Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s Spanish film ‘Infiesto’ revolves around the kidnapping and the subsequent reappearance of Saioa Blanco, whose disappearance shocked the mining town of Infiesto. Inspectors Samuel García and Castro set out to find the kidnappers of the young girl, which lead them to a series of kidnappings and supposed human sacrifices. As their investigation progresses, the detectives realize that a cult leader known as the Prophet is the main perpetrator who kidnaps children and others to kill them for appeasing Taranis, a Celtic God. Intrigued by the character, we have found out whether the serial killer has a real-life counterpart. Well, let us share our findings!
The Prophet is Fictional
No, Agent Ramos aka the Prophet is not based on a real serial killer. The character was conceived by director and screenwriter Patxi Amezcua for the film. The director wanted to make a detective film after watching renowned and influential works such as ‘True Detective,’ ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ etc. The Prophet in ‘Infiesto’ highly resembles Errol Childress, the main antagonist of the first season of ‘True Detective.’ Like Errol, the Prophet is also a part of a cult whose ideals and beliefs transformed him into a serial killer.
Both Errol and the Prophet try to appease a deity with human sacrifices. In Errol’s case, the deities are “Carcosa” and “The Yellow King.” When it comes to the Prophet, he tries to appease Taranis, the Celtic God of Storms and Tempests. The straw objects Rustin “Rust” Cohle and Martin “Marty” Hart find while trying to find Errol in ‘True Detective’ are similar to the straw dolls Samuel and Castro find while trying to find the Prophet. The black spiral tattoo on Errol’s victim Dora Lang in the Matthew McConaughey-starrer also resembles the round mark/scar the Prophet inflicted on the back of Saioa in the Spanish film.
In ‘Infiesto,’ the Prophet killed his victims fearing that the end of the world is near. He considers himself the chosen one to appease Taranis through human sacrifices. In reality, a serial killer named John Linley Frazier reportedly killed his victims by considering himself as a chosen one. As per reports, Frazier, who killed five individuals in Santa Cruz County, California, told his friends that he was selected by God to commit the homicides to save the environment.
The Prophet’s emergence as a cult leader and transformation into a mass murderer also resembles one of the most infamous cult leaders of all time, Charles Manson. Manuel and the Demon, the accomplices of the Prophet, resemble the members of the Manson family as well. According to Manson’s cult member Susan Atkins, the cult leader represented Jesus Christ. In the same way, the Demon views the Prophet as a “messiah” who tries to appease the potent Gods. Similarly, parallels can be drawn between the Prophet and several serial killers who killed in the name of superstitions and religion.
Through the Prophet, whose victims include several innocent children, Amezcua depicts how humans remain the most dangerous beings in the globe, even when the world is affected by a deadly virus that caused a pandemic. As far as the origin of the fictional character is concerned, the director must have been inspired by the infamous sagas of both fictional and real-life serial killers to conceive the Prophet.
Read More: Is Samuel García Dead in Infiesto? [Spoiler]
