To Catch a Killer

In a fine made-for-TV effort, "To Catch A Killer" profiles notorious murderer John Wayne Gacy (played chillingly by Brian Dennehy), his mask of a respected public citizen, the awful secret he kept, and the relentless attempt to expose him. Dennehy's work with the supporting characters is darkly magical and the story reminds you that it's real with every chance. Highly recommended for fans of Dennehy and of good psychological thrillers.

Brian Dennehey BECOMES John Wayne Gacy, as you watch this film you can only imagine the horrible fate of the victims.

The beginning starts out with Robert Piest, well portrayed, who is picked up by Gacy for construction work (this was his method of trolling for young boys). Gacy owned his own contracting company in Des Plaines, Illinois.

The actress who is Piest's mother is heart-rending; as she pleads with the police to take her son's disappearance seriously. In the Chicago area a missing person is nothing new, but it was her birthday and Rob never showed up. ..." He would never run away from home... he is not that type of boy"..., she mentions, and Detective Joe Koczenczak (very well portrayed by Michael Riley) takes notice of the situation.

Dennehey is superb, when the police first visit Gacy's house in Des Plaines, we can feel the menacing evil and rage simmering just below the surface. Gacy shows the police his pictures with Rosalynn Carter, his promotion as manager of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and his "commendations" for contributions to local police and firefighters (a fixation common among sociopaths; they are very high functioning, and socially enjoy manipulating authority figures).

Gacy also apparently used drugs to lure young men to his house, there are several scenes where he uses Qualuudes, and the detectives are following him, realizing the extent of his social connections. What is so horrifying is that, on the surface, Gacy was a well-liked businessman who had many friends. He was not a reclusive psycho who stood out in the crowd.

As Detective Koczenczack becomes more frustrated trying to mount evidence against Gacy he is thwarted many times by D.A. Meg Foster, who cannot make a case if Gacy's rights are violated. The case is interesting and disturbing all the more so because it is true. Margot Kidder also has a cameo as a psychic, who relays to Koczenzack that there are many, many more victims; this will not be an easy case.

The soundtrack at the end, as they are searching for more victims, and pan out over the cemetery, is very haunting. So sad for any of the parents and young men who were affected by this monster, John Wayne Gacy, who was executed in 1994.

As the IMDb says, this is a true story, but gruesome does not begin to describe it. John Wayne Gacy - the killer clown - was responsible for the deaths of over thirty young men and boys, most of whom were buried under his house at 8213 West Summerdale Avenue, which like not a few other houses of horror, was later demolished. "To Catch A Killer" was released while Gacy was still under sentence of death; he was executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994. The film does not cover his trial but focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of his last victim, Rob Piest, who herein is called Chris Gant, presumably to protect the family.

The name of the detective who brought Gacy to book is not so disguised, but there is one criticism that can be made of the film in that it panders to the usual film-flam of psychics. Herein, Detective Kozenczak consults a psychic, who gives him in retrospect startlingly accurate information about both the crimes of Gacy and his own personal health. In reality, he did consult a psychic, and as might be expected she provided no meaningful information at all. Kozenczak's unwarranted faith in psychics is a little surprising because in reality he was the one who exhibited not psychic powers but the classic policeman's hunch, in this case that there was something not quite right about Gacy, who had been seen talking to the teenager shortly before he disappeared, never to be seen alive again.

The role of Gacy was alloted to Brian Dennehy, who is no stranger to sinister roles, and here he plays the Jekyll & Hyde Gacy to a tee. We see Kozenczak and his team applying psychological pressure to Gacy that in the end leads to him cracking up partly under the strain and perhaps because what little conscience the man had, finally caught up with him.

This is not a film for thrill seekers but a semi-documentary that apart from the psychic non-incident adheres closely to the facts of the case. This and its length meant it was never likely to win any awards, but this was a film that was clearly made as an historical document rather than for either plaudits or profit.

Excellent suspense for about 3 hours starting from minute 1. Seldom have I seen a movie that hooked me so much as this one, even after watching it over and over again. Brian Dennehy has shown the best performance in his lifetime. You just sense the evil inside and his performance as an actor should have had a lot more attention, because it's one of the best acting performances I've ever seen.

I mean, I love Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy and I think they're one of the best actors the world has seen, but sometimes a second ranked actor shows a performance that equals top actors like Spencer and Tom; Brian Dennehy is one of them in this movie.

All the actors play very convincing and the movie has dozens of moments that I will never forget. 3 hours of suspense without a drop of blood and compelling from start to end; I find that a major achievement. Not one single moment the movie is slow or boring. What I also really like about the movie is its pace; it's going faster and faster towards the end and this has partly to with the actual story and it makes you so eager to look forward to how it ends.

The movie doesn't have any famous actors, director, story writers and never got any major attention, but it sure is a classic in my opinion.

There are only 3-5 movies (and I'm an older person who's addicted to movies since the day he was born) that really stand out in the history of film-making and this is one of them and the only one in my top 50 list without the famous cast, director or all the major publicity.

A must see!

The film depicts the hunt for and final capture of John Wayne Gacy and Dennehy, in my opinion one of Americas great actors, is truly, truly FRIGHTENING in the main part. Your blood almost freezes and you grab someone´s arm, when he succeeds in luring yet another bait. Also Kidder does a memorable performance as the clairvoyant and never goes over the top.

Definitely worth watching - but don´t watch it alone......