Mindhunter Fans Agree That This Scene Filled Them With Absolute Fear
As far as psychological thrillers go, "Mindhunter" has certainly brought something new for true-crime viewers to watch, and overall, it arguably changed the game of crime dramas. The show came out in 2017, and though it doesn't show many traditionally scary scenes, it has an uncanny ability to give audiences the creeps through every episode and storyline.
"Mindhunter" is based on the 1995 book written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit." The series follows two agents, Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany). They travel the country interviewing some of the most vicious murderers in existence and try to learn what it is about their psyche that makes them so evil. Each killer they interview is based on a real-life murderer, and that alone is enough to make anyone's skin crawl, but there's one scene in particular that frightened fans on Reddit just a bit more than others.
Ed Kemper hugging Holden frightened fans the most
Reddit user U/Ebony_Mortem made a post agreeing with a Tweet from actress Mindy Kaling pointing out how uniquely scary "Mindhunter" is. The thread has since grown into a plethora of users agreeing with the show's scare factor and even calling out one scene in particular on Season 1, Episode 10, of serial killer Edmond Kemper (Cameron Britton) giving Holden a very unsettling hug. User U/OffKira mentioned, "The horror of the show is the language, and they know it. Like, they don't need to show Kemper butchering Holden for us to know he's dangerous – everything leading up to that hug was enough for us to be scared of him."
The scene in question takes place in a hospital, and Kemper very clearly tells Holden that he could harm him if he wanted to, before embracing the shaking and whimpering agent. The scene is raw and disturbing, even with no images of violence. One user pointed out on the same Reddit thread, "The most scared I've ever been watching a tv show was during *that* Holden/Kemper scene in the hospital. No blood, no jump scares, just a serial killer giving his buddy a hug and yet it was so f***ing terrifying." Overall, the episode is a mixture of brilliant writing and acting that creates an atmosphere of chills for the audience, keeping them engaged with the show no matter how scared they get.