Summary
Demons and Saviors is one of Hulu and ABC News Studios’ best true crime series. Part one hooks, part two sets up, and the last delivers a powerful and sobering payoff, exposing implicit bias and mob mentality in the criminal justice system.
Here is our review of the Hulu true crime series Demons and Saviors Season 1, released on August 2nd, 2023.
True crime series, like Demons and Saviors, are captivating to the morbidly curious. They delve into the reasons “why” people commit heinous acts.
Also, in part, the influence of unconscious biases or the lens of the investigators and juries who decide someone’s fate. Like those people, the filmmakers who tell these stories tell them through a specific lens and perspective.
For instance, once I saw a news magazine series depicting a just police system pursuing a child killer. However, a Liz Garber feature of the same case portrayed a racially motivated investigation.
The Hulu and ABC New Studio docuseries Demons and Saviors paints a damning portrait of small-town justice run amok that is jaw-dropping.
The filmmakers give equal treatment to let a prosecution make their case. We then watch them take a shovel and bury themselves with it.
Demons and Saviors Season 1 Review
The first episode, “The Poltergeist Girl,” explores Christina Boyer‘s tragic history, including sexual abuse, adoption, and a 16-year-old child who had a child with a man who abused her. Boyer claims supernatural abilities, witnesses poltergeist moments, and is the subject of a book. Any armchair psychologist could argue their “magical thinking” was being used as a protective measure.
“Who Killed Amber Bennett” is the second episode and explores the death of Boyer’s three-year-old daughter. She moved to Georgia and met David Herrin, who allegedly, per this docuseries, is the most logical suspect in Amber’s death.
Yet, Boyer was convicted, and a jury acquitted Herren of murder. The implication is Boyer’s reputation, and outsider status made her the logical scapegoat.
The final episode, “Team Tina vs.. the Prosecution,” sets this docuseries apart because it showcases an eye-opening prosecution overreach. Georgetown law students question the prosecutors and police in charge of the Bennett murder.
Continuously, those with real-world experience come across as being led by their passions (aka bias) instead of relying on actual evidence.
The police and prosecutor, in my view, unconsciously keep using the fact she was the mother as a reason for her conviction, all while admitting Boyer was not there for the six hours when the alleged fatal blow happened while Herrin watched the child.
Also, the prosecution knew they could not prove who struck the child in the head, which caused Amber’s death.
The filmmakers admirably show Amber’s horrible qualities as a mother (described as “survival sex work”). They even justify the State’s passions, revealing their implicit bias in their prosecution.
On camera, they offer passion but little factual support when given the chance to provide evidence of Boyer’s guilt.
It’s genuinely shocking. I’m surprised the court didn’t try to drown Boyer to prove she’s a witch.
Is Demons and Saviors Season 1 good or bad?
Demons and Saviors is a good true crime docuseries because it’s responsible news reporting. I was initially worried, based on the “supernatural” story of the first episode, the docuseries would gloss over key facts.
They are remarkably answered in the final episode. The first part is the hook, the second is the setup, and the last is the sobering and powerful payoff.
Is Demons and Saviors Season 1 worth watching?
Demons and Saviors is worth watching because it’s one of the best true crime docuseries Hulu and ABC News Studios have ever done.
That includes Hulu and ABC News Studios’ brilliant Killing County, streamed earlier this year. That series examined institutional racism. This one examines bias and mob mentality. One wonders what they will explore next.
What did you think of the Hulu true crime series Demons and Saviors Season 1? Comment below.
