TV review
true crime
Dark series “German Crime Story” tells the brutal story of the acid barrel murderer
© Amazon Prime / Neue Bioskop Television
In the 1980s, a sadist raged in Hamburg who held two women captive, tortured them and killed them. The true crime series “German Crime Story: Tied Up” tells the story of the “acid barrel killer”.
Raik Doormann lives a middle-class life with his wife and son in a housing estate on the north-eastern edge of Hamburg. In his typical German terraced house, viewers of the true crime series “German Crime Story: Gefesselt” are led deeper and deeper into the abyss. Both in Doormann’s soul and in the depths of his house. There the main protagonist (played by Oliver Masucci) has built a nuclear shelter, which he uses for cruel deeds.
Action is based on a true event
The story of the series tells the case of the so-called “acid barrel murderer”, who kidnapped three women in Hamburg in the 80s and 90s and killed two of them. In addition, the trained furrier, whose fur business hadn’t been doing well for a while, wanted to extort another businessman for 300,000 Deutschmarks.
Only through the investigations of a policewoman, who was the first woman to work in the Hamburg homicide squad at the time, did the crimes finally come to light.
In the series, in which all characters have been given fictitious names, this commissioner is called Nela Langenbeck (played by Angelina Häntsch). She cared for one of the victims who is kidnapped by the doorman and later released. She later investigates the case as well. The detective listens to the victim and testifies at the court hearing, where Doorman is convicted of kidnapping. After the trial, another woman turns to Langenbeck because she misses her daughter. She was also in contact with the doorman.
Langenbeck begins to investigate, but is repeatedly thwarted by her male colleagues and sometimes has to listen to harsh comments. At that time, female police officers were viewed more as assistants by their male colleagues – and not really taken seriously. Nevertheless, she cannot be stopped and keeps finding out more and more details.
Cruel, close to the victims – and worth seeing
The scenes of the series are based on the 80s and appear deliberately monotonous. The viewers don’t get to see violent scenes – but the result of it: Naked, tied up women with injuries who were intensively humiliated and tortured by their tormentors.
The focus of the entire plot is the cruel character of Raik Doormann, who tends to a pathological form of sadomasochism and is at the same time a chauvinistic narcissist. Actor Oliver Masucci gives Doorman’s character a chilling voice, making the character’s sayings even more repulsive. The portrayal of this monster alone has great entertainment value – and not only for crime fans.
The 6-part series is available on “Amazon Prime Video”.