Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the CBS show Criminal Minds, as well as discussions of sexual assault, cannibalism, torture, and violence.Criminal Mindsreturned for its latest season as a Paramount+ reboot, with the long-running CBS series undoubtedly impacting viewers after all these years. Despite the anticipation for the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) team’s return to the big screen, it’s also frightening to see some of the most horrific scenes unfold one more time.
After all,it shouldn’t come as a surprise when episodes of the show about the worst aspects of humanity resemble mini-horror films. Despite the BAU team’s best efforts to save the day, some of the episodes have left viewers restless after watching. With audiences excited and unsure of what the BAU team has planned for the future, it’s the perfect time to rewatch some of the scariestCriminal Mindsepisodes to relive the show’s glorious old days.
Criminal Minds
35"The Inspiration"/“The Inspired”
Season 9, Episode 1/2 (2013)
Criminal MindsSeason 9 kicks off with a huge two-parter, where the first two episodes give us a sick take on how homicidal tendencies can be contagious… or hereditary. The BAU are investigating a serial rapist who forces each victim to consume flesh from the head of the previous one, inspired by a praying mantis. It may not be the first time the showhas dabbled in cannibalism, but the fact the victims are force-fed while knowing what they are eating adds a whole new level of repulsion. After hunting down the serial rapist and killer, the team realize they have the wrong guy: the real one is his twin.
While we expect a good twin/evil twin dichotomy, the second episode eventually proves us wrong, hence the titles.The “good” twin is eventually “inspired” by the “evil” one, acting on the urges he repressed before he discovered the existence of his other twin. However, instead of cannibalism, this twin kills people who are twins, leaving the other one wracked with grief. The entire story becomes worse when we realize that their mother is a narcissist who is using them for her own means. The episode is filled to the brim with creepy elements, hitting every chilling trope to weave a twisted, tragic story.
34"The Wheels on the Bus"
Season 8, Episode 8 (2012)
A bus full of school students disappears, and the BAU have to race against the clock to find them with all the worried parents breathing down their necks. Eventually, the team realizes they have been mass-abducted by two men who are trying to re-create their favorite video game, forcing each player to participate through remote-control shock collars. The students have to decide whether following their orders to kill and maim is worth avoiding the shock, leading to a tense episode.
“The Wheels on the Bus” plays on the idea of video games going way too far, as many of them grow increasingly more believable from the pixelated, platformer games they used to be. While the premise may seem far-fetched (reality game shows exist, but, of course, no one is killing people), it still maintains a grounded, creepy tone while drawing on relevant ideas that make the episode hit close to home.
33"The Tall Man"
Season 14, Episode 5 (2018)
Matthew Gray Gublerhas directed some of the most memorableCriminal Mindsepisodes and “The Tall Man” is no exception. Three teenagers go out into the woods in search of evidence of the titular local ghost story, as you do, but two of them disappear, with the third re-surfacing later. When the BAU catches this case, JJ recognizes it as her old hometown and recalls the urban legend: a creepy figure that abducts and tortures victims, forcing them to reveal their deepest secrets. The team hunt down the unsub, all while trying to decipher the survivor’s testimony, figuring out what is reliable and what isn’t.
While not directly inspired by the urban legend of the Slender Man, the Tall Man has certain similarities, like alooming, pale figure living in the woods that make fora classic ghost story. Like many of the Gubler-directed episodes, this one leans into creepy moments and jump scares. It has a timeless ghoulish feel that makes for a fun, yet eerie episode.
32"Reflection of Desire”
Season 6, Episode 8 (2010)
The narrative beats of “Reflection of Desire” aren’t necessarily original, borrowed heavily fromSunset BoulevardandPsycho. Rhett Walden (Robert Knepper) kidnaps young women and forces them to perfectly perform lines in a scene from his mother’s film, but when his victims inevitably make a mistake, he drugs and kills them, while severing their lips. Even more creepy (and familiar) is that he had sewn the lips onto the skeletal frame of his dead mother so he could still kiss her.
While originality in the story may not be on this episode’s side,the way the episode was filmed and produced was memorable and distinct.Between the black and white scenes of Hollywood, Rhett’s starstruck delusions, and the darkness of Garcia’s own involvement, this episode was haunting, giving us a taste of how poisonous the obsession with fame and perfection can be.
