When I sat down to watch Netflix’s documentary Running With the Devil, I knew almost nothing about the life and crimes of its subject, computer software pioneer John McAfee. Despite being a reasonably well-read person, I somehow missed the entire saga about his flight from South American authorities, the murder charges he was trying to outrun, and the time he spent on a boat full of guns. I looked to the film to tell me the story.
As I say in my review for Primetimer, I feel the documentary presents McAfee as a paranoid manipulator who seduced seasoned journalists with his wild-eyed assertions. It also plays like a tawdry tabloid exposé. The editing, soundtrack, and narrative structure are designed to provoke gasps, right up to the final scene where an interviewee suggests that McAfee, who reportedly died in a Spanish prison, might still be alive somewhere.
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