Latest news with #HappyFaceKiller
The Review Geek
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Happy Face Season 1 Review – An ineffective blend of true crime and crime drama
Season 1 Episode Guide Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5 Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3/5 Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3/5 Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3/5 Episode 5 -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Episode 6 -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Episode 7 -| Review Score – 2.5/5 Episode 8 -| Review Score – 2.5/5 It's hard to know what to feel while watching Happy Face. Do you enjoy the creepy thrills of a convicted serial killer of eight women sending his granddaughter drawings of herself and other women? Or do you feel the guilt and unease the killer's daughter experiences as the identity of her father chips away at her life? This dissonance comes about from the fact that Happy Face Season 1 is loosely based on a true story. It is adapted from a podcast and autobiography by Melissa Moore, daughter of Keith Hunter Jesperson who is also known as the Happy Face Killer. The series turns Moore into Melissa Reed but keeps other broad details about Keith and her life pretty much the same. The story kicks off when Keith, who has been arrested for eight murders, calls the TV show where Melissa works as a makeup artist and confesses to one more. But he will only give the details to Melissa. What follows is an investigation into this additional murder led by Melissa and Ivy, a producer for the show. At the same time, as news about Melissa's connection to the serial killer leaks, it begins to affect her family. Her husband Ben and her kids, 15-year-old Hazel and 9-year-old Max, start feeling the ramifications as friends and coworkers find out the family's link to Jesperson. Hazel sees the difference in how students treat her at school, while Ben faces issues at work. Things get more tense because Melissa, who is focusing on the investigation, is forced to be away from her family at critical times. As a whole, the Happy Face Season 1 follows a two-pronged approach to this story. On the one hand, it has all the markers of a crime thriller. Melissa and Ivy's investigation into the new murder offers a solid mystery to hang on to. We see them look for clues, collect evidence and speak to witnesses like in any other crime drama. The series pulls the puzzle together, piece by piece and with a few twists in between. At the same time, there is a sense that Keith is hiding something or planning something much bigger. This side of the series leans into the drama. Tensions are high and the story is meant to offer a riveting and twisted mystery, though it does not always succeed. It also emphasises the unique thrill of a serial killer story — Dennis Quaid's performance as Jesperson is designed to give you the creeps and pique curiosity about what goes on inside the head of a man who killed eight women. On the other hand, the show explores how Melissa's ordinary white picket fence life gets disturbed when people find out she's related to a killer. Friends change their behaviour, little Max loses a playmate, and prejudice raises its ugly head. Melissa and Ben face issues in their relationship. Through clips from the past and events of the present, the series also looks at how many people suffered at the hands of Keith — Melissa, her brother Shane, their mother June, and even relatives of Keith's victims. This is meant to be a more grounded version of storytelling, a realistic portrayal of life as a killer's relative. The two sides of the show simply don't work together. You can't easily pair high thrills, mystery and suspense with an unvarnished, grave depiction of reality. But the show forces them together and even flits between the two sides of the story in each episode. It leads to a tonally jarring experience where the mood shifts with every scene, which is just not a fun watch. The inconsistency and clashing of moods get worse in the second half when the story tries to up the ante on both ends. While the murder mystery reaches a natural high point, the family's side of the tale enters dramatic territory. This is largely due to the storyline around Melissa's daughter, Hazel, who happens to get in touch with her grandfather and build a connection. This plotline is ominous and leads to some chilling moments between them, trying to straddle the line between a depiction of the real world and a melodramatic crime thriller. Additionally, Ben decides to take certain steps that feel like a huge jump for his personality and are definitely not characteristic of a regular dad. This is a weak attempt at giving otherwise flat characters some semblance of nuance and deeper characterisation. But instead of doing that, it just feels like watching them jump from one genre to another as they engage in increasingly absurd behaviour. It doesn't help that the pacing is off and certain episodes feel stretched out, with even the murder mystery losing its momentum. Annaleigh Ashford's portrayal of Melissa begins to get monotonous and some of Quaid's dialogues feel laughable instead of creepy. Despite all the time the story spends on talking about guilt and duty and justice, it doesn't actually address these themes in a meaningful way. Ultimately, Happy Face tries to be two kinds of stories in one and, as a result, fails. What's left is an uneven and easily forgettable mess. And that's just on its merits as a TV show. We've not even begun to dissect the real question — what it really means to take a story about real violence and real victims and turn it into entertainment.
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Happy Face' Release Schedule—When Do New Episodes Drop On Paramount+?
Inspired by a true story, Paramount+'s new crime drama Happy Face follows Melissa Moore, the daughter of Canadian-American serial killer Keith Jesperson (aka the Happy Face Killer). If you've started watching the series, read on for the full release schedule on Paramount+ so you don't miss an episode. Based on Moore's 2009 autobiography, Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter, and her iHeartRadio podcast series, the show follows Melissa (Annaleigh Ashford) as she tries to find out if an innocent man will face the death penalty for a crime committed by her father (Dennis Quaid). Moore was just 15 years old when her father was arrested for murder. Over the span of five years, Jesperson killed at least eight women across six states. He earned the nickname the 'Happy Face Killer' after sending confession letters to journalists and police, each signed with a smiley face. 'After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter's life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed,' the official synopsis reads. 'In the process, she must face a reckoning of her own identity.' The first two episodes of Happy Face are now streaming on Paramount+, but when do new episodes drop? Keep reading for the full release schedule, episode count and more. New episodes of Happy Face drop on Paramount+ every Thursday at 12 a.m. PT / 3 a.m. ET. Paramount+'s new series Happy Face will have a total of eight episodes in its first season. The first two episodes of Happy Face premiered on Thursday, March 20. New episodes of the crime drama will drop every Thursday until the Season 1 finale on May 1, 2025. Check out the full release schedule below. Happy Face is streaming exclusively on Paramount+. The platform offers two subscription plans: Paramount+ Essential for $7.99/month (or $59.99/year) and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME for $12.99/month (or $119.99/year). New subscribers can take advantage of the platform's one-week free trial to watch Happy Face at no cost. Watch the official trailer for Happy Face below.
