The Capture of the Green River Killer

It's 1982 Seattle. Police detective Dave Reichert (Tom Cavanagh) is investigating bodies being dumped in the Green River which is affecting his family life with wife Julie (Michelle Harrison). Helen 'Hel' Remus (Amy Davidson) makes a new friend with wild girl Nat Webley (Jessica Harmon). She rebels after getting raped by her mother (Sharon Lawrence)'s boyfriend. She runs away at 16 after a fight with her mother. Her boyfriend gets her into prostitution and she becomes convinced that the Green River Killer drives a pick-up truck.

This is a sincere but over-extended telling of the investigation plus a fictionalized story of one of his victims. This is better than most Lifetime movies. In the end, it tries so hard and falls short of greatness. There is a really compelling true story to be told. I like Cavanagh and he has some poignant scenes with his daughter. The up and downs of the investigation are great material. It's a bit extended and some of it feels repetitive. The last act is really stretched out.

The other half of the movie with Hel is fine. Davidson is good but I don't like spirit Hel. It's too lyrical. I would have prefer a true story for Hel. I also wish the movie takes a chance with the structure. The first part of the movie could be all Hel leading up to her death. Then the second part of the series could be Reichert doing the investigation. Generally, this is over-extended with some very compelling moments.

Where to even begin. The main detective's wearing a horribly obvious wig and makeup. His demeanor is more like a nerdy accountant than a hard headed detective. The film opens up with 2 actresses supposedly portraying teen girls but look more like 30 year-olds acting like they have developmental disabilities. You have people supposedly crying their eyes out but no actual tears (were eyedrops not in the budget?)

The dialogue is so dry, like the writers have no imagination at all. For example, a cop talking to a room of other cops: "We need to find clues and arrest this guy!". It's like the writer asked their 5-year old child what a cop would say.

The SeaTac Strip looks like they just went to some run down neighborhood, put up some lights and clothes racks to make it look like a busy area and called it a day.

Whoever was in charge thought absolutely nothing through about this. It deserves negative stars for how obnoxiously bad it is.

This film is not like most serial killer stories, in that it examines the lives of the young girls, tragic victims in the wrong place at the wrong time, born into the wrong social class with little choices Amy Davidson as victim Helen "Hel" Remus is particularly tragic and notable; a discarded child really, her mother Opal (Sharon Lawrence) is an impoverished waitress living in a trailer park, drinking, and attaching to any man who will be her meal ticket for a day.

Tom Cavanagh is good as local Detective Reichert, who persists on the Green River Killer case despite the foibles and arrogance of the FBI.

The actor portraying Gary Ridgeway is effectively sleazy and odious, he looks like any gas station attendant a young girl may hitch a ride from: that's the truly frightening aspect. Most serial killers blend in the scenery, hold steady jobs, and many are never caught.

Indeed the Green River Killer was free for over a decade and his tally of victims has never been clearly established.

Overall the film is not perfect in that some of the deeper psychological issues leading to these tragedies could have been explored, for instance what leads young girls to a transient life in the first place, and why is society failing here?.

Worth watching as it is respectful of the young and tragic victims of these senseless and random homicides. 8/10.

I watched this movie on lifetime movie network, and I cried through the end. These girls who were fictional , represented the women who went missing and were never found. I did some research on The Green River Killer and I was sickened this man was not already taken into custody before he could kill . I think that this is a great movie as it's really much like the real existing case, despite a few fictional characters. I really liked the acting in this movie, it was very emotional and moving. I don't think I'd ever want to think if I was a victim, or my friend was a victim to these heinous crimes! Watching the movie was enough to make me think hard about my own life and what I do to put myself at risk, in other words, a wake-up call.

One day all of the women will be matched to their families, as the movie says, there's always hope! Hope is what these families have to keep.

A show based on the Green River killer and not film It in the cities where all of this happened? I know sounds trivial but make it right.