Capturing the Killer Nurse is the documentary version of the true life story of a nurse who killed his patience for almost twenty years. Just a week or two earlier, the Good Nurse starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne impressed me quite a bit. They both tell the same story and it was impossible to not compare the two versions, making the narrative film weaker by showing off its lies, exaggerations, and Hollywood moments.

I think it was unwise and uncool for Netflix to pull this stunt… just earlier this year, the Ron Howard film about the Thai cave rescue came out and was compared to the Disney+ documentary from the previous year. In that case, two different streaming platforms and a bigger time gap made it more palatable.

To be fair though, the doc is pretty decent but really pales compared to the much better produced narrative film. The doc does tell a more complete story and doesn’t pepper in those Hollywood moments. But see? I can’t even talk about it without comparing the flicks and that’s not fair..

OK refocus. While the story is horrific, the doc only really focuses on a very short period of the almost twenty year killing spree. It makes the events feel smaller and more insular when it really should feel more encompassing. It is based on the book The Good Nurse (which I haven’t read) so presumably its focus is on the people interviewed for that book.

The film gets interviews from the ghoulish killer nurse himself which, at first, feels very icky. We get his side of the story and it feels like the film is trying to gin up some compassion for him. But the filmmakers are smart enough to reveal that he’s basically lying by showing us that he killed more indiscriminately than he claims.

This documentary is fairly chilling and could have been a real shiver-fest if I wasn’t constantly comparing it to the other film. If you haven’t seen The Good Nurse though, it’s possible this documentary will be a real eye-opener. But the well was poisoned for me… and shame on Netflix.

Score: 78