The Case of the Hillside Stranglers

A made for TV stinker with some good actors wasted by poor writing and directing. Even the musical score stinks. The story is compelling, but the treatment isn't. There aren't any spoilers in here. The odor comes directly from the movie.

The true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killin' cousins Angelo Buono (Dennis Farina) and Kenneth Bianchi (Billy Zane), better known as the Hillside Stranglers, is told in this TV drama. The movie concentrates on the killers story, as well as on the life of Officer Bob Grogan (Richard Crenna), who investigated their case.

I appreciated how well this followed the true story. Obviously a fair number of things were changed because it was television and had to fit a full narrative in 90 minutes. But still pretty great. I wonder about the German psychic who claimed the killers were "two Italian brothers" -- was that real??

This film has a quirky Billy Zane, early in his career. Zane has had his highs and lows, and I would put this among his better parts. This film could possibly be released to DVD and do okay.

And then we have Farina with a big mustache; to many viewers, he might seem perhaps a bit old to be Zane's cousin. However, in real life the stranglers were about twenty years apart, so this is quite accurate. I love how easily a former police officer can play a cold-blooded crook.

This is yet another film about monsters Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, not the best to be sure, but not a bad effort for all its faults. Unlike the much later (2004) film "The Hillside Strangler", this one is centred mostly on the lead officer in the case, who has appeared in documentaries about it.

The story begins halfway through the murders, so we do not see and are not told the "inspiration" for them, namely, the murder of a teenage prostitute who had ripped off Buono, after which the two men had developed a liking for murdering prostitutes, graduating to ordinary young women and underage girls while their sadism and torture grew with every killing.

The names of the victims have been changed, and there are some cameos, like the German psychic who supposedly gave the police a lead which they ignored.

Bianchi is portrayed very much as the junior partner, albeit an extremely enthusiastic apprentice. Apart from that, the film passes muster, and it certainly contains nothing that will offend true crime buffs.

Case of the Hillside Stranglers, The (1989)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely well-acted and dramatic made-for-TV flick about the cousins (Dennis Farina, Billy Zane) who stalked Northern L.A. back in 1978-79 and ended up murdering a total of ten people. Richard Crenna plays Sgt. ob Grogan, the man put on the case who slowly finds everything slipping away when a lack of evidence causes the D.A. to worry about going forward with charges. I remember watching this movie when it first showed up on television but I really couldn't remember too much about it nearly twenty years later. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the film held up over time and it actually managed to be quite dramatic from start to finish. Anyone who knows anything about the real case will say this movie portrayals everything fairly accurately and this helps the drama because it's also unbelievable how this case eventually turned out. I think the film's strongest aspect is that it pretty much gives equal time to everything involved here. We get to spend time with the killers, spend time with the police trying to crack the case but we also get to peak in at Grogan's personal life and the effect this case had on it. I thought the film managed to play all sides and for the most part we get a pretty full knowledge of everything that happened and I think we also get to know the killers quite well. The movie manages to be quite intense not only as the police try to crack down but also with the killers stalking their victims. The direction by Gethers is extremely good as he manages to keep everything moving very quickly but he also fills the film with some great atmosphere and really manages to put you right in the middle of everything going on. Crenna gives a very good performance in the role of the cop as his energy is right on target and you can believe everything he does. Zane and Farina are extremely good as the killers and you can't help but see and feel the cold blood running through their veins. Both actors really dig deep into the role and comes off quite chilling.

I am a fan of made-for-television movies that feature true crime cases. This movie is about the true case of the Hillside Strangles, two psychopathic cousins who terrorized Los Angeles back in the 70s.

Richard Crenna plays the part of LA detective Sgt. Bob Grogan, a role that he was perfectly suited for, as Crenna has starred in several true crime films and he totally nails it. I've always admired his low key style and he seems to be completely at ease in this role.

Billy Zane and Richard Farina play the roles of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono and both are great in their parts, as they come off as very creepy characters who abduct and murder multiple women.

The film stays pretty much focused on the crimes and does not meander too far with side plots, something that can really put me off on these kinds of movies. There are indeed a few side stories within, where the focus is on the fact that the lead detective is overworked and neglecting his children, and scenes where he romances a local woman. But even those distractions are mixed in quite well with the central plot and add to the overall story quite well.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie and it brought back all of the horror and terror of those times when two vicious killers were at large.