Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance (2011) User Reviews

Panzram: Decent but Schizophrenic in approach

[sacha_brady · 7/10 · 2 January 2013]

Summary: a film chronicling the life of Carl Panzram, self-confessed serial killer, rapist and thief from the early 20th century. The content is mostly based on his writings, produced in prison, following encouragement from a sympathetic prison guard who befriends him, Henry Lesser. The film tries to shed light on why Panzram became what he was, placing a lot of attention on the mistreatment he was subject to alongside brief commentary on the crimes he claimed to have committed.

This John Borowski documentary is good; his films are always good. But this is a departure from his previous work in that those were really just tales of the bogeyman, whereas this attempts to be something more: the actual fleshed-out story of the man rather than the persona. For some this will add substance and make watching more rewarding; for others, it places the film in competition with so many 'straight' documentaries and perhaps denies what Borowski seems so good at: namely telling ghoulish stories about some of the most intriguing but despicable men ever to live.

From my perspective, I like the fact that the documentaries are trying to be stimulating on more levels, but I think a trick was missed here because this story should be if anything as much about Henry Lesser as Panzram himself. He gets a decent amount of screen time but if this is intended to be a more human story, Lesser's humanity is a perfect contrast to Panzram's rage and hatefulness, and their friendship is what's truly remarkable about the whole affair and elevates it above others. The fact that Panzram appears very introspective is also an area that is extremely interesting but that too is given only fleeting coverage.

Plusses: thorough, engaging, a worthy story and interesting subject

Minuses: has a bit of an identity crisis in what it wants to be, weak range of contributors (ex. an artist with a morbid fascination for serial killers: see previous criticism),

7/10

One of the Lesser-Known Serial Killers of the 20th Century

[gavin6942 · 17 April 2013]

The true story of lifelong criminal and serial killer, Carl Panzram who wrote his autobiography for a jail guard in 1928.

Unless you happen to be interested in serial killers, you probably never heard of Carl Panzram. He does not rank as high in public consciousness as Dahmer, Gacy, Zodiac... and yet, he is no less fascinating. I am quite happy that someone took the time to make a documentary on this enigmatic figure.

I am even more happy that a prison guard encouraged Panzram to write his memoir and that San Diego State University decided it was worth keeping. This does not seem like the sort of material that you would typically find in a university's special collections, but it has a value to any number of people for different reasons.

A life less than perfect

[Ed-Shullivan · 8/10 · 17 April 2022]

Is it really Carl Panzram's fault that he was born into a family of poverty, alcoholism, abuse and neglect? Carl Panzram was the type of man that the world would have been a much better place not running into him. He knew only one way to survive and that was to brutalize and rape his victims. His pain threshold and abnormal strength were well documented as were his very long list of crimes.

Like a bad car accident that you cannot turn your head away from while driving by, I had to watch this documentary and I am glad I did. I wouldn't want to ever be 1,000 miles near Carl Panzram but in some weird way I still empathize with the life that Carl Panzram was subjected to living in and out of multiple hardcore prisons.

I give this documentary a credible 8 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Not very good overall

[Slowblivion · 3/10 · 21 April 2013]

I've always had an interest in the psyche of mass murderers and career criminals so I jumped when I saw Panzram on this doc. The story of Panzram is quite interesting but this documentary really leaves too much to be desired. My opinions are not of the story of Panzram, but the documentary itself.

I simply don't understand the generally high ratings this doc has gotten. First things first, the dramatic reenactments are almost comedically poor. Not the tone which is trying to be set yet I found myself shaking my head every time the actors took the screen. I found the sound effects used to emphasize aspects of the still pictures were either wrong (in that it seemed like someone had perhaps put the wrong sound in) or grossly misused. ADR was awful.

The biggest problem, however, is the disjointed nature and sporadic flow of the narrative. The story grinds to a halt as the testimonials are constantly brought up to very nearly justify the murders and rapes as being a result of institutionalization in the 20's (despite the OBVIOUS immediate reaction that if this was so wide spread and rampant... why didn't hardly anyone else in those systems react as Panzram did). The story will follow Panzram as a child and how he got in trouble then testimonials would interrupt claiming how he was tortured. Based on the facts presented in the doc, there was little torture of him as a child. In fact, he was mentioned to have been "spanked" as part of a punishment. One testimony simply glossed it over by saying, "we could only imagine what that was like".... well given lack of any other indication one would guess a belt or a paddle much like nearly all disciplining was done back then. Yet, we're made to feel almost sorry for this poor boy. My grandfather didn't murder and rape dozens of people but he got paddled in school just like Panzram.

