Des (2020) is a TV miniseries that was broadcast for the first time on the 14th September 2020 based on book Killing For Company written by Brian Masters – a biographer who met with Nilsen in prison on multiple occasions and 10 years continuously after he was charged. It tells the story of the notorious serial killer Dennis Nilsen and discusses the murders he admits to.

Dennis Nilsen

Dennis Nilsen was a serial killer who was active during the late 1970s and early 1980s – mainly targeting young men. Nilsen was uncomfortable with his homosexual tendencies and he began to act on them through dismemberment and murder. Nilsen admitted to killing 15 men against legal caution but could only give the names of 4. However, he was only charged with the death of 6 young men on October 24th 1983 and well as 2 charges of attempted murder. This TV miniseries focuses on the trial and the murders of the victims in question, not his early life. However, if you are interested in learning more about Nilsen and his life then please visit https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/dennis-nilsen

Jump Straight In…

Something that as a viewer really gripped me about this chilling drama was the fact that you are only around 10 minutes in and we are already in a police interviewing room and Nilsen is discussing the murders and where the bodies are of the people that he killed. The whole TV miniseries does not slow down in this respect throughout all 3 episodes. Although I enjoy film and I am always someone who likes to pay attention I really do struggle to binge things but I had no problem binging this whatsoever. The content was constantly well thought out and everything happened for a reason. Transitions and cuts were swift and the dialogue was quick so you kept up to date with everything that was happening. This fast-paced action meant that as the audience we can feel the urgency of the police characters to find a way to charge Nilsen with as much as they could before the Metropolitan Police Service cut their funding on the whole case.

Although it would have been interesting to learn more about the early life of Nilsen, to me it seemed a very purposeful thing of the director Lewis Arnold and writers Luke Neal (ep 1 & 2) and Kelly Jones (ep 3) that they did not want to create a story about his life necessarily but more of an account of his crimes. I think after the backlash that was received from Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) where audience members felt that Bundy was being idolised and fantasised over this is something directors do not want to repeat. It seems somewhat disrespectful to the victims if this was the case and it is kudos to the team creating this piece of work to keep the piece very sensitive and they named the victims that were confirmed at the end of the series to remember them which was not done in the book as Brian Masters discusses in a conversation with Nilsen and I thought this was thoughtful of them to do.

Actor Spotlight

The acting in this piece of work is absolutely phenomenal – from every single cast member. Tennant is a star in the leading role of Nilsen (pictured above) and he is starkly similar looking to the original killer which makes his performance even more chilling. Due to the fact that Tennant is Scottish by birth it means that his accent is flawless since Nilsen was Scottish too. Tennant captures the coldness of Nilsen and the unstable change in mind that he has when the police stop singing to the tune that he was conducting.

Daniel Mays plays the role of Chief Inspector Peter Jay and he actually won an unofficial award for “most cigarettes smoked onscreen” for the series. “I was a cop at the time. Trust me, nowhere near enough smoking in Des,” one commenter joked.” May’s performance in the piece was incredible and it was great to see him explore a new part which will put him on the map for acting after a successful career which has already seen him star in films such as 1917 and Fisherman’s Friends. I look forward to seeing more from him.

Cinematography & Sound ***SPOILER WARNING HERE***

The whole series of Des is expectedly very gloomy and dark obviously reflecting the horror of the acts that the main protagonist committed in the storyline. I think it’s important to mention here that the story focuses on the aftermath of what happened and does not display any of what actually happened, just in case this is something anyone is concerned about.

The beginning of the show literally starts with the action of the story where Daniel Mays’ character is called to the scene and human bones are found in the plumbing of Des’s house. From this point on the lighting of the series gets progressively darker as we see Des taken into custody to discuss what he has done and this does not lift until we see the court scene and Des is being sentenced for them. When we reach the end of the story Mays’ character enters the home of Des before it is renovated and there is light pouring through the windows of the dingy home. Although it is not displayed as a success for the police as the situation is still very sad, we still see the relief that the case is closed for the DCI and the light represents some lifting of the hardships faced by all.

Music was used in the story very much to build the tension of closing the case and to shock the audience with Des’ stark honesty about what he had done. Violins and rising crescendos create a sense of unease within the audience and this adds to the story and the fear we feel watching.

Overall, this TV Series is well-worth a watch and I would certainly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of ITV dramas and who are interested in the serial killer documentaries.