True crime fans have something to look forward to at the end of this month. Netflix just released the trailer for the new documentary Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers.
Aileen Wuornos is one of the most prolific female serial killers, and this new doc promises to give us the true story, straight from her mouth. We take a look inside the trailer to see what to expect.
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers tells the truth about Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Carol Wuornos was a sex worker who shot and killed seven of her male clients across Florida over 12 months. She was tried and convicted in 1992, receiving the death penalty for six of these murders. She remained on death row until 2002, when she was executed by lethal injection.
These are the facts on the surface, but it's the why that makes the story of Wuornos still so compelling. Wuornos had a troublesome childhood, with a schizophrenic, pedophile father she never met, and a teenage mother who left her and her older brother, Keith, to live with their maternal grandparents, both of them alcoholics.
Her grandfather abused her, and one of his friends raped and got Aileen pregnant at 14. She had to give up the child for adoption. After her grandmother passed, her grandfather threw her out. From the age of 15, she supported herself through prostitution.
She also attempted suicide six times between the ages of 14 and 22. She had a record full of minor and major crimes before her killing spree began, including armed robberies and car theft. Her life got better in 1986, when she met her girlfriend, Tyria Moore. But her offences didn't stop.
She claimed she killed in self-defense, because the clients she murdered assaulted and raped her. She dumped the bodies and the victims' cars with Moore's help, making her an accessory to murder.
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers trailer teases a different side of the story
The Netflix documentary, directed by Emily Turner, is based on an interview Wuornos gave while on death row in 1997, when she said, "I'm going to tell you the truth of my life." The trailer proceeds to paint a difference between who Wuornos was as a person versus a serial killer.
Aileen Wuornos's story has been revisited multiple times in documentaries, docuseries and movies, the most notable one being Monster (2003), for which Charlize Theron won an Oscar. But Aileen in this trailer seems nothing like the monster the media portrayed.
Is this the true story? Has Aileen Wuornos truly snapped as a result of years of abuse and no help from anyone? The defense team claimed mental instability and cited a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.
Yet, the judge deemed her fit to stand trial. And while many believe she was evil, some would claim, as shown in this trailer, that she didn't get justice. She was labelled a "hooker" and treated as such.
The documentary also promises to give us answers about Moore and her reasons for making Wuornos confess to all the murders, besides the obvious grant of immunity. Alongside Wuornos and Moore, we'll hear from others who knew Aileen, and see archival footage from former Dateline correspondent Michele Gillen.
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers comes to Netflix on Thursday, Oct. 30. Right before Halloween, it feels rather fitting to dive into the mind and motives of a female "monster" that seems not so monstrous when you see her being interviewed.
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