Two filmmakers from a Wales-based production company have said that 'anyone could be a killer' after they interviewed Charles Sobhraj for a new Channel 4 documentary. David Howard and Rik Hall, who run Monster Films, have recently worked on The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer, which began on Tuesday, March 19.
In the three-parter Sobhraj, who was released from prison in December 2022, is interviewed about his involvement in a series of murders. Speaking to the WalesOnline podcast In the Spotlight, David and Rik shared what the process was like of making the programme.
“People are amazed that [Sobhraj] is now a free man and moving around Europe and the world,” Rik said when asked how people he’s spoken to have responded to the new series, which is available in its entirety on the Channel 4 website. Read the full story of The Serpent, Charles Sobhraj, here.
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Rik added that the project has been in the making for eight years and that the team were in conversation with Sobhraj whilst he was in prison. “I visited him in prison in 2017 because we thought he was getting out of prison before he did. We developed a form of working relationship.” Listen to In the Spotlight with Monster Films below.
As to why they wanted to work on the project, David explained: “We made a film around eight years ago called Interview of a Murderer and when we were looking for a follow up to that, we were looking for an interesting subject matter. We knew there was an interesting story there to be told with Sobhraj, but then what happened in the interim was that The Serpent TV drama came out and suddenly everyone knew who he was.
“We wanted our series to be the antidote to The Serpent TV drama. The issue with TV dramas is even though they can be obviously made with very big budgets, they often use the card at the beginning saying, ‘Based on true events’, but they’re not entirely truthful. When you make a documentary, you strive for something different, because the level of journalism attached to it isn't the same as being attached to a TV drama. I think we succeeded in doing that.” Get the best user experience with WalesOnline’s Premium app on Apple or Android
David said the reason for making the series was to put Sobhraj, who is suspected of killing over 20 people, in a “situation where he could be challenged”. He also said that in making The Real Serpent, they wanted to “give victims a voice”.
As to what Sobhraj was like to work with, David added: “At 80 years of age he's quite a different character. He's much more accessible, if you like, and much more willing to talk. We spent a lot of time with him and during then you’re able to build up a trust and a working relationship with him.
“By doing that you actually get access to him and you're able to ask him questions that he hasn't been asked before. That's what happened when we were doing the observational documentary stuff. Even though it might look like we're on a road trip around Europe, the reality is Charles Sobhraj was asked some very difficult questions in some picturesque settings – and that gives it quite a different dynamic to being in an interview room with a detective or in a clinical setting with a psychologist.”
Rik elaborated: “Charles Sobhraj has done lots of interviews in the past, but much more formally in a studio setting. The stuff with our detectives and psychologists was more formal for him. When you spend a few days with someone and you're constantly asking them things, you get a very different, less guarded response.”
David and Rik, who have previously worked on a number of different true crime projects including Murder by the Sea (CBS Reality) and Dark Land (BBC Cymru Wales), shared how they both had to “maintain an air and an objection of pure neutrality” when working with Sobhraj. “Your aim and your purpose is to have the facts, present the facts and create an environment where answers can be given to long, outstanding questions. At the end of the day, it's up for the audience to determine whether he's guilty or not guilty,” David said.
In working on projects like The Real Serpent, David said he’s come to realise that 'anyone could be a killer'. He explained: “Serial killers are not like Norman Bates in Psycho and bank robbers don't go around wearing swag bags and masks over their eyes. When people say, ‘What does a murderer look like?’ If you showed pictures of what a murderer looks like, it'd be the least expected person.”
The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer is available on Channel 4. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.
