 | |
| Author | Steve Lillebuen |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | True crime |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
Publication date | March 2012 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and eBook) |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 978-0771050336 |
The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room is a true crime book by journalist and author Steve Lillebuen. [1] [2] [3] The book is a work of narrative nonfiction. [4] [5] [6] In May 2013, the book won Best Non-Fiction at the Arthur Ellis Awards. [7]
The book is set in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and follows several detectives working on a missing persons case and the intersecting lives of Johnny Altinger and aspiring filmmaker Mark Twitchell.r [8] who is under investigation for luring strangers to his "kill room," [9] which police believe is designed to replicate elements and methods used by fictional serial killer Dexter Morgan. [10]
Twitchell's arrest and trial attracted substantial media attention since his crimes were inspired by Dexter , the television series. ABC's 20/20 , [11] Dateline NBC , [12] CBC's The Fifth Estate , [13] and many newspapers around the world covered the story, from England's The Guardian [9] to Australia's The Age . [14]
Steve Lillebuen had been an Edmonton Journal crime reporter when Twitchell was arrested, leading to a three-year project on writing and researching the book. [1] He also spent a year corresponding with Twitchell after he called the author from prison to volunteer for an interview. [15] [16]
A film adaptation of the book was acquired by David Permut with Sam Hobkinson (Misha and the Wolves) set to direct. [17]
A snuff film, snuff movie or snuff video is a type of film, often explicit, that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide. The victims are supposedly typically lured to their murders by false pretenses.
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines a crime and details the actions of people associated with and affected by criminal events. It is a cultural phenomenon that can refer to the promotion of sensationalized and emotionally charged content around the subject of violent crime, for the general public.
The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in Greater Boston during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, on details revealed in court during a separate case, and DNA evidence linking him to the final victim.
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Oxygen is an American television network owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division and business segment of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The channel primarily airs true crime programming and dramas targeted towards women.
Dexter is an American crime drama television series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system due to corruption or legal technicalities. The show's first season was derived from the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004), the first in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay. It was adapted for television by James Manos Jr., who wrote the first episode. Subsequent seasons evolved independently of Lindsay's works while using many of the same characters and concepts.
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character introduced as the antihero protagonist of the Dexter book series written by Jeff Lindsay, as well as the television series of the same name. In the television series, Dexter is portrayed by Michael C. Hall.
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Pedro Rodrigues Filho, also known as Pedrinho Matador, Killer Lil' Pedro, Killer Killer Petey, or simply Killer Petey, was a Brazilian serial killer, spree killer, vigilante, and YouTuber known for pursuing and killing exclusively suspected criminals as a teenager, between the age of 14 and 19, in particular an entire gang in response to the murder of his pregnant girlfriend. Officially sentenced for 71 murders but claiming to have killed over 100 drug dealers, rapists, and murderers, he served 34 years in prison before his release in 2007. In 2011, Rodrigues was imprisoned again on charges of inciting riot and deprivation of liberty; he was sentenced to eight years in prison, but was released again in 2018 after seven years on good behavior.
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Mark Andrew Twitchell is a Canadian filmmaker convicted of first-degree murder in April 2011 for the murder of John Brian Altinger. His trial attracted particular media attention because Twitchell had allegedly been inspired by the fictional character Dexter Morgan.
The sixth season of Dexter premiered on October 2, 2011, on the television cable network Showtime, and consisted of 12 episodes. The season follows Dexter's and Miami Metro's investigations into a string of bizarre ritualistic killings featuring overtly religious apocalyptic symbolism. On November 18, 2011, it was announced that Dexter had been renewed for two more seasons.
Steve Lillebuen is a Canadian author and journalist. He divides his time between Australia and Canada.
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