“Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer”

Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer (Abigail Fuller, 2024) 3½ out of 5 stars

Notorious serial killers have terrified and riveted Americans for decades. Household names such as Ted Bundy and Ed Kemper live in infamy for the crimes they committed. The mere mention of those folks and others sends a shiver down our spines.

While many focus on the crimes these murderers committed, some may forget the extensive effort taken to capture them. The FBI has been involved in a lot of these high-profile cases, but a lesser-known unit, called the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU), plays a very important role, too. The BSU helps profile serial killers by studying previous offenders’ behaviors and traits.

At the center of the BSU is a specialist who often doesn’t get the credit she deserves: Dr. Ann Burgess. Burgess has always been intrigued by people’s thoughts and emotions. She is also very interested in the nursing field because of the fact that she can ask people how they feel.

An author of a detailed rape-study book, Burgess was invited to help educate the FBI on sexual assault and rape. Eventually, she joined the BSU and helped with studying the psyche of serial killers in the 1970s and 80s. By studying previous serial killers’ first-hand testimony, Burgess and the BSU were able to identify current and even future killers. 

Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer explores a few different areas over its three episodes. The docuseries covers Ann Burgess’s professional career as well as some of her personal life outside of work. It also dives into some famous cases of serial rapists and killers. The connecting thread is, of course, Burgess’ work in profiling suspects in these cases.

The series moves a bit fast through her professional trajectory. Very little time is spent on her professional accomplishments before she joined the BSU. In fact, I’m still not entirely sure why she was qualified to profile serial killers.

Burgess was very experienced in sexual assault and rape cases from her work at a hospital as a nurse and the book she wrote on those topics, and that is explored a little. But, frankly, the filmmakers choose to spend most of their time on her work with the FBI. This does make sense, though, as it is the most compelling aspect of her story.

Though it struggles to tell Burgess’ beginnings coherently, it’s quite enthralling to see the type of cases she has worked on and the similarities between suspects, such as the common adrenaline rush and domination factors. The specific details she and the unit study are also fascinating, such as two sets of footsteps (versus one) as a possible indicator that a perpetrator was not strong enough to carry a victim and instead marched them out to a location before their death.

The cases featured are quite chilling but compelling, and the testimony from the guilty are very disturbing but also insightful. Some of the crimes featured are a hard watch even for the initiated, especially those involving children. However, the depravity of these crimes makes Burgess’ accomplishments in capturing them and saving lives that much greater. 

Mastermind also touches on the workplace culture of the 1970s/80s and the sexism Burgess has faced in her career. It was rare back then for a woman to have a prominent job like this where she is away from her family for much of the time. It was also uncommon for women in general to be working in the FBI, and many of her coworkers did not trust her at first. However, she was able to muddle through and earn their respect, even if it was more difficult for her to do so than it would be for her male coworkers.

As intriguing as the subject material for this series is, I must mention that some of the editing choices took away from some of that intrigue. In several instances, a very fascinating audio clip of an interview, testimony, or news story is played and just when the viewer is engrossed in it, another one plays, and then another, and then they all overlap and blend into indistinguishable gibberish. I’ve seen this technique used plenty of times before, and I understand the effectiveness sometimes, but this series does it far too often to the point of annoyance. I feel as if there were many things I missed and interesting tidbits that were left out because of this choice.

Overall, though, even with the occasional bothersome editing and lack of clarity on Burgess’ beginnings, Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer succeeds with its compelling main content. Burgess and the BSU’s work, the details they sift through, and the eventual results of that work keep the audience invested enough to make up for any shortcomings. A viewing of this series may make some Americans sleep better at night knowing there are some very bright and determined individuals out there that use very clever ways to keep us safe.

Matt Patti

Matt Patti has enjoyed voicing his opinions on films from a young age. He has lived in the Baltimore, Maryland, area since 2015 and is a graduate of Stevenson University’s Film & Moving Image program. Matt is currently back at Stevenson University, working as the School of Design, Arts, and Communication's Studio Manager.