The third episode of HBO's brilliant I'll Be Gone in the Dark takes the case -- and the story of author Michelle McNamara -- into a chilling new space. Titled Rat In a Maze, the episode is book ended with a recording of an actual phone call made by the East Area Rapist right before he became the Golden State Killer. The phone call was recorded by police as it was made to an intended victim. And it's frightening. "Gonna kill you... gonna kill you... gonna kill you... Bitch!" The first time we hear it, the recording is meant to be an introduction to the culprit's switch from rapist to killer. And he did brutally murder some 10 people on top of the 50 rapes he committed. We hear it again at the episode's conclusion when McNamara, faced with an early deadline on the book that became I'll Be Gone in the Dark, has doubts about her ability to finish it. By then, she had the entire catalog of crimes in her head, and was driven to do right by the vict...

The second episode of HBO's I'll Be Gone in the Dark presents some of the most harrowing moments of television I've ever seen. The episode, titled Reign of Terror, chronicles the East Area Rapist's transition from a rapist of women, to targeting couples and, finally, his transition to a serial killer. And it does so through a series of interviews with the victims which, at times, can be hard to hear. The level of trauma these poor people experienced during, and often after the assault, is unimaginable. Director Elizabeth Wolff enhances the interviews with creepy imagery that's meant to set the scene, not re-enact the crimes. These moments are eerily effective. She uses light and shadow and a slow moving camera, which evokes a disturbing atmosphere. The visuals will stick in your mind long after the episode ends. Equally as disturbing are a series of PSAs from the 70s that are interspersed throughout the interviews. These maddeningly reflect society's att...

Michelle McNamara's true-crime book I'll Be Gone in the Dark is easily one of the best -- if not the best -- of its kind. It's an exhaustive and fascinating dissection of the crimes committed by the Golden State Killer, a violent criminal responsible for some 50 rapes, and 10 sadistic murders, back in the 1970s and 80s. I reviewed the book right here , and encourage true-crime addicts like myself to give it a read. Or, if you're like Shawn and don't do reading, you should definitely check out HBO's adaptation, which debuted Sunday night. I caught the first of six episodes last night, and was hooked. The series is actually two stories; the first being an examination of the Golden State Killer's crimes, with the second an equally detailed look into McNamara's obsession with the case. McNamara died before she could finish the book. Her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, helped complete it, and get it published. The first episode scratches the surfac...

True crime isn't something we dive into a lot here at From The Basement, but it's definitely a subject that's near and dear to my heart. For the 10 years I was a mainstream journalist, the crime beat was my bread and butter. I lived it, breathed it, and it almost drove me nuts. But the subject is one I continue to be fascinated with, particularly when it comes to serial killers. Michelle MacNamara might best be known for her True Crime Diary blog. But it's her obsessive search for the criminal she dubbed the Golden State Killer that gained her notoriety. The culprit, a violent predator responsible for some 50 rapes and 10 sadistic murders, largely operated under the radar. It was McNamara who pushed him into the spotlight. I'll Be Gone in the Dark is a dazzling display of writing and research. She not only painstakingly recreates the predator's crimes, but also the stories of his victims. And by doing that, she tells her own story too, which was sadly cu...