A Review of 'Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez'

I had no intention of watching a documentary series about Aaron Hernandez. 

One, because I'm not much into the True Crime genre. I know that puts me in a minority, but personally I don't have much appetite for grim reality. So when I have time to listen to a non-Barstool podcast or watch a documentary, I'll go for comedy or history or the paranormal. I understand how popular it is, but Murder Porn just isn't my jam.

Second, because a gifted and universally popular athlete going all Patrick Bateman is such a surreal and horrifying chapter in our times that I was hoping to just move on from for good once Hernandez did us the favor of ending his short, murderous life at the end of a bedsheet. 

But I realized its sort of my job to watch this. It's not every day a star with a brilliant future ahead of him (allegedly) goes on a killing spree. So I caved. And I'm glad I did. While "enjoying" is hardly the right word, I do respect the work that's gone into "Killer Inside" and what an incredible job they've done of presenting this bizarre story. 

The way most documentaries go wrong is when they come at you with an obviously slanted agenda. it's why the vast majority of political ones don't work; they just preach to their own choir. So I was worried this one would be sympathetic to a convicted killer who beat the rap on two others. And while there's mention of Hernandez getting knocked out cold playing high school ball and the domestic violence he witnessed his father inflict on his mother, it's presented without editorial comment. You decide for yourself how much of a factor things like that were in turning a kid from a fairly affluent background into a fucking monster.

I mean, just the recorded phone calls from his prison to his girlfriend, his mom and his cousin (who was dying of breast cancer) alone are enough to make this series worth watching. In one he's saying how well he's adjusting to prison and asking for Harry Potter books. In the next, he's shaking and crying because he got into a beef with another inmate. Then he's invoking God and telling the cousin how much he needs her to beat her cancer. It's like the more you hear from him, the less and less you understand. 

But the rest is fascinating as well. The way the events unfolded. Of all things, helicopters following him down the highway as he's driving to Gillette Stadium in - of all goddamned things - a white SUV. Imbeciles outside the courthouse chanting "Inn-o-cent! Inn-o-cent!" Girls screaming "We love you!" at the Bristol County Sheriff's van. Security camera shots of him getting into his car on his way to kill a good friend of his. Bill Belichick handling the situation about as well as you could ever hope, talking about how much work goes into evaluating the people he's responsible for bringing into his organization. The Kraft family exchanging No. 81 jerseys for any other player at no cost, like a gun buyback program. Of all people in the world, Tim Tebow finding himself on the Pats roster at the start of camp, having to deflect questions about his Florida teammate and making no bones about the fact he was ordered not to say anything. Then the Kafkaesque weirdness of the Patriots going to Super Bowl XLIX while Hernandez was on trial. And the judge ordering that no NFL gear of any kind will be allowed in the courtroom. 

(Speaking of which, on a personal note, at my old court officer job I worked some trials prosecuted by the Assistant DAs who got Hernandez convicted of Odin Lloyd's murder. And I think some of the court officers. Though my "Hear Ye, Hear Ye" was much better  than the ones presented in the series. And as great as my skill set was, I'm much more suited to sitting home in a Baby Yoda t-shirt writing blogs. My former co-workers would agree.)

Mostly what this show does is makes you think, which is the purpose of any documentary. It has you asking questions about how a guy who was touched on the forehead by the gods of talent and blessed with a life anyone would envy could drop someone to his knees and shoot him dead. How anyone could compartmentalize well enough to (probably) kill two strangers by shooting into their car, then play 10 games of NFL football. And how a 23-year-old millionaire could throw away everything he had in this world for a 7x10 jail cell and the business end of a prison bedsheet.

I'm not quite done watching "Killer Inside," but I will finish it for sure. And highly recommend you do as well, whether or not True Crime is your thing or you give a shit about the Patriots. It's some of the most compelling TV you'll ever see.