Code of a Killer (2015) User Reviews

Don't miss it

[lisainstyle · 9/10 · 21 May 2020]

In typical British fashion...a riveting true story...the best British acting...and the perfect length. This is a fascinating look into the way the UK has impacted police work. If you enjoy British police crime shows, you will enjoy this 3 episode one.

Code of a Killer - genetic fingerprinting

[Mike-5332 · 8/10 · 11 March 2017]

Great historical account of the forensic tool used so extensively today. Really enjoyed finding how this was used in the murder investigation. Sir Alec Jeffreys was knighted for this scientific discovery. Only thing I don't understand is why it was not worthy of a Nobel Prize.

Familiar cast in docu-drama about early DNA testing..

[canuckteach · 9/10 · 28 February 2017]

If you are a fan of the true-life crime investigation series out in the wild (Forensic Files, Murder Comes to Town, etc.) that involve matching suspects to DNA evidence, then this is a must-see for you. The inventor of DNA testing, Alec Jeffreys, is a main character in this 'sort of' 3-part docu-drama about catching a rapist-killer in a small town in England in the mid-80's. Jeffreys' research at a university lab near the infamous attacks on 2 teen girls is profiled, as his work is key in exonerating a falsely-accused boy, and nailing the real killer.

Interestingly, if this were a fictional story, many viewers would be saying, 'O come on... this sort of thing could never happen that way...!', thus proving that truth is stranger than fiction (or 'life imitates art', as you please).

Three actors always worth watching (together or apart): John Simm (who plays Jeffreys), Robert Glenister (the DCC - Glenister looks like a real DCC, or a cop you would want on your side if you were wrongly accused of murder - he gets my vote) and David Threlfall as the determined DCS doggedly chasing the real perpetrator. I think Simm & Glennister effectively teamed up also in the Brit version of 'Life on Mars'. Threlfall looks completely different from his IMDb profile pic, thus showing that great Brit actors transform themselves enough to suit even a grim role, unlike popular American actors who show the same glam profile in every shot of every movie - (you know the ones I mean: pretty boys!).

A great BRIT 3-parter I caught on ACORN-TV, well worth the price of admission for this alone. 9/10

Saw on Acorn TV

[bradpemberton · 10/10 · 20 March 2017]

I found this a wonderful rendition of the trials and pains involved in creating the DNA fingerprinting process. It did have a good amount of science included but this was a theme that undergirded the entire series. The dogged work by the police the anxiety of the scientists and the grief and hope of the victims families were woven into a great story. This is the type of show we need more of.

Superb British Drama

[lillightjc-85500 · 10/10 · 18 February 2020]

An excellent mini-series based on the true story of the events surrounding the murders of 15 year olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in a small village outside Leicester, UK. The acting is beautifully metered and subtle and the depiction of life in England in the 1980's is extremely well done. Congratulations to all involved in this series and deepest appreciation to Sir Alec Jeffreys and team and the police force involved for their blood sweat and tears in these tragic cases as well as deepest heartfelt sympathy condolences to Lynda's and Dawn's loved ones.

Code of a Killer

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 23 April 2015]

