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The Fall (2013)

2013 · Crime,Drama,Thriller · crime-psychological-profiler, contemporary-realistic

The Fall poster

The Fall is a slow-burn British psychological crime drama set in Belfast, structured around the parallel lives of a Metropolitan Police detective (Gillian Anderson) and an active serial killer (Jamie Dornan) — the audience knows who the killer is from the outset, and the dread comes from watching two predators circle each other. The show's horror is rooted in mundane normalcy: the killer has a wife, children, and a day job. Reviewers consistently single out the dual-perspective conceit, the calibrated pacing, and the psychological depth of both leads as what elevates it above genre convention. It rewards patient, darkness-tolerant viewers with a deeply immersive experience that lingers uncomfortably after the credits roll.

From the reviewers

It's very very scary to see someone who has such an ordinary life (wife, kids, job) being such an evil person on the inside.
This show, as many British shows, takes its time developing. It's not in a rush like American TV.
It is not a whodunit, we're made to follow from the start both a MET detective and a serial killer's lives, as one tries to figure out, find and catch the other
the protagonists are so very...ordinary. They could be us, any one of us.
Beautifully paced, tension abounds with spine-tingling murder scenes. The characters are very well written, and played with pitch-perfect performances from the leads, Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan.

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