Really what the doc comes down to isn't Panzram. It falls to Lesser, the guard, being a bit more progressive (completely naive) than the system he works for and the filmmakers views on 20's institutions (as though anyone views them in a real positive light anyway). Which, in my opinion, is a bait and switch. You lure me into a doc about Panzram and I get really basic info without any real insights only to then preach a philosophy on prisons and youth education which as almost entirely already occurred in those systems over nearly the last century that this film is basing events off. But it wasn't because of Panzram. Panzram didn't revolutionize the prison system, he was merely a footnote in its history. Yet, this doc uses him as the poster child as though he single handedly altered perceptions. To most, he will forever be unknown. To those who do know of him, he was a murderer and a rapist.

Really, i'm not trying to be hard on it, but I just don't feel this is a very strong documentary. Let me put it this way... one of the very few commentators is an artist who merely has a fascination with Panzram. And a museum where they have the hood and rope used during his execution spelled his name wrong... Panzran. You'd think a credible museum would want to have the name spelled right on their displays, right? Appears not. They explain why it's spelled that way but it's still incorrect and they know it.

Bottom line, it's not the worst documentary but it fails to deliver on several levels. What's worse, it's preaching as to a moral completely overshadows the prime character's story which the documentary is based on.

3-10

Carl Panzram: The Spirit Of Hatred And Vengeance

[a_baron · 8/10 · 28 March 2016]

This is a unique documentary about one of America's lesser known serial killers, and what a nasty piece of work he was too. In 1930, Panzram was hanged at Leavenworth Penitentiary for the murder of a civilian prison employee. There is no doubt whatsoever that he committed that murder, but it remains to be seen how many of the others he claimed he did actually commit. Did he really sail to Africa where he raped and murdered an underage boy? There is no doubt that he murdered others closer to home, but much of what he boasted about was clearly bunk. About the only things of which we can be certain is that he hated humanity with a vengeance, and the world became a slightly less evil place as soon as he breathed his final breath, his infamous last words being: "Yes, hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill a dozen men while you're screwing around!" There are variations on that quote, but there is no arguing with the sentiment.

Why anyone should want to do anything with a creature like Panzam other than isolate him from the rest of mankind remains to be seen, but one of his prison guards, Henry Lesser (1902-83) encouraged him to write his autobiography, and these writings are now preserved in the Malcolm A. Love Library, part of San Diego State University. Archive footage of the elderly Lesser is used in this film.

It is clear from the fragments herein that Panzram was a fairly literate individual; he had heard of Oscar Wilde, and was clearly intimate with Wilde's vices, which he shared. He could have made something of his life, albeit by using his ill-gotten gains. Instead...

Disgusting sympathy for a monster

[phillipsl1701 · 2/10 · 25 January 2014]

I have watched many documentaries of all kinds and attempted to be as open-minded as possible. In this case, however, I simple cannot be. I have never seen such an attempt to excuse, and soften the story of someone who was quite frankly and monster. All this by people, who would quite likely have been amongst Carl Panzram's victims had the opportunity been provided, this to include the hero of the story, Prison guard Henry Lesser…. Disgusting. Pity I suppose for this same cast of characters that they didn't have access to Hitler or Pol Pot so as to find out about their tragic childhoods and thus soften the evil of their crimes….

Bizarre

[walkie73 · 9 February 2014]

Near the end of the documentary it tries to portray Lesser as some kind of hero. Why? What did he do except have a morbid curiosity about Panzram? Why does saving a serial killer's manifesto make someone a hero. That was irresponsible.

Also, they try to portray Panzram as some kind of Sherpa who is telling humanity that they need to change their ways.

The guy was a complete psycho. Let's not forget that.

He murdered.

He raped.

He stole.

A horrible human being.

Riveting

[billcr12 · 8/10 · 7 August 2021]

I just finished Ryan Green's book on Panzram and this film is a perfect companion piece to it. Carl was a vicious rapist and murderer who left behind a surprisingly well written journal of his many misdeeds. With little formal education, he was a natural born killer and writer. I am not fond of reenactments but they are well done in this case. The story is an amazing one and I highly recommend this documentary.

Completely Boring

[tkhayduke · 1/10 · 7 July 2020]

A complete waste of time. Nothing new is learned about Panzram.

Questionable

[kevincraigmagic · 8/10 · 28 December 2023]

This documentary delving into the warped mind of Carl Panzram is fascinating and disturbing.

Learning about this man's early life and what shaped his murderous and demonic journey through his tortured life and those he prayed on.

I have difficulty believing that this scantily education man wrote his "memoirs" and they are not the work of a third party, namely his prison guard. The language used seems far to erudite. There are also references that don't quite add up to my mind.

