It's only natural that our true crime interest would lead us to “The Serpent,” the little-known story of a serial murderer in Southeast Asia in the 1970s who murdered men and women along what was dubbed “The Hippie Trail” by some.
Regrettably, the series' promise is frequently thwarted by perplexing structural decisions and a poor comprehension of its topic. The creators of this eight-episode miniseries about a serial murderer never quite worked out how to tell the tale, which is exacerbated by frequent chronological crosscutting that further muddles the piece's tone and pace, putting the entire production at a maddening distance.
What The Serpent is All About?
The plot is set in the mid-1970s and follows Charles Sobhraj, a French serial murderer of Indian and Vietnamese ancestry, as he poisons and robs tourists, primarily young backpackers, while they pass through Bangkok, Thailand, along the overland route. He travels the world by stealing his victims' passports and identities, and he sells stolen stones with his lover Marie-Andrée Leclerc. When a Dutch ambassador, Herman Knippenberg, begins investigating the killings of Dutch tourists and discovers clues that lead to Charles Sobhraj, he is at the height of his atrocities.
The BBC announced in July 2019 that the eight-part drama from Mammoth Screen, Tom Shankland, and Richard Warlow had been commissioned. Charles Sobhraj would be played by Tahar Rahim.
In September 2019, Jenna Coleman, Billy Howle, and Ellie Bamber joined the main cast. Warlow and Toby Finlay would write, Shankland and Hans Herbots would direct, and Warlow and Shankland, together with Stephen Smallwood, Preethi Mavahalli, Damien Timmer, and Lucy Richer, would executive produce.
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Until late March 2020, principal photography took place largely in Thailand's capital Bangkok and the resort town of Hua Hin in Thailand's Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. After a five-month hiatus owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, filming began in August 2020 in Hertfordshire, England. Scenes shot after production resumed were effortlessly merged with previous Thailand footage, with just minimal script modifications necessary. Scenes set in India and France (among other destinations) were reportedly shot in England due to the production's inability to film on site, according to Jenna Coleman in various TV and radio appearances.
When was The Serpent Releases?
In January 2020, BBC One released the series' first look stills. On December 17, 2020, a trailer was published. The drama premiered on BBC One on January 1, 2021, with Episode 2 following a few days later. After that, the series was shown weekly on Sunday evenings. On the same day, the entire eight-episode series was posted on iPlayer.
Only UK citizens were able to see the BBC broadcast and stream the release. The UK edition of Amazon began offering a DVD release of the series in early February, with a release date of February 22, 2021. In April 2021, Netflix began streaming the series globally.
What happened to the real serpent?
Charles Sobhraj, a French murderer and con artist suspected of killing at least 12 people across Asia in the 1970s, had a tendency of eluding punishment, escaping from jail on several times by using his slippery and hazardous character. It's no surprise he earned the moniker “The Serpent.”
According to The Los Angeles Times, investigators believe Sobhraj killed between 12 and 20 individuals. According to CNN, he first acknowledged to at least 12 homicides between 1972 and 1976 during his interviews with Neville and Clark, but then recanted. In 1972, while in Pakistan, he claimed to have killed his first victim, a taxi driver. While he was never prosecuted with the murder, he was arrested at least five times in different nations for lesser crimes before he was publicly suspected of murder.
Charles Sobhraj, whose murder spree across Asia in the 1970s is dramatised in “The Serpent,” has escaped jail at least four times, although he is presently imprisoned in Nepal.
According to CNN, he also managed to get out of jail at least four times. In 1972, he faked sickness and drugged guards to get out of an Afghan jail for theft. A year later, he escaped from an Indian prison by feigning sickness once more. He then managed to avoid jail by setting fire to a prison truck in 1975.
Wrapping Up
Part of the reason for this is the vexing structure, which not only hops back and forth between Knippenberg and Sobhraj with worrisome inconsistency, but also bounces around in time, making it difficult to gain dramatic or thematic footing in any particular episode. The storyline flips and leaps back in time to give additional history or recreate the last days of one of his victims just when the filmmakers of an episode appear to be building momentum.
Sangeet Kumar writes all of the most recent articles and news about television and the entertainment industry. He is particularly interested in streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus. Also, He love to explore the world..
