Killer Pickton

Publishing this information and the release of this film is violation of the publicity ban on the Pickton trial. The court ruled that details of the alleged crimes are not to be published in the media in any way, shape or form, including the internet. Failure to respect this ban could result in criminal charges against the film producers, and anyone posting details online. No one wants this case to be thrown out due to a technicality. That would be horrible. I wonder too if the producers considered contacting any of the family members to see how they felt about a film being made and released at this time? Or at any time for that matter. I realize the Karla film has been released, but that was AFTER she was released from prison, not before her trial.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Robert Pickton, the infamous Canadian pig farmer who killed Vancouver prostitutes and ground them into hamburger, gets an interesting and very different - but very well-done - low-budget horror movie treatment from iconic thriller director Ulli Lommel. The bloody details of Pickton's treatment of his female victims is eschewed in favor of a carefully designed character study of the serial killer. The sadistic suspense and horror scenes are there, and the actors perform well, but the movie's design is new and different, signaling, at times, a fresh update of the "cult of personality" horror tale. This type of story was best represented by Robert Aldrich, Curtis Harrington, and Alfred Hitchcock in numerous classic thrillers, especially in the Aldrich films, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" and "Hugh Hush Sweet Charlotte" - two films that capitalized on characters caught in a way of life and attitude that brings on horror and tragedy - and Hitchcock's "Psycho." The cult of personality movie places character and motivation at the center of the horror, and does not allow more clichéd shocker elements (unwarranted or intrusive gore and sex, for example) to set the tone. Under these conditions, the Pickton movie relies heavily upon characterization to make its points. Curtis Graan as the Pickton character underplays the man's insanity and contrasts his violent tendencies with what comes off as a "pleasant" serial killer personality. It is a characterization that mixes two notions of the classic movie psychopath -- the renegade, out-of-control maniac and the soft-spoken Norman Bates type. The combination is frightening and creepy but, also, makes something interesting out of Pickton's motivations. This point is made in the final sequences of the movie, in which the Pickton character suddenly recognizes his lost humanity. As a true-crime vehicle, this movie is not a clinical recap of Pickton's murder spree. Instead, it dwells on the *why* of a man who would put himself through the ordeal of murdering dozens of women. The movie's theme