devil in me". So it is what it is: the story of H. H Holmes and we try to discover how he operates and how he did it: in his castle and with all the traps and tricks to trapped the victims. It was kind of scary and the fact that Holmes look like a normal guy even more that he was pretty active in society too and that make him quite not suspect at all. But it was really surprising how that man was and quite shocking to see that he trapped some tourist mostly womens and thats a little bit terrified. I didnt know him before playing the video game "Devil in me" and after that i immediately wanted to know more and this documentary was pretty well made and love that kind of look of Black and white stuff and the voice off is pleasant to hear despite the horrors that we witness. So yeah if you search more about the first serial killer in America it really do the job to be honest.
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I came to this movie after seeing its rave review on Bloody-Disgusting.com. A fan of historical crime writer Harold Schechter's (who is interviewed in this film), I was surprised and delighted to see someone had attempted a documentary on H.H. Holmes, the subject of Schechter's book "Depraved". Then again, I suppose it wasn't too surprising, given the bestseller success of Erik Larsen's "The Devil in the White City", and the upcoming movie of same.
John Borowski knows his way around the documentary form, inter-cutting vintage photos, interviews, and clever re-enactments with a strong sense of balance. HHH:AFSK succeeds in conveying a sense of time and place, and communicating Holmes's psychosis. The narrative is gripping, and there's never a dull moment here. Unlike a lot of indie documentary directors, Borowski knows that making a documentary is still all about Film-making, not merely filmed journalism.
If HHH:AFSK lacks in any department, it is in conveying the full, jaw-dropping magnitude of Holmes's most audacious crime: his systematic murder of the Pitezel family, carried out while manipulating them to travel in two separate groups halfway across the US and even into Canada. Borowski also leaves out the detail that, on this evil trek, Holmes was also dragging along one of his three clueless wives! Borowski surprisingly rushes through the journey, making it all seem like just another of Holmes's outrageous deeds. Compared to the way Schechter evoked the cruelty of Holmes's actions and the heartbreaking emotional trauma suffered by the Pitezel children's mother in his book "Depraved", Borowski misses a chance for some really strong emotional depth.
But some things are, I suppose, going to get left out in an hour-long production. The running time is kind of odd. Too long to sell to TV (this film is certainly worthy of the History Channel, on which I have seen considerably worse stuff), too short for feature length. And yet, by the time it's over, you feel that to go to 90 minutes might have been just a shade too much. At 64 minutes, HHH:AFSK is perhaps just right, artistically though 70-75 would have been ideal, allowing Borowski to flesh out the story as I described above. Commercially, 64 minutes is problematic. Perhaps a direct-to-DVD release was all Borowski had in mind from the first.
Veteran actor Tony Jay provides brilliant narration with his one-of-a-kind voice (why isn't this man more famous!?), and there's a swell orchestral, Bernard Hermann-esquire score that I'm surprised Borowski was able to get. If anything gave me an unintentional smile watching the DVD, it was perhaps Borowski's tireless self-promotion in the bonus materials. I'd have gladly sacrificed Borowski's efforts on his making-of featurette if he had channeled that work into just a bit more of his documentary.
A worthy film for fans of true crime and American history rolled into one. -
Johnny_West12 October 2021Imagine you wanted to do an exploitation documentary about a character that has been mostly ignored by history.
Most people know very little about H. H. Holmes, the serial killer. So you google the guy, put together about ten pages of notes, and then do a walk-through of the mansion, using whatever photos are on file.
You get a documentary that goes like this: "Here is bedroom #4, where several women may have been murdered." Then you do the same for the rest of the house, and soon you have a one hour documentary that has very little real documentation of anything, and no information that is new or interesting.
