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A scandalous new Netflix serial killer thriller has everyone glued to their screens

Published Jan 26th, 2022 5:31PM EST
screen shot of Netflix movie "Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman"
Image: Netflix

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“I guess I always did dream of being famous.” Those are the first words we hear in the trailer for 2021’s Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman, about an infamous female serial killer. “I didn’t take no crap from nobody. ‘Specially men.”

As recounted in Netflix’s summary of this film — which is currently one of the top streaming titles on the platform — it tracks the life of Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos is a woman who married a yacht club president in 1976 and went on to cause mayhem in Florida’s high society. Starring Peyton List, Tobin Bell, and Lydia Hearst, this movie combines elements of two genres that regularly produce streaming gold for Netflix: True crime, with some elements of horror. The result?

Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman

Aileen Wuornos, as of the time of this writing, is the #3 movie in the US on Netflix (which maintains daily updated Top 10 lists for TV shows as well as movies).

In terms of that full Top 10 movies list, we’ve got the complete rundown at the bottom of this post. Meantime, here’s what else to know about this serial killer drama:

For one thing, the early reviews that have trickled in have … well, pretty much savaged the movie. For example, from Decider: “Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman wants to be another chapter in the Monster story, but it’s not clear who asked for this to be told, and besides that, it reads flimsier than a grocery store tabloid.” And it just gets worse from there:

  • Common Sense Media: “This is a terrible move that didn’t need to be made.”
  • Blu-ray.com: “As with other productions from Farrands, it’s a complete waste of time.”

Twitter users, meanwhile, were even more brutal than that.

Top 10 Netflix movies

a man and a woman in red stand close together
Laura Marano, as Izzy, and Mena Massoud as Prince Thomas in Netflix’s “The Royal Treatment.” Image source: Kirsty Griffin/Netflix

“I’m so confused,” one user posted on Twitter. “Was (Aileen Wuornos) supposed to be shit or was it just shit?”

Long story short: This is one of the most-watched films on Netflix at the moment. But you have been warned. People are more or less hating it, with a passion.

As far as what other feature films are trending and among the most popular on Netflix right now? The streamer tracks the most-watched titles on a regular basis. For today, January 26, we’ve got a snapshot of those most-watched movie titles below. Where you’ll also find links to their Netflix landing pages, as well as links to our previous coverage of some of the titles.

You can also follow our ongoing coverage of the new titles constantly added to Netflix on a weekly and monthly basis.

  1. The Royal Treatment
  2. Munich — The Edge of War (read our coverage here)
  3. Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman
  4. Annabelle Creation
  5. Amandla
  6. Don’t Look Up (read our coverage here and here)
  7. Just Go With It
  8. After We Fell
  9. My Father’s Violin
  10. Under Suspicion
Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.