In Night Stalker, Russell unfortunately glamorizes Ramirez by showing too much. Plus, by the end of episode 3, Night Stalker has documented everything that viewers need to know about the evidence, and how Carrillo and Salerno managed to identify Ramirez. In each of the four episodes, Russell appropriately acknowledges the victims, and makes sure to underline the absolute terror that many Angelenos felt during the summer of '85. Night Stalker wisely keeps the killer off-camera and focuses on the chronological timeline. Storywise, Russell's approach makes perfect sense, as Carrillo recalls being a young detective who was thrilled when the man who caught the infamous Hillside Strangler recruited him to investigate a series of murders in 1985. Night Stalker is anchored by on-camera interviews from Los Angeles detectives Gil Carrillo and Frank Salerno, with the former being more charismatic and the latter displaying a stoic demeanor. Unfortunately, Russell's images and overall aesthetics do indeed glamorize the subject. What truly matters is how Night Stalker handles the depiction of Ramirez when he does finally appear on camera.

But even though Russell shows narrative restraint, his approach is anything but unique, as the docuseries has a traditional procedural structure. According to director Tiller Russell, it was important for him to prioritize the investigation and the perspectives of the lead detectives. Incidentally, the subject doesn't appear on camera, as an adult, until the fourth and final episode. Netflix's docuseries Night Stalker tries to avoid glamorizing the serial killer Richard Ramirez, but it doesn't go far enough.

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