I was not originally planning to watch this programme, I may not have even read about it, I just happened upon it following a previous programme, hearing the cast in it and what it was about was what attracted to me to watch, and I'm glad I did. Basically, set between 1983 and 1987, two schoolgirls, Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, have been brutally raped and murdered in Leicestershire, DCS David Baker (David Threlfall) is leading the investigation. A few miles away Leicester University scientist Dr. Alec Jeffreys (John Simm), through years of grafting, uncovers a remarkable method to read each individual's unique DNA finger print, seen on paper like a supermarket shopping barcode. A teenager admits to one of the two murders, but to be sure he is truly guilty Baker drafts in Jeffreys to utilise his newly discovered scientific technique and compare his DNA with the sample found in both the murdered women, he is proved innocent through this process and his confession is false. Baker then made the extraordinary decision to create the world's first DNA manhunt, every man between the particular age the killer is designated, every man within five miles of the crime scenes will be sent a letter bringing them in to have a blood sample taken to prove their innocence, any man who ignores the letter will have a second letter sent, and anyone who does not turn in will be suspected and questioned. After months of unsuccessful tests on over five thousand local men, it is only when a man confesses to providing his own blood in the place of a man named Colin Pitchfork (Nathan Wright) that they finally identify the guilty man, comparing the found sample they confirm that his unique DNA barcode is identical to that found in the women's bodies. Colin Pitchfork was convicted of the two murders, Baker continued crime investigation for many years, and Jeffreys was knighted for services to genetics and to science and technology, he continued working until his retirement in 2012, his scientific breakthrough is the most important crime investigation discovery since the fingerprint, and is still used today. Also starring Anna Madeley as Sue Jeffreys, Lorcan Cranitch as DI Alan Madden, Jaz Deol as DC Taran Kholi, Andrew Tiernan as DS Geoff Taylor, Robert Glenister as DCC Chapman, Lydia Rose Bewley as Vicky Wilson, Farzana Dua Elahe as Tania Patel, Paul Copley as Sidney Jeffreys, Ged Simmons as Eddie Eastwood, Shirley Dixon as Joan Jeffreys, Hannah Walters as Kath Eastwood, Dorothy Atkinson as Barbara Ashworth, Jessica Woods as Carole Pitchfork, Neil Edmond as Robin Ashworth and Darren Bancroft as Mr. Hopkirk. Threlfall gives a good performance as the head of the investigation, and Simm is great as the scientist who makes the important discovery, it works really well because it is based on the true events of Alec Jeffreys' discovery and catching the double murderer Colin Pitchfork, and it is a great story, I would definitely recommend it as a terrific drama. Very good!

Excellent drama.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 8 April 2019]

First off, it's a very sad, interesting, and real life story. The first time in our history that DNA was used by the Police to bring about a conviction, hard to imagine nowadays.

I have to give real praise to the Director and screen writer, for telling the story in a realistic, informative, factual style, that lacked the usual sensationalism associated with modern dramas.

Superbly acted, John Simm and David Threlfall in particular are excellent.

Tragic crimes, brought to life, in a fast moving drama. 8/10

A bit too static, even for a film based on true events and characters

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 29 March 2016]

I am aware that planning and creating a feature film/series when many people know of the course of events and ending is a challenge, with the need to emphasize other elements, e.g. acting, background, directing, etc. In spite of the fact that the events happened "before my time" in a different country, I could still guess the outcome, and many decisions probably relevant then seem odd and questionable at present. The result for me is a half-documentary and protracted depiction with "not-among- the-finest" actors in the leading roles, with focus on hesitations instead of implementation and, in retrospect, odd blunders by the local police.

Both the director (James Strong) and John Simm and David Threlfall have participated in more integral and more interesting works, but if you like docudramas and are not too young, then Code of a Killer is definitely above average.

Well Worth the Watch

[untilnow99 · 9/10 · 10 May 2020]

This based-on-a-true-story series was an education for me. I never really gave much thought as to how DNA testing originated as a viable tool for criminal cases. And I never knew the drama that was entailed regarding the murders and rapes in the UK.

I think this is a great series.

The actors are all terrific. Very well cast. The soundtrack is perfect i.e., I never noticed it much unless it was to say to myself, "Ah . . . good accompaniment. Well done." Don't you just hate it when the music is all whiny violins and you're being "told" how to feel about each and every scene?

I have no idea who directed this, but whoever it was-----job very well done.

Give it a watch. I think you'll like it.

Silly prop Error

[cameronhurwood · 18 January 2016]

i remember these events real time and watched the show with admiration and interest several times since being aired. so on the 1st episode and just after Gavin Hopkirk is refusing to confess to the second murder. The scene is now in the office DI Alan Madden leaves with DCS David Baker is looking at the new paper with the headline "local scientist proves paternity" . clearly this is where we are meant to believe the source of inspiration for DNA testing is coming from:

but then the camera drops down passed the picture of Alec Jeffreys and then my eye was caught by the name Lynda Mann next to the chin of Alec: it possible to read that " the technique has been used by leicestershire police eliminate people from their enquires...etc....". Me thinks they used this prop prematurely.

About DNA Sequencing

[garywalsh-51047 · 7/10 · 1 March 2021]

This movie necessarily spends some time educating the audience, however it tacitly assumes the statement that no two people can have the same DNA. This statement is actually false, that is to say, the probability that two people have the same DNA is not zero.

