The Investigation

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Throughout 1981,in Fraser Valley,British Columbia,a man went on the loose luring vulnerable young people into his car,making false promises of getting them jobs in a construction site,plying them with alcohol and drugs,then abusing and killing them.This film follows the investigation into the killings starting with a tip-off from small town cop Kettles (Lochlyn Monroe) onto a state-wide investigation by Agent Forsythe (Nicholas Lea) that lead to the capture and conviction of the killer and the bungling incompetence and red-tape that marred it throughout.

The Investigation certainly makes for an interesting real-life story,but that's just how it feels:real life.It certainly doesn't succeed much in the way of fun.

As for the film's actual quality in itself,it benefits chiefly from a nice soundtrack (which,when you consider the many other ways it could have succeeded,isn't much to say!)The central protagonist (the killer) is an interesting character,but there's a disappointing lack of depth invested in him,although it is neat how his face is always covered up until the end.On the other fronts,Munro has a whiny lead presence that's a little annoying and he doesn't let rip and come out of his shell until right at the very end.Lea is a bit more dynamic and commanding,so it's disappointing that he doesn't come into the proceedings until a bit later on in the film.

The film's very obviously a video production.Some might say it's home's more at Channel 5 than BBC 1,but,there you go...

It isn't a film to veg out in front of,it's one of those ones where you have to use your brain and pay close attention to everything that is being said and inferred.It's a true film,very real,very human,but,unfortunately,that doesn't always make it very much fun.***

This is the investigation leading to the capture of serial killer Clifford Olson in 1981 (forty years ago!).

It demonstrates how the investigation was botched by bureaucratic bungling, by the red tape of jurisdictional disputes, by the common excuse of insufficient manpower and the like. It also demonstrates that it is never one superhero detective who does all the work and then captures the suspect. It took a large group of people to get Olson - and if they would have paid more attention they could have got him much sooner - with less innocent lives being lost.

Overall good and suspenseful Don't look to this for insights on Olson - its much more about the investigation.

I found this movie very interesting, but not very well written, I was scratching my head many times and mouthing "what" as each unexplainable action of the Canadian police took place, or opportunities were ignored!

As an American, I didn't understand the hierarchy of the police departments, as information was passed from one authority to another. I, also, didn't understand why they were transferring personnel because their time spent in that area had expired, even if they were in the middle of an investigation. And, does Canada REALLY have so little money to support their police? All of these things were happening while people were being killed!

The movie is an indictment of the Canadian police establishments. And, if it is an accurate, I worry for the Canadian people!

I hope someone will rewrite a movie about this crime spree, because it has the potential to be a great movie.

Exposes the weakness of legal practice, enforcement and prosecution. What is wrong with everyone else but the 2 main officers - the blond RCMP, and the detective with the mustache. Everyone else dosent care there are active missing kids and some now starting to show up dead. Wow, I mean I know you get descencetized in a job like that but come on! These homicides all could have been prevented by the investigators if they wernt blocked by their own agencies to do the work they WANTED to do. They were chest bumped and red taped every time an obvious correlation to this man was suggested by one of them. Its like the more they showed something was supsicious with this man the less everyone else communicated with them. Thats so absolutely backwards. Some of the higher up just seemed jealous of the young officers ability to see connections to the suspect and scoff at the "young rookie transfer who will just have to learn you cant just get special OPs at the snap of your finger, sometime you just wont get it at all". Im sorry but WTF??? Pride , egos, smugness, incompitence, even seemed like competition for some of then all got in the way and god rest these victims, all those involved (except for the 2) should be ashamed of themselves. That is a horrible display if character and quite frankly sickning thar its everyone acting like that (except the 2). Should have just "lay them out and measure" at the beginning and then would have saved some of those poor kids. Imagine how hard it is for the victims family. Imagine how scared those kids were and how terrifying it would be to have this torture you and painfully kill you. I wonder if any of the people worried about their own kids when they gave the smart officers the run around. Dosent seem so. When the one guy from the diffrent investigating agency came in and told mustache detective snarkily - "what are you doing with 'joint forces', you need to get special OP" , - um ya exactly what he has been trying to get since day one and got road block after roadblock from basically all law enforcements available to help just said no and passed the buck, and then this guys has the audacity to say on his way out - " oh yea and by the way we got a huge clue and we have a MEETING ARRANGED with the accused".....mustache detective, is like um what? Nobody tells me ? When ist this meeting?.....when the other officer said "2 hours", I swear I threw my OJ i was drinking right into his face on the TV. Its unbelievable. Its still like this in Canada, how scary it is to be a victim here. " Hookers cant be victims"?, "one time a victim and 2nd time a volunteer"? The whole system needs an overhaul but whos gonna do it when each office has only 5 % of the staff are motivated and driven to be collaborative and come together to create solutions when current practices are obviously broken or just straight up useless. Shame on the law enforment agencies of canada that "ill file that request tomorrow" , or " we cant budget for that" is more important than saving a life. Exposing this problem is not negative, its the only path to a positve future in this whole system. Make more movies that show this, its a powerful form of exposure, and maybe even a way to curb this problem.

I saw this movie a few weeks ago when my mom brought it home for work. I liked the movie from the start, I found it to be kinda like a Law and Order Special Victims unit for Canada. Anne Wheeler does a great job not showing Clifford Olsen's face until the very last scene of the movie. Nicholas Lea, who you will remember played Krycek on THE X-FILES, is great as Les Forsythe, a desperate detective who is blown off by the brass like some batty old lady who hears noises all the time. He seems very at home in this kind of movie, and his frustration is evident as he struggles through the beaurocracy of the RCMP. Overall 10/10. Don't miss this movie if you have the fortune of finding it.