A 10-year-old girl may be responsible for the murder of a little boy in her neighborhood.A 10-year-old girl may be responsible for the murder of a little boy in her neighborhood.A 10-year-old girl may be responsible for the murder of a little boy in her neighborhood.
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on two separate cases of child killings in which the crimes were committed by children themselves (both cases from England):
- The 1993 murder of James Bulger by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. James was a three years old when he was abducted and murdered by two ten year old boys in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The horrific and shocking crime made international headlines at the time.
- The 1968 Mary Bell case, in which 11-year old Bell strangled two toddler boys to death, whom she was babysitting in North East England.
- GoofsWhen Jenny's lawyer meets with McCoy and Carmichael in the judge's chambers before trial, he is wearing a broad-stripe, burgundy-colored dress shirt. Then, during a brief shot from behind him, the stripes are narrow and navy-colored.
- Quotes
Dr. Emil Skoda: Jenny's been emotionally abused. Maybe physically. She lashes off when her anger reaches the boiling point.
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael: So we lock this girl up?
Dr. Emil Skoda: Get used to it. More and more girls committing violent crimes. I don't see anything for Jenny except a future of escalating anti-social behavior.
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: What makes you say that?
Dr. Emil Skoda: Emotional abuse, the snuffed cat, the blacked-out photographs. Her lack of response when I went after her.
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: Her fantasies about hurting little boys.
Dr. Emil Skoda: Yeah, previews of coming attractions. She's graduated to murder. She's not gonna stop.
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael: You sound pretty sure.
Dr. Emil Skoda: Kid's a done deal. She's a textbook serial killer. We just got her early.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 52nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2000)
After such a great start in "Gunshow", Season 10 continues the high standard with the even better "Killerz". It is another episode to be consistently attention grabbing and high quality throughout the entire duration but be even more special in the second half. Am saying that after seeing some 'Law and Order' episodes lately where the second halves were better than the first, a few quite a bit so. There have been a fair share of unsettling female perpetrators throughout the show and franchise, and the one here is definitely up there with the most unsettling.
"Killerz" is brilliant in every area. The production values are still fully professional, the slickness and subtly gritty style still remaining. The music is sparingly used and is haunting and thankfully non-overwrought. The direction shows some nice tension in the legal scenes. The script is well balanced, taut and intelligent, and handles complex themes tactfully yet with unyielding grit. McCoy made a lot of spot on summing ups of perpetrators, he sums this one up perfectly.
Moreover, "Killerz" has a compelling and clever story that delivers on plenty of unexpected and plausible twists and turns as well as some dark suspense. Helped by that the perpetrator is so amoral and really makes the skin crawl. The police portion is great but the legal scenes are absolutely riveting. Green has settled remarkably well and he and Briscoe are already well gelled and this is only their second episode.
While all the regulars are great, particularly Sam Waterston's authoritative and ruthless McCoy, the episode belongs to Hallee Hirsch. Who gives one of the show's best and scariest child performances, one would be hard pressed to find a more creepy performance from her and to this day it's still one of her best.
In conclusion, brilliant. 10/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Oct 20, 2021