“This drama is inspired by real events”—the title card played at the onset for each episode of Netflix and BBC’s The Serpent—is usually code for malarky. “Inspired by true events” typically gives filmmakers the leniency to depict almost anything: extraterrestrials, exorcisms, etc. The Serpent also takes the extra precaution of warning viewers that the dialogue in the film is entirely fabricated. All this language, however, is less for dramatic setup than legal insurance; The Serpent depicts a series of real international crimes and real historical victims. The crimes are almost too great to be believed, the victim’s experiences too horrifying to be imagined.
The Serpent is ultimately the story of Charles Sobhraj (played by Tahar Rahim), who uses the alias “Alain Gautier” and would be later called the “Bikini Killer. He preyed on tourists traveling through southeast…