You can google everything that is in this documentary in ten minutes or less, and save yourself 64 minutes of boring narration. There are no credible sources used, no orignal investigation records/documents from the FBI or any other Law Enforcement Agency, just information that was googled and cobbled together into a very bogus documentary. -
jeffgrooves3 August 2006Being a bit of a "true crime" buff, it's always nice to see a documentary that is well researched and contains all the most important elements of a true story. That appears to be the case in this well-made documentary film about late 1800's serial-killer HH Holmes. Writer/Director John Borowski pulls this story out of the basement and reintroduces it to the world in this engrossing documentary. You've heard the names Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy, but have you heard the name HH Holmes? Maybe not. His crimes took place during the late 1800's and have been overshadowed by the gruesome misadventure of more recent killers. However, those of you that are interested in the whole "true crime" thing might be intrigued to learn of Holmes' horrific crimes and how they share similarities in some aspects with modern killers such as Bundy, Dahmer, and other notorious bad boys. A Must See for true crime buffs!
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fcookprorig18 April 2021This should have just been some kind of podcast. Seriously? LOL all it showed was some old photographs. I gave it four stars for finally outing his grandson about all his historical inaccuracies in his book Bloodstains.
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Sylviastel29 July 2006Who says you have to spend so much money to make a good quality film, well you don't. John Borowski's documentary on the notorious Dr. H. H. Holmes born as Herman Mudgett is a perfect example. It's creepy and reminds you of the golden days of good thriller films where it didn't take much to scare the life out of you. The story of Dr. Holmes should not be forgotten. The reenactments are not that graphic or bloody. I like the fact that Tony Jay narrated the documentary. He was wonderful. John Borowski is an up and coming director from Chicago where the house of horrors and part of Dr. Holmes' crimes took place. Nobody could imagine the horror not even by reading Harold Schechter's book, Depraved, about his crimes. Schechter gives great commentary but I think he could have been used more regarding his knowledge of information. The forensics specialist came off kind of too detailed for the average person. The criminal profiler reminded me of Chris Parnell with blonde hair. He kind of had a good sense of humor despite the horror. I recommend watching the behind the scenes the making of the documentary. It's well documented and looks 100 percent professional.
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tomgillespie20021 June 2016Anyone who shares my own morbid fascination with serial killers know that finding a well-made and thoroughly researched documentary feature on the Ted Bundy's and Jeffrey Dahmer's of this world is extremely hard to come by. The grisly subject matter tends to attract the attention of daytime crime channels that churn out hour- long true crime stories that sensationalise the horror to admittedly entertaining degrees (they're a good way to pass an hour), or no- name directors who substitute anything resembling a psychological character study for something all the more exploitative (although there is the odd exception, see 2000's Ed Gein or 2002's Bundy for examples of the kind of duds I'm referring to). John Borowski's H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer is a crude mixture of both.
H.H. Holmes, the notorious mass-murderer made all the more infamous for his carefully constructed 'castle' of labyrinthine corridors and winding staircases that led to various torture chambers and rooms rigged for death, arrived in Chicago in 1886. Landing a job at a chemist, Holmes eventually purchased the business when the owner died, promising the widow to pay her in monthly instalments only for her to never be seen again. Amassing a tidy sum of money through various conning schemes, Holmes constructed his house of horrors, regularly firing the workers after a short period of time to ensure that only he knew the true structure. When the World's Fair arrived in 1983, Holmes preyed upon the tourists who flooded into the city, killing up to an estimated 200 people during his spree.