Code Of A Killer

[a_baron · 8/10 · 14 November 2019]

In the 1980s, Colin Pitchfork raped and murdered two teenage girls. The story of those horrific crimes has been minutely documented because this was the first time DNA fingerprinting/profiling was used in a criminal case. Although "Code Of A Killer" is presented as a dramatisation it contains little in the way of drama, nothing graphic, and is more of a documentary, following a number of similar historically accurate dramatisations on both sides of the Atlantic. It is also in effect two stories - that of the pioneering work of Alec Jeffreys, and of the hunt for a nascent serial killer.

The mentally challenged Richard Buckland who confessed to the second murder is renamed Gavin Hopkirk, which will certainly not please the real owners of that name, bar the fictional murderer from a 2014 ITV series. The name of the man who was duped into impersonating Pitchfork to donate blood has also been changed, even though it is widely known. He paid a heavy price for that act of misguided loyalty.

Beyond the scope of this dramatisation is the unthinkable release of this monster. In 2016 he was moved to an open prison and two years later was photographed in Bristol. He has since been denied parole, and the families of his victims have mounted a national campaign to put him back in a proper prison where he belongs.

Soap opera farce with silly people.

[khunkrumark · 3/10 · 5 May 2019]

What a great idea for a story... The discovery of how DNA could be adopted by forensic science to catch killers... Instead, we have the usual cast of familiar TV actors and a terrible script that managers to reduce this awesome moment in time to a sappy pantomime of cops and cute bumbling scientists.

It's just embarrassing to sit through some of these scenes as exposition is driven home to the viewer via the dinner table chit chat.

This nonsense is far less about the science and voyage of discovery, and more about the idiotic family dramas of the characters. The story plods unevenly between the cops and the egg heads with lots of comforting cliches to make us feel safe.

"Shouldn't you be looking for the killer?" "We're doing all we can, sir!"

"You're never at home anymore." "But DNA is more important."

The police have cutbacks, the scientists have awesome accidental discoveries, the victims cry a lot. Nothing original here, and a wasted opportunity to tell an important and fascinating story.

3 part series well worth watching!

[dizzylou818 · 10/10 · 27 June 2020]

I wasn't sure about watching this, but I'm so glad I did. It's a fictional account of the rape and murder of two young girls. The story shows how DNA testing used by the police first came about. Everything about the series was outstanding. Well worth less than 3 hours of your time.

Terrific True Crime & Science Drama

[Venturous1 · 8/10 · 29 November 2020]

Worthwhile 3-episode true story drama with wonderful performances all around. I've always loved John SIMM, and he's great as the scientist-hero Dr. Jeffreys. It's easy to forget how difficult forensic crime fighting was before the first application of 'genetic fingerprinting' in 1986. So the tension is heightened by the very newness of the technology. Will it work?

understated and more realistic

[jmccrmck-65172 · 8/10 · 8 July 2020]

There's no action just an interesting story with out any hype or Hollywood gimmicks . it has the pace of what actual , real police work might be like. David Threlfall is great in the lead as a seasoned policeman doing his job patiently which being so unlike most police shows make it stand alone in the genre. The show more than met my expectations and proceeded to give a believable narrative throughout which is what makes it different and better than most shows.

I just love watching this over and over.

[kfboyde · 10/10 · 10 May 2022]

Everything is just great about it. Acting, actors, story, and true story. It's just one of those movies/shows to watch over and over and you never tire of it.

Great series but

[agnr · 10/10 · 10 February 2023]

Obviously the DNA aspect is the "artistic license " in this... so the principle player wears a minging white coat that looks like it has the DNA of a thousand people....was I the only person to see that.

Very good period senes with authentic vehicles and interior designs...and period tv cameras backgrounds and wardrobe.. Location and maps are spot on.

The casting here is superb...with some well known faces but seriously talented characters..not many producers would have managed such a provocative issue with such sensitivity..we need more like this.....hopefully independent producers will keep up this level of talent.

Adventure documentary

[ultright · 9/10 · 16 February 2023]

How can you make the spectacle of people, laboring to discover knowledge whose utility is not yet proven, seem interesting? You show their vision, the struggle, and then a real-world case whose power is hard to deny. "Less is more" seems to be the mode of this series, which focuses on quality character acting and placing the viewer into the struggle instead of excessive emotion. We are there to feel what motivates these characters to try to assert order amongst the chaos, and by seeing their motivations, can connect to their emotions without being clobbered over the head with them. It is a tale of human triumph even when confronting our darkest behaviors, and makes for good casual watching if you like true crime, science, or documentaries.