31"The Stranger”
Season 6, Episode 21 (2011)
A lot of the episodes fromCriminal Mindsexplores the depths of pathological obsession, but the episode “The Stranger” does this really well. In it, the BAU faces a formidable adversary in Greg Phinney (Chad Todhunter), an unsub consumed by a weird fixation on his stepmother. This compulsion fuels a deadly game, as he targets and murders young women who bear a striking resemblance to her.
Viewers will surely be unnerved by the episode asit creates a suspenseful atmosphere thick with dread and unease, especially as the BHD looks more into Greg’s past, uncovering the harrowing experiences that fueled his descent into madness. Todhunter delivers a realistic performance as Greg, capturing the descent into madness with accuracy. All in all, “The Strange” is a chilling reminder of the power of fear and the fragility of the human mind.
30"Beyond Borders"
Season 10, Episode 19 (2015)
The episode “Beyond Borders” served as asuccessful backdoor pilot forCriminal Minds: Beyond Borders. The BAU, under the command of Jack Garrett (Gary Sinise), face a new level of danger as they confront a predator preying on American tourists in the sun-drenched paradise of Barbados. When an innocent family is abducted, the investigation reveals a chilling pattern of attacks targeting unsuspecting travelers.
The team must overcome cultural barriers and navigate unfamiliar territory as they race against time to decipher the unsub’s intricate plans and prevent the unimaginable. The idyllic setting of Barbados provides a stark contrast to the horrific crimes committed against unsuspecting tourists, creating an atmosphere of unsettling unease. In addition,the unsub’s calculated approach, preying on the isolation and vulnerability of travelers, makes the episode creepier. It’s a high-stakes episode that pushes the team to their limits.
29"God Complex"
Season 8, Episode 4 (2012)
Imagine waking up in an unfamiliar place and realizing that your leg isn’t your own. InthisFrankenstein-inspired episode, John Nelson (Ray Wise) runs a series of experiments in amputating and transplanting legs on unwilling patients, often leading to their death. His wife was born with her right leg missing at the knee, and two months before these murders, John quit his job as a mortician, obsessed with the idea of giving his wife a leg again.
As the episode title suggests, there is something haunting about John’s interference with nature, as he abandons the Hippocratic oath and is narcissistic enough to believe he could achieve the impossible. Like inFrankenstein,the central character pushes science to its unethical and depraved limits, driven by his own egotistical beliefs while delivering the horrifying imagery of patchwork limbs.
Season 9, Episode 14 (2014)
When a member of the BAU is the victim, as was the case in this landmark episode, it inevitably gets worse. JJ (A. J. Cook), who was kidnapped at the end of the previous episode, wakes up restrained and slowly recognizes her captor. Also, through JJ’s flashback, the episode transports the audience to the past and reveals a tragic secret.
The episode is full of upsetting scenes that are plainly visible through JJ’s expression, which shows pure agony and dread. The episode is spooky not because of anyTV serial killer’s horrifickilling technique, as viewers often see during the show, but because everyone has a past and how the past follows and catches up with the characters in the most unexpected way.
27"Open Season"
Season 2, Episode 21 (2007)
In “Open Season,” people would be kidnapped by the murderers featured in the episode, who would then let them go into the forest before hunting them. With the use of bows and arrows, Johnny (Jake Richardson) and Paul Mulford (Jim Parrack) could pursue their prey for several days before catching up and letting them bleed to death.
The episode is so spooky and unsettling because it depicts humanity at its ugliest, which is visible in both hunters and prey. Hunters who treat people like animals and treat their lives like a sport demonstrate how little they value human life, while “prey” who are cornered to death reveal their true nature.
Season 9, Episode 18 (2014)
In a similar vein to “God Complex,” thisCriminal Mindsepisode has the unsub trying to achieve the impossible by trying to cure rabies. However, the animal-transmitted disease is incurable, which leads to one of the more morbid endings of the show. After three bodies with both animal and human bites appear, the BAU construct a profile that helps them track down the unsub and the final victim. While they save the woman’s life, she is already infected, resulting in a tragic and painful death at the hospital.
The bite chain the unsub inflicts, where he locks the victims up, leading to the infected one biting the new victim, is already quite disturbing. However,the hope-sapping ending cements how unnerving this episode is. Not only does the victim die, but she does so in front of her family, whose last memories of her are the “rabid,” frothing-at-the-mouth moments of her final breaths.