Running at little over an hour, this cheap-as-chips documentary feels like a stretched-out TV special, repeatedly using the same stock footage and photographs as narrator Tony Jay blandly reads from his script, informing us of facts and theories that a better director than John Borowski would have wound into the narrative in other, more intelligent ways. As Holmes operated so long ago, the little that is actually documented about his activities and the lack of forensic analysis now so taken for granted only adds to the mystery and sheer creepiness of this terrible man, but the documentary, somehow, fails to exploit this, using laughable re- enactments that even fail in comparison to the likes of the Born to Kill? true crime series. If you have a spare half an hour and internet access, you would learn more from Holmes's Wikipedia page than you will from this movie. -
Michael_Elliott28 June 2012H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004)
*** (out of 4)
Good, 64-minute documentary taking a look at H.H. Holmes, the Chicago doctor who has become known as American's first true serial killer. Throughout the documentary we learn about Holmes early life including his alternate names and then we get into details about his time at the University of Michigan where he got to "act out" his fantasy of working with dead bodies. This leads to him getting a job in Chicago and then building a castle where he would put acid baths, secret pathways, torture devices and this would become the final resting place to an unknown amount of people. Director and writer John Borowski does a pretty good job at telling the story of this madman and he does this by voice-over narration as well as interviews with experts on the subject. It's clear that no one will ever really know how many people he slaughtered but I just found it rather amazing that no one suspicions were ever risen to the point to where they'd at least take a look at this guy. I mean, not only did he kill people but he would then sell their skeletons to medical schools. It was also fascinating learning about the 1893 Columbian Exposition where apparently fifty people went missing but again no one can tell how many were at the hands of Holmes. I think the weakest thing in the documentary are the reenactments, which really weren't all that impressive. Still, that's just a minor complaint as I'm sure many people might be interested in the subject and will find that there hasn't been too many looks at him. Overall this documentary is worth watching if you're interested in hearing about the subject. -
Sleepin_Dragon27 November 2020It's an interesting hour long look at America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes, aka Herman Mudgett. Britain had Jack The Ripper, over in the U.S. Holmes would take many lives, famous of course for his house torture.
It's a very factual documentary, it gives you lots of information and plenty of facts, how the house came to be, how he managed financially to build it, his treatment of builders etc. It's all very interesting, we of course learn details of his harrowing crimes, trials, and the people who's lives he destroyed.
Tony Jay provides a perfect narration, his clear and strong voice give interest, and keep you listening.
Well worth a look, 8/10. -
osloj7 March 2007Uninspiring so-called "Documentary" which was patched up by a pseudo-filmmaker, complete with insipid, low budget "retellings" that don't excite or allow for any valid renderings of facts.
It is amazing that this even attempted to analyze the "killer" so directly, who was portrayed erroneously in many of the segments.
Historical accuracy is replaced by slander, innuendos, assumptions, halfhearted guesses and mind readings.
The "experts" resemble boisterous and lonely people who parade before the camera without any insight and pretend to know how 'murderers' operate.
At best, this is a laughable attempt at horror, at worst, a mockery of objective film-making.
Everything about this production is tedious, including the t-shirt order address on the DVD. -
dougdoepke14 December 2020Fascinating, fast-moving chronological account of Holmes' grisly murder career from early years to final reckoning. The narrative's a mix of vintage photographs, drawings, location shots, and filmic recreations; along with voice-over narration and biographical commentary. Together, they both astonish and entertain. My one negative are those instances when it would be good to know if the shots were authentic or recreated. And get a load of his 'castle of horrors' outfitted with torture devices and disposal vats aplenty-- death chambers unequaled by even the scariest horror flicks.
Anyway, Holmes appears an unusual serial killer, at least in my little book. His pleasure in killing appears to not so much with a laying of hands on his victims, ala' Jack The Ripper, but rather with death itself. That may be the result of a psychopathy embedded in his training with cadavers. Then too, he was also something of an entrepreneur and swindler as the narrative makes clear. No doubt, his pleasant, unthreatening demeanor helped secure these schizophenic designs.
I like that the flick includes his own ruminations on a murderously grisly life as he awaits the gallows. Though his confessions alter, probably according to mood, I suspect the claim that he was born with Satan at his side is close to the truth as he sees it. That way he's absolved of guilt. But what a horror his life is. So I wouldn't recommend watching the grotesqueries before dinner or before bed. Still, his tale remains a part of our bleakest annals of crime. -
arielshannon098 April 2018I love this documentary. It's beautifully done, and there's something about the narrators voice that fits so perfectly with the entirety of the film. (Sorry, I know how cheesy that sounds) I wish there was more information about H. H. Holmes, but that's on history not the makers of this documentary. Anyway, throw it on and give it a go. I hope you like it just as much as I do. :)
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Der_Schnibbler25 June 2013Despite being America's "first" (or at least first known) serial killer, H.H. Holmes doesn't ring a bell the way the names of other well-known sociopaths' do. So there isn't too much to go on, and this documentary, I suppose, is all we're going to have for a while as far as film sources go.
