What’s fact and what’s fiction in Netflix’s tale of serial killer Charles Cullen Welch?
On the surface, Charles Cullen Welch’s story seems to be that of Hollywood, as he kills his mother and her lover, then kills himself. What’s not so clear is the “why” behind the story. “Why,” Charles says, “I kill people.” His final words to himself are, “It’s how people are.”
I spoke to writer and editor Daniel Vladeck before the Netflix movie, “The Red Pill,” premiered.
Vladeck has written for The New Yorker for over thirty years, and has recently become an editor of The New York Times Magazine.
Daniel, tell me what you think of this Netflix film and how it deals with real life issues of serial killers and how it has drawn on real life.
Vladeck: I thought the movie was very interesting because I thought that you, and the film, are going to get some information that’s completely new. Because, you know there has been a lot of stuff about serial killers, and really we’ve been trying to make the movie as true as possible about what they go through when they’re making these films. So, I really learned a lot on the film, and thought that that was really a unique and fascinating way to do this.
Did the movie do what you would have hoped it would do and how did you feel when it was ready to be shown, that it was the kind of movie that would be interesting to other media outlets?
Vladeck: Oh, the movie was an interesting experience. We shot on location in New York last year. That was really the first time that we’d actually got around to making a documentary about his life. So, we actually did a lot of research on the movie before we even started shooting. And to be honest with you, the thing that I really enjoyed about making the movie is that it’s not just about the fact that