A Killer Inspired By The Show Dexter Is Getting A Biopic

Given the nickname the Dexter Killer, the film will focus on Mark Twitchell, a convicted murderer.

By Britta DeVore | Published

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True crime enthusiasts have a new movie on the way. Deadline reports that an unbelievable story surrounding one of Canada’s most idiotic serial killers is getting its time on the silver screen. Given the nickname the Dexter Killer, the film will focus on Mark Twitchell, a convicted murderer. Twitchell murdered a man named John Brian Altinger after planning out the crime and coaxing the victim into his “kill room.” The film will be helmed by Sam Hobkinson who will also write the movie which will be an adaptation of Steve Lillbuen’s book, The Devil’s Cinema

Twitchell got his idea for his attempted murderous spree from the television show, Dexter. A fan of the entertainment industry, Twitchell had a background in making films with his friends including his own take on the world of Star Wars. Twitchell’s violent ideas originally began as a script in which a character similar to Michael C. Hall’s Dexter would track down men cheating on their wives to make them pay the ultimate price. Then, Twitchell’s art soon began to imitate his life in the worst way possible. Creating an account on the dating website, Plenty of Fish, the murderer posed as a woman to lure in his victims. Although several escaped, Altinger was eventually tragically murdered by Twitchell.

the devils cinema dexter killer

Altinger told his friends that he was meeting up with a woman with whom he had met on the dating site and headed off for what he was expecting to be a night of romance. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the case for Altinger who soon ran into the Dexter Killer who had readied his garage for the brutal slaying. After trapping him, Twitchell reportedly bludgeoned and stabbed Altinger to death before heartlessly dismembering him and tossing him into garbage bags.

To cover his tracks, Twitchell began to email the victim’s friends telling them that he had run off with the woman whom he was supposed to be on a date with. He told his victims’ friends that the two were headed for Costa Rica. Several other bizarre contacts between Twitchell and the deceased’s friends were made, leading them to break into Altinger’s apartment and discover that there was no way their friend was abroad. Eventually, the Edmonton Police followed the clues which all led right to Twitchell, including his Dexter-like story typed up on his laptop, and charged him with homicide. 

Currently, Twitchell is sitting in prison at the Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary in Canada. Because his crimes drew close parallels to the series, Dexter, he was given his nickname which is something the sadistic killer is sure to be reveling in. The case has been a long-running true-crime piece covered in podcasts including Last Podcast on the Left and Crime Junkie, and will soon be receiving its television retelling on an upcoming episode of 48 Hours on CBS. In a world where killers are given nicknames based on their slayings, characters like Mark Twitchell aka the Dexter Killer, are a dime a dozen. While it feeds into the true crime frenzy that many enjoy learning about, this case proves that how we refer to someone of this horrific caliber matters.