I cannot judge how factual or historically accurate the documentary was, it being my first exposure to this man, but there are a few comments I'd like to make on it purely as a documentary.
Firstly, the narrator is the best part. Great voice. The score is also good. Pictures and newspaper headlines are used very well. The narrated excerpts from Holmes' own writing succeed in bringing this creature to life.
What distracted heavily were two things.
Firstly, the unnamed (or perhaps I missed his name) guy sitting in the room with the too-bright background (in comparison to the shots from which his scenes would cut) who always ended his sentences with a rising inflection? Do you have any earthly idea how irritating and distracting that is? It nearly makes you want to pull your hair out?
The second was the so-called criminal or forensic psychologist or whatever ludicrous title they chose to give him. A round-faced, over- excited, bug-eyed little man who, instead of giving us authoritative, factual, and insightful commentary on Holmes' character, acts more like a two-bit talk show host. Get this MORON out of there. Why in the world would the director, who certainly spent no small amount of time and money on this documentary, intentionally mar it with this nincompoop?
Sometimes scenes would cut from the first guy mentioned above (maybe it was the director himself) to the clown guy, and it would just make you insane.
I never understand why people who put in sweat and money into making a film would not have the sense to at least avoid such glaringly obvious errors. Did no one think to tell that dude, "STOP ending every sentence like it's a god damned QUESTION!"? Did no one think, "No, better not hire some weirdo charlatan type who claims to be a forensic expert. We can certainly find a knowledgeable person who will lend insight and capture viewers' interest." Why did no one think of this? Why? What a shame.
Special mention is due for the unnamed lady who all too briefly appeared once or twice and professionally, intelligently gave us great information on police and forensic techniques of the late 19th century. It should have been her instead of that clownish dolt. -
Meaningless_Signifier10 November 2023This documentary simply recycles and regurgitates the most popularized information regarding the case while failing to provide any new insights or credible expertise from an investigative or historical viewpoint.
What's perhaps worse, is that it's also riddled with the same pseudo-history and exaggerations which have been perpetuated for years surrounding the H. H. Holmes murder case, ever since its original coverage by the sensationalistic and hyperbolic yellow journalism of its era.
Further, Holmes isn't America's first serial killer, no matter how many times it's repeated online, or in tabloid rags and subpar documentaries. Just a few of the many potential contenders which predate Holmes include: The Harpe Brothers, Lydia Sherman (the Derby Poisoner), Thomas W. Piper (the Belfry Butcher), the Bender Family (the Bloody Benders)... -
ski-3280223 July 2017He may be the first documented serial killer but the Law of Probability suggests that there were serials in America since almost the founding. I just don't think it's ethical to say he was the first one. According to former chief of the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, John Douglas, there are 25 to 50 active serial killers in the United States at any given moment. Today. It's not unreasonable to believe that the same wasn't true since the founding. There will always be, unfortunately,those people who prey on others
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azathothpwiggins11 August 2020H.H. HOLMES: AMERICA'S FIRST SERIAL KILLER is an informative documentary about the notorious killer and his machinations. It's interesting that he was a med school grad with some architectural knowledge, drawing up his own plans for the "castle" in which he lived. This allowed him to design a labyrinth full of hidden rooms, false doors, and secret passages. One of the rooms was even equipped with gas pipes for easy, clean executions! The basement was a dungeon, where victims were immersed in acid, the flesh dissolved, and the skeletons sold to the local university!
More than just a serial-killer, Holmes was also a masterful conman, bigamist, and insurance fraud expert. He seems to have made only one big mistake, which led to his undoing.
While this film lacks glossy, high-end production values, the story is still presented in a way that keeps one riveted...