The Beauty Queen Killer: 9 Days of Terror

The Beauty Queen Killer: 9 Days of Terror (2024) is a haunting dive into one of the most chilling true-crime cases. The film expertly captures the suspense and fear that gripped everyone during those harrowing nine days, keeping the audience on edge. Its atmospheric direction and gritty cinematography immerse you in the unsettling events, while the performances are raw and unnervingly realistic.

The tension builds steadily, with every moment layered with dread and uncertainty. It's not just a crime story; it's an exploration of obsession, vulnerability, and survival. True-crime fans will find it gripping and unforgettable-a chilling reminder of how terror can strike unexpectedly.

Tina Marie Risico went to the Hickory Farms store in the Del Amo Fashion Store in Torrance, California, on April 4, 1984. She went there to apply for a job while she was a student at Shery High School. Christopher Wilder reportedly approached her there with cameras around his neck. He then complimented her and claimed he had connections with a modeling agency. Wilder went on to lure her into his car by telling her he could help her. Christopher Wilder then stopped in the Anaheim woods before they walked to a wooded area. The Beauty Queen Killer then pulled out a gun and forced her to strip naked before he put a hat and sunglasses on her. He also taped her face before he drove her to a hotel. At the hotel, he sexually abused her using electric shocks and tortured her with a knife. He also coerced her into engaging in sexual acts. Eventually, Wilder also made Tina Marie Risico help him with committing the crimes. She reportedly approached a girl in Gary, Indiana, and told her about a modeling show before Christopher Wilder told her the same. He then lured the girl into his car, and they drove to a nearby motel when Risico reportedly watched as Wilder sexually assaulted the girl. He then electrocuted the girl and took her into the woods. Wilder suffocated her and stabbed her in the lungs before he left her there to die. However, the girl managed to draw attention from a passing car and was taken to a hospital, where she survived.

The documentary added a little to what I already knew from Dateline or other such shows. The fatal flaw is that the survivors are not compelling characters.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

*The Beauty Queen Killer: 9 Days of Terror* is a chilling, suspenseful crime thriller that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. Based on real events, the film follows a brutal killer who targets beauty queens in a small town, plunging it into a state of fear. The atmosphere is dark and foreboding, and the tension builds steadily over the nine days of terror. The cast delivers strong performances, especially the lead, whose portrayal of fear and determination is captivating. While the pacing can occasionally drag, the psychological depth and eerie setting make this a compelling, edge-of-your-seat experience for true-crime enthusiasts.

This true crime doc is narrator by a Mayballine ad spokesperson. It's like listening to a donkey explain what's it like to be a chicken. Or like when filmmakers use a nonhuman voice to tell a human story. This proves that any true crime doc worth its salt should only by narrated by narrators who've done murder themselves. The only thing this narrator has murdered is my Sunday evening. And the narrator doesn't even have to do a salacious murder. They could get their pet owl to do it, or their foolish 18 year old hardbody boyfriend. With his abs all as sharp like kitchen knives. Always wearing no shirt and his pants riding so low that that one part of his muscled pelvis is confusingly unmissable. You know, that hunk of meat just above his low waistline that you don't know what it's for, but you can't imagine it not being there? Like a handle for a door that only pushes. A push-handle.