This is put forward as fact without any true investigative work or fact finding. It would make an interesting piece of work to take this perspective instead of blindly accepting "his" writings as fact.

Nothing special

[agathac-89605 · 3/10 · 2 November 2019]

Just another guy cooking music a lot of murders nothing special about him it's sad when Riders producers or whoever gets around the table and talk about what they're going to work on running out of ideas and you just put anything it's nothing special about this man what he did director had no imagination:JOHN BOROWSKI

Failure and Success...

[cebelina · 11 May 2014]

Many people will try and claim that this movie is "soft" on Panzram the rapist, murderer and killer. They'd be wrong. There is no softening of such horrific crimes. We are told this over and over by Panzram himself. If you want to judge I suppose Panzram's your "kinda" guy. He is a pariah of everything gone wrong in one human being and how wrong one human being can actually be. But if you take a bigger picture there is a very loud message booming here. Panzram tells us as much...Borowski won't let us forget. Cruelty begets cruelty. Sadism begets sadism. Ruthlessness makes a person ruthless. If you want to create a monster treat a person as a monster. Now of course some folks will be monsters just because of their genetic disposition. And some will overcome being treated like a monster and become a Human once again. Panzram is indeed a fury of hate. But is it so hard for the average person not to also become vengeful when raped, and abused? And isn't it easier to understand what makes a vengeful monster after we ourselves have been abused. I think Lesser and Panzram's perspective is that it is easier to make or even become a monster than the average person would probably think. Not only is this movie sad...it leads one to wonder just who Panzram might have been had he been treated kindly in his life. This is no way excuses his ruthlessness. But it is a question that remains unanswered and lingers hanging in the air...He pretends to not care, to have no conscious. He lies. He knows his murderous intent is because of who he is and what has happened to him. And while he doesn't care who he hurts he clearly knows it is wrong. But if he didn't care why then warn us of what can happen when a child is abused? Why then share his story? In that sense Panzram "outs" himself...he loves his vengeance, it makes him feel good to be cruel and to make the world pay for what it has done to him...but yet he also warns us of what he could do. Why warn us if you don't care? But make no mistake he is psychotic. I don't think Panzram should have ever been trusted. I believe his every word..."don't turn your back on me ever again" but I also believe what Lesser believed...underneath the horror of a destroyed man there is a Human desperate to escape and fly free... Panzram is the story of the Human Race as a failure.He shows us not only what that failure is...but how Humanity can also be a Success. Panzram is the story of Us.

Very slow and experts are a joke

[claireelizabeth-49036 · 3/10 · 21 November 2023]

The female "expert' in this film is pathetic. She parrots typical and expected rubbish without any reason to do so. All of her statements and why she said them have been proven to be incorrect. I hope she doesn't practice anymore as she is dangerous.

Very disappointed in a documentary for allowing such garbage to be put on TV.

The reinactments are also a bit sad. But don't go for too lone so they are bearable.

Some good information if you haven't heard of this person before. Just ignore the rubbish from the female "expert".

Quite disappointed to see someone who should know better spouting such damaging and incorrect information.

The Unexpected Thriller of Carl Panzram's Cinematic Snoozefest

[natmavila · 4/10 · 27 March 2024]

Diving into "Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance" with the expectation of uncovering the dark, complex layers of one of history's most infamous criminals, I instead found myself lost in a sea of cinematic despair. This documentary manages the remarkable feat of making a story about a notorious murderer and anarchist about as engaging as watching paint dry - and at least the paint has the common decency to change color. From the monotonous voiceovers that sound like they were recorded in a janitor's closet to the bewildering decision to use reenactments that wouldn't look out of place in a high school drama class, the film leaves much to be desired.

The narrative flow of the documentary is as erratic as Panzram's own criminal career, but without any of the intrigue. It zigzags through time and space with little regard for coherence or the viewer's sanity, leaving one to wonder if the editor was using a dartboard to decide the sequence of scenes. The filmmakers attempt to humanize Panzram, but the execution is so ham-fisted that it inadvertently turns him into a caricature. Imagine trying to paint a nuanced portrait of a deeply troubled soul but your only brush is a sledgehammer - that's the level of subtlety we're working with here.

In what could only be described as an act of sheer defiance against the concept of entertainment, "Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance" turns a fascinating subject into a test of endurance. The documentary's only saving grace is that it serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of amateur filmmaking. By the time the credits mercifully roll, you'll find yourself filled with a spirit of hatred and vengeance - not against Panzram, but against the film itself for robbing you of precious time that could have been spent doing literally anything else. In conclusion, this documentary is a cinematic crime, albeit one that sadly won't be featured in any thrilling retellings.