The Hunt for the BTK Killer

Although I had heard several mentions of the BTK Killer over the years, I didn't know any of the hard facts about the case. So when I got a copy of this movie, I thought it might give me some insight. Let's just say that this movie failed to satisfy my curiosity. Being that it was made for commercial television, the treatment feels very soft. For starters, it doesn't go into much depth to the actual murders; had it had done so, it might have given more insight to the killer. Also, the movie is lacking a hard edge - we don't get the feeling that the title figure is a ruthless monster (mostly we see him do mundane day to day things), nor do we feel the urgency the authorities must have been pressed with investigating who the killer was. The movie also comes across as cheap, from its low rent production values to a musical score that is not only cheesy but inappropriate at times. All this may explain why much of the cast gives passionless performances; even Robert Forster, an actor I've liked in many other movies, seems to just be going through the motions. You'd probably be better off reading a book concerning the BTK Killer instead of watching this movie.

Between the years 2000-2010 it was quite popular (and very profitable) to make horror films/thrillers that were based on real- life serial killers. Practically all notorious American serial killers from the second half of the 20th century passed the revue, and the nastiest ones even twice or more, like Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Charles Starkweather, Albert Fish, John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgway, etc. Many of these flicks aspired to be semi- documentaries and as factual as possible, but still most of them are pure rubbish (especially the ones directed by Uli Lommel, of course). Dennis Rader, more commonly known as BTK-killer, from Wichita Kansas also had the questionable honor to form the main subject of at least three contemporary low-budgeted horror flicks; one directed by the aforementioned Uli Lommel (I rather die than ever having to watch that one), one starring the legendary Kane Hodder in the titular role (which allegedly is quite decent) and this modest but surprisingly adequate made-for-television and documentary-styled thriller.

It's fairly obvious why the film industry wanted to exploit the story of BTK – short for "Bind Torture Kill" – as much as possible. Even though he committed his vile crimes, the murders of at least 10 innocent people, 10 to 30 years earlier, Rader only got apprehended in 2004 following a massive police hunt that he pretty much set into motion himself. Rader was always proud of the unsolved murders and suffered from a tremendous ego, so he really couldn't accept that a random writer/profiler was psycho-analyzing him on television. Rader, now a happily married and respectable church-community member, started sending clues and evidence of his old murders to the press and the authorities. He gradually became more careless and megalomaniac, which led to his arrest. "The Hunt for BTK Killer" focuses primarily on the police investigation, but also follows around Dennis Rader in his private life, during the preparations of the correspondences in his tool shed and as he's stalking a potential new victim. There are also a couple of sequences in the courtroom that feature blurry flashbacks of the murders committed in the early seventies and eighties. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this film. It doesn't aim to be overly sensational but provides a solid rundown of the facts, as well as a realistic impression of the fear and paranoia that reign in a small town when it gets faced with the return of an old boogeyman. Robert Forster's performance comes across as fatigue, but that's also what you expect his character to feels like after chasing a killer for three decades. Gregg Henry's performance as Dennis Rader is more than praiseworthy, as he manages to find the ideal balance between menacing creep and exemplary community hero. One more element that really struck me as far above average is the score and effective use of music. The soundtrack is moody and ominous, and sometimes it even sounds as if the tunes could easily have been composed by Hans Zimmer.

In all the serial killer films that have been made, why it took a TV movie to define the genre is beyond me. But THIS IS THE ONE!

Serial killer movies hold a strange, special fascination for me which I don't really understand. There's something about these purely evil people. And the best portrayal of a serial killer is right here. Gregg Henry as the BTK killer, a real-life serial killer who got away with his gruesome crimes for over three decades.

Gregg Henry is an actor who stands entirely on his own. There's nobody else like him. Even when he plays nice, straight characters he still seems a little weird. When he plays weird, he plays it to the hilt. I never liked him because of this, until I watched this TV movie. Wow. In fact, I didn't even realize it was him playing the BTK Killer until more than half-way through the movie! That's how completely he disappeared into his character.

And Gregg Henry is such a calm, ordinary citizen on the surface that I can understand how he succeeded in his murderous obsession for so many, many years. He shot way up in my panoply of great actors.

Dennis Rader went decades living as the BTK Killer (stands for Hunt, Torture, Kill), with his final amount murder list will probably never be known for sure. "The Hunt for the BTK Killer" follows Rader, played by Gregg Henry, and Detective Magida, Robert Forster, the man responsible for taking him down.

This is a very good true to life television film. The story is for the most part correct, and while I don't know if there was a Det. Magida (or if that was the Detective's name) the police investigation kept me interested as to exactly how BTK was caught. Rader's kills are presented in a creepy and fascinating way. Overall the script is tight and consistently keeps your attention.

Henry and Forster are really the only characters that are given much depth, but those two are the only ones that need it. The script typecasts Forster's Magida as your usual cop, he's an older gumshoe working with a beautiful younger actress as partner. Henry does a fantastic job as Rader, his interviews at the end are creepy and award-worthy.

There is a voice-over narration by Forster that guides the film, which I suspect was brought in afterwards to tie up loose ends. In any other case, I would drop the quality down for using the worst tool in the business, but here it actually enlightened about Rader instead of insulting the viewer's intelligence.

If you're interested in BTK, or serial killer media in general, this one is worth a watch.

As the movie opens, Dennis Rader has been arrested for his string of killings over a period of many years in Wichita, Kansas. Through flashbacks, we see the events leading up to his capture, as well as some of the murders.

Gregg Henry had a very challenging role, and in my opinion, he delivered. Dennis Rader was shown as very normal at times, a kind and caring person. In fact, he was so normal the background music made me think of ice cream trucks. Then he was shown as cruel and unfeeling, but not in a situation necessarily related to any murders. Where the murders were planned, Rader was depicted as quite demented and somehow controlled by an unknown force, with background music appropriate to the situation and sometimes so weird it could not even be called music. After his arrest, Rader described what he had done with almost no emotion, as if explaining how he remodeled a house or something, though sometimes he bordered on demented in describing his actions. He seemed to show no remorse, despite being an upstanding member of the community. I am assuming Henry was able to work with footage or good memories to create his impressions of Rader in custody.

The murders were quite scary because of the special editing and visual effects, which may have made them look less graphic but certainly added to the horror of what took place.

Robert Forster did a very capable job as Jason Madiga, a detective on the case. According to what I have read about the case, he was not a real person, but that does not matter. His performance, and the efforts to solve the case, make the movie worthwhile almost as much as Henry's performance.

It was a better than average fact-based TV movie.