Dexter (Showtime Series)

Angelic Serial Killer

Okay, so I'm almost always "up" for a bizarre storyline and gore doesn't usually bother me, but I have to admit that the first four episodes of Showtime's Dexter were way over the top for me.

The premise is that Dexter (Michael C. Hall), a Dade County, Florida, forensics expert in blood spatter, learned a vigilante code of ethics from his foster father. Seems that he's intent on destroying those who have perpetrated heinous acts on others by himself performing heinous acts on them. If a murderer has escaped justice, Dexter will hunt him down and do dastardly deeds to the death.

Neither Dexter's girlfriend (Jennifer Carpenter) nor his beloved step-sister (Julie Benz) have any idea that this seemingly gentle, loving man harbors the soul of a sociopathic serial killer -- not just a killer but one who tortures his victims and annihilates them in the most bizarre ways.

I'm not sure if I'll get around to viewing further episodes of this series. Maybe, if I have nothing else to watch, but with 250 DVDs in my Netflix queue and new releases every week at Red Box, I kinda sorta think I'll not have the chance. Four episodes may have been my limit not just due to the violence but also because it's often just too ethereal in tone for me.

Based on novels by Jeff Lindsay.

Not for the squeamish due to explicit violence in the manner in which Dexter tortures and murders.

My personal rating: C