Mammoth Screen is a prestigious production company, based in the UK, which has produced numerous series that have achieved international success. Fearless, Victoria, Falcon, Monroe, Poldark, The ABC Murders, Endeavour, The Wr of the Worlds, with some of the series and miniseries they have produced on commission from other companies.

BBC One and Netflix commissioned the production company for this incredible miniseries that narrates the crimes committed by Charles Sobhraj, a real-life monster who committed terrible murders in the 1970s.

Tom Shankland and Hans Herbots were the filmmakers chosen to direct the eight episodes that make up the miniseries. Tom directs the first four and Hans is in charge of the rest. Shankland has a long career as a director of television series, such as Ripper Street and The Missing, two hits on British television. He has also directed films, most notably Waz and The Children, both horror thrillers. He has been nominated for Emmy and BAFTA.

Herbots has focused his career on cinema in his native Belgium. He was the director of Bo, a 2010 film about a young woman's foray into the world of prostitution and in 2014 he directed the thriller De behandeling, both films are highly recommended viewing.

With these two directors and the production company behind the project, quality was assured. The Serpent is a miniseries that seems to have gone a bit unnoticed by the general public, being a very interesting story, made with great quality and most importantly, it is based on real events.

What is the plot of The Serpent?

The plot begins with Charles Sobhraj living in Bangkok, Thailand, where he had his center of operations, he was a thief and swindler. He called himself Alain, one of his many false names, and was accompanied by Marie-Andrée Leclerc, his partner and accomplice in his swindles. Under him were Ajay Chowdhury and Dominique Renelleau, who helped them find victims, mostly young tourists on Asia's famous Hippie route. The disappearance of a Dutch couple, Willem Bloem and Helena Dekker. The relatives contact the Dutch embassy in Thailand, where a young Herman Knippenberg becomes so interested in the case that he jeopardizes his job and starts an investigation on his own, discovering the crimes committed by Charles. The cat and mouse game will begin, only this time the criminal is too cunning, always one step ahead, slithering away from justice like a snake. Will he be caught, will he be caught, or will the crimes go unpunished?

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I have to warn that you have to be patient with the first episode. The story is told with constant jumps in time, which can make the narrative a bit confusing.

You have to pay attention to the details, I definitely found the proposal risky, it is a crime thriller, but the narration can be confusing for those who are used to more linear narratives and have everything explained to them. This miniseries deserves our attention.

In each episode we are told part of the story with flashbacks to the past and back to the present of the story. If you stay with it until the end of the first episode, you will be hooked by the story and want to watch the other episodes immediately.

One of the final scenes of the first episode, how the death of Teresa Knowlton, supposedly the first fatality of this cold and ruthless serial killer, who seemed to have a hatred for young people leading a hippie life, was carried out.

Charles Sobhraj was not your typical serial killer, haunted by a past or acting irrationally. On the contrary, he was an intelligent man, everything he did was premeditated, well planned. There were more than 12 fatal victims who had the misfortune to cross this man's path.

He did not kill for pleasure, the deaths were mostly a consequence of the swindles he committed. He was in the business of selling jewelry and many of the victims did it to steal their money and continue to maintain a luxurious lifestyle.

He was reportedly a man with attractive features, of French nationality, the son of a Vietnamese woman and an Indian. He became French when he was adopted by a French military man who fell in love with his mother while he was stationed in Indochina.

He had the power of conviction and the charm of psychopaths, is the explanation I find for the way he persuaded the beautiful young Canadian Marie-Andrée Leclerc, who was his accomplice in all the swindles and murders. He formed a network of accomplices who worked for him and helped him get victims among tourists.

How was all this possible? Is it a true story?

Yes, the story told in the miniseries is completely real, some names have been changed and of course the dialogues are invented by the scriptwriters, but everything is based on this real case, which I was completely unaware of.

For these reasons I found the miniseries fabulous, the story is a crime thriller, which fascinates me and also they are real facts. The life of this criminal is amazing, starting his criminal activity at a very young age, with his first wife with whom he has a daughter. If you don't mind knowing the whole life of this murderer and swindler, read the following link I assure you that it will surprise you.

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All the episodes of the series are written by screenwriter Richard Warlow, known for the Ripper Street series, along with Toby Finaly, who do an impressive job documenting the most important facts of Charles' criminal activity, always showing a deep respect for the victims. There is no attempt to elevate the figure of the criminal, the story in a way pays tribute to those who were unlucky enough to fall into the traps of the killer.

To bring Charles Sobhraj to life, a famous French actor was sought, whose career I have been following for a few years now, when he starred in the excellent film A Prophet by filmmaker Audiard. The French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim.

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Rahim won the César award in 2009 for that film by Audiard, which I recommend you see. It is an intense crime drama that was critically praised. It launched the actor to fame. He recently starred in Damian Chazelle's Netflix series, The Eddy. He can also be seen in the French films Samba and Le Passe. A top-notch actor to play the con man and murderer who evaded justice on many occasions. He makes an excellent transformation, at all times I stopped watching the actor and his character is believable, you can tell he spent hours studying the way the real criminal speaks.

Jenna Coleman plays Marie-Andrée Leclerc, Charles' accomplice, the beautiful woman who will be seduced by the criminal and who likes to lead a life of parties and luxury. The English actress is known for having played Clara Oswald, the companion of the eleventh and twelfth Doctor Who, that successful fantasy and science fiction series from the United Kingdom. She is excellent in the series, besides dazzling with her beauty, her character is cold and unscrupulous.

British actor Billy Howle plays Herman Knippenberg, the young Dutch embassy official who begins the investigation of the missing couple, uncovering Charles' grisly life of crime in Thailand. He is a sunshine actor who has appeared in numerous English series and films, but is not yet a household name.

Also starring is the beautiful Ellie Bamber in the role of Angela Knippenberg, Herman's wife, who will assist him in part of the investigation. The actress has been seen in the films Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Nocturnal Animals, and last year she participated in the miniseries The Trial of Christine Keeler, which dealt with the famous Profumo Case scandal.

Mathilde Warnier plays Nadine Gires, who will help Herman gather evidence against Charles. The French actress and model I saw her last year in the film Curiosa. Fabien Frankel plays Dominique Renelleau and Amesh Edireweera plays Ajay Chowdhury, Charles' assistant and accomplice. Australian actress Alice Englert, known for her work in the film Ginger & Rosa, plays Teresa, one of the first victims.

Something I really liked about the miniseries was the period setting, a great art direction that took care of every detail, taking us back to the seventies. Incredible costumes and scenery, in addition to the photography work, made me feel like I was watching a movie of those years. All those details give a lot of credibility to the story and it was something that fascinated me, the scenes in Thailand, the markets, the night spots, the streets, it's as if we were traveling in time and we could be there, at that moment, feeling the smells and discovering that exotic culture.

The direction of photography was in charge of Si Bell, Anton Mertens and Seppe Van Grieken, all three with extensive experience in their work, and who impose quality to this mini-series. The art direction was in charge of Witoon Suanyai, who already worked on Only God Forgives. And the entire costume and makeup team does a top-notch job. Dazzling us with the images we see on the screen.

As a curious fact, several documentaries have been made about this case and three biographies have been written about Charles Sobhraj. And in Bollywood a movie was made in 2015, called Main Aur Charles, which I have not seen, because I don't like Bollywood productions very much, most of those movies contain musical scenes and look for too good looking actors, who look like soap opera actors. But if you like Bollywood movies and you are more interested in this topic, you can look for the movie to watch.

Trailer

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