A new ITV psychological thriller is going to be depicting the horrific true story of a serial killer who was known as ‘the Scalp Hunter’.
The name alone is enough to elicit a shiver down your spine, and the more you read into the case the more you feel a desire to hide behind your sofa before even putting the show on.
The ‘scalp hunter’ is a famous serial killer by the name of John Sweeney, who killed multiple people over the course of several years.
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Sweeney’s victims shared one horrifying detail in common - he would sever their head after killing them.
He would cut the bodies of his victims, most of whom were his girlfriends, then dump their bodies into the river.
One victim who survived Sweeney is the focus of the show, Delia Balmer, who was tied to a bed by the serial killer for days.
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The ITV show is called Until I Kill You, and focuses on Balmer’s relationship with Sweeney, and subsequent capture by him. Here's the trailer:
After four days of being trapped in a room by him, he freed her but would later attack her with an axe. She escaped with the help of a neighbour who attacked Sweeney.
The show is on ITV X in its entirety now. The first episode aired last night, November 3, and ITV will air one episode a night for the show’s entire four instalment run.
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One review of the show on IMDb gave it a 10/10 ratings, saying: “This is not an easy series to watch for a variety of reasons. Nor should it be.
“It's unnervingly realistic. It's harrowing. It's terrifying. It really happens. I started working with the victims of serious abuse in 1990. It was my job to somehow fix the victims.
“This series brings everything back. This series is essential viewing. Its terrifying and it's real. It's not fantasy.”
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Another 9/10 review on IMDb said: “This short series left me speechless, just blew me away!
“Not only because of the great actors and performance but also because of how well the story is told, realistic, very strong and at times uncomfortable and frustrating.
“Once you start watching it you won't be able to stop it!”
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The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan gave the show a perfect five star review, saying: “This extraordinary portrait of Delia Balmer, who survived a relationship with the murderer John Sweeney, is that rarest of things – fearless TV that values viewers’ intelligence.
“Until I Kill You is an extraordinary portrait of survivors’ suffering. But there is no scurrying after sensationalism. The worst episodes are evoked, not lingered on.
“It is a magnificent treatment of a damnable, unending subject.”
Until I Kill You is on ITV X now, and will air on ITV 1 at 9pm for the next three nights.
Topics: TV, UK News, ITV, True Crime
Michael Slavin