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Released by: Mill Creek Entertainment
Released on: 3/9/2010
Director: Various
Cast: Various
Year: 2009
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The Series:
Rampage - Killing Without Reason is a ten part documentary program that documents the rise and fall of mass murder in the United States. The series starts off with an introductory episode in which a narrator fills us in on what differentiates mass murderers from serial killers before setting up and discussing the different kinds of mass murders that seem to be the most common. Interviews with authors and experts add some insight into what makes people go off and what causes these events, while the narration reminds us frequently that it could happen to any one of us at any time and in any place. Be afraid, be very afraid.
From there, the remaining episodes discuss the different kinds of mass murders and then details various cases. This is a fairly modern production so we not only learn about Charles Whitman's 1966 shooting spree at the University Of Texas (where he barricaded himself in the clock tower and took out as many innocent people as he could before the cops stopped him) but also more recent fare such as Timothy McVeigh's Oklahoma City bombing, the shootings at Columbine High, and Seung-Hui Cho's killing spree at Virginia Tech in 2007 that took the lives of thirty-two people. The episodes are keen to illustrate their points not only with talking head clips but also with actual footage from the events, their aftermath, and their consequences.
We learn about what differentiates spree killings from racially motivated killings based on racial hatred and we learn about how work place killings tend to be different from school killings which in turn tend to be different from cult killings which tend to be different from family killings. Our panel of experts elaborates on how and why mass murderers tend to be almost entirely male, how politics can play a role in why these events occur, and how it can be almost impossible to pinpoint potential mass murderers before they strike simply because many of the traits that they show are so very common. Again - be afraid, be very afraid.
There's some good stuff in here. Much of the content is interesting and as disturbing as much of the real life footage and photography used to show quite explicitly how horrible these acts are, the narrators and interviewees frequently make some very valid points. That said, the filmmakers also very often lean towards the more sensationalist side of things, repeat the use of the same footage over and over again (the clip of a student being shot in the Columbine cafeteria gets a lot of play) and there's a tendency to play up the paranoia that can set in after events like this. It's basically a really odd mix of genuinely insightful documentary work and flat out, good old fashioned fear mongering.
The series also tends to really just scratch the surface of what makes these human time bombs go off. It's all well and good to tell us that Manson was able to convert hippies into followers with his messianic personality but there's more there to delve into than just that, and the series tends to eschew those rather fascinating possibilities in favor of crime scene footage and nasty stills of dead bodies, all of which is quite real and quite unsettling if you're not expecting it.
But hey, it's interesting stuff. True crime buffs and those with an interest in mass murder not as a grisly news item but as, for lack of a better term, a psychological phenomena will appreciate where this series tries to go when it's not reducing itself to sensationalist tactics. It's hard not to find much of this material fascinating, even if the presentation, with its blood red gothic font credit sequences and penchant for graphic portrayal of human death and suffering, is more than just a little rough around the edges.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.33.1 fullframe video, interlaced, looks about as good as the various sources that the series was culled from will allow. The newly shot interview bits are clean and clear and stable while the old archival clips, some of which stem back almost a hundred years, obviously look a bit worse for wear. Generally the image is stable and watchable, however.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound mix, the only one offered on the set, is well balanced and audible. Again, some of the archival clips don't sound quite as good but you can't really fault the DVD set for that. The interviews are easy to understand and follow, though no subtitles are supplied.
Aside from basic menus and episode selection, the only other extra on this disc is an interactive timeline that lets you see which infamous events took place and where.
The Final Word:
Rampage is a pretty weird set. On one hand, it is very sensationalist and prone to fear mongering, but on the other hand it piques a morbid curiosity. The use of real death footage and photographs will put some off and intrigue others so it really comes down to what you're after with a set like this. It does lean towards tabloid style reporting rather than serious introspection, but it's interesting enough that those with an interest in the material might want to check it out even if it keeps things mostly surface level.