Forbes
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Horrific True Story Behind ‘Happy Face'—What Did Serial Killer Keith Jesperson Do?
Paramount+'s new crime drama Happy Face tells the true story of Melissa G. Moore, whose world is upended when she discovers her father, a truck driver, is the notorious Happy Face Killer. Explore the true story behind the series, from the Happy Face Killer's crimes and victims to how he got his chilling nickname. In the eight-episode series, Annaleigh Ashford portrays Moore, while Dennis Quaid takes on the role of Keith Hunter Jesperson, the infamous serial killer who murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995—and may have claimed even more victims. 'After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter's life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed,' the official synopsis reads. 'In the process, she must face a reckoning of her own identity.' Moore, who is an author, true-crime journalist, and victim's advocate, serves as an executive producer on the Paramount+ series. She shared her story in her 2009 memoir, Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter, and later hosted the Happy Face podcast, where she 'navigates her father's crimes, reckons with the past, and wades through her darkest fears as she hunts for a better future." Yes, Paramount+'s new series Happy Face is inspired by the true story of the Happy Face Killer, aka Jesperson, and his relationship with his daughter, Moore. The Canadian-born long-haul truck driver murdered at least eight women across six states over five years. Jesperson became a suspect after his girlfriend's body was found in March 1995; he later confessed to her murder and several others. Meanwhile, Moore was only 15 years old when her father was arrested for murder. Looking back, she told ABC News that when she was younger, she saw him torture and kill animals—an early glimpse into his dark side. "I think I caught a glimpse of the sociopath, the part of where felt in control over me and that he enjoyed it. I got the sense that there was another side to him," she explained. The Happy Face Killer's first known murder was Taunja Bennett, whom he raped, strangled, and dumped in an embankment in January 1990. "Comments were made and different things and an altercation happened, and I struck her," Jesperson said in a 20/20 phone interview from prison in 2010. 'I actually had hit her in the face and for some reason I just kept hitting her in the face and because of that. I feared going to prison for slugging her in the face and causing her bodily injury and so I killed her.' However, it was after the murder of his girlfriend, Julie Winningham, that he finally confessed to killing her and several others. According to court documents obtained by the Associated Press, he admitted to strangling the 41-year-old following a fight after they had sex, during which she accused him of rape. Winningham's body was discovered on March 11, 1995, along Highway 14 near Skamania County, Washington. Jesperson was linked to the murders of six other women, some of whom remain unidentified to this day: an unknown woman he claimed was named "Claudia" near Blythe, Calif.; Cynthia Lynn Rose in September 1992 in Turlock, California; Patricia Skiple in Gilroy, Calif, and Angela May Subrize in Laramie County, Wyo. In October 2023, authorities confirmed Jesperson's last known victim as 34-year-old Suzanne Kjellenberg, whose remains were found in September 1994 in Crestview, Florida. According to CNN, Jesperson had previously confessed to killing a woman named 'Susan' or 'Suzette' after his arrest, but her identity remained unknown for decades. Jesperson earned the nickname 'Happy Face Killer' for sending confession letters to journalists and police departments across the country, each signed with a smiley face. According to The New York Daily News, he first left an anonymous message on a Montana bus terminal bathroom wall, confessing to Bennett's murder and signing it with a smiley face. He later included the same doodle in letters sent to newspapers, including The Oregonian. "He'd even leave messages on bathroom walls with the happy face. That was kind of his I.D.," Quaid told USA Today. 'He's not smart but thinks he's this master manipulator.' The Happy Face Killer is currently serving seven life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary. In a Feb. 2024 interview with The Independent, Jesperson revealed that he remains under investigation for multiple other murders and provides his DNA to help authorities rule him out. Jesperson has no relationship with his daughter, Moore. In a 2014 essay for BBC, Moore shared that she hadn't seen her father in a decade. After her book was published, he sent her a letter stating, 'I don't want the world to judge me as a dad. I was a great dad. My only mistake was my eight errors in judgement.' In her essay, she responded, 'He's talking about murders! He's calling them 'errors in judgement'! That's the way he sees things. How can anyone — even someone as close as a daughter — continue to have a relationship with a person who so completely lacks honesty and compassion?' Moore said she has connected with the families of Jesperson's victims, including those of his first known victim, Bennett. She has also spoken with Daun Slagle, the only woman to survive one of his attacks. 'I won't deny it was hard to hear graphic details about her assault. But I believe it was a powerful gift that she gave me," she said. 'If I wanted to delude myself about what he had done I couldn't any more. I couldn't live in la-la land.' She now works with families impacted by her father. She said she's 'received hundreds of emails from family members of other serial killers thanking me for telling my story, and asking for help and advice.' The first two episodes of Happy Face are now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping every Thursday. Watch the official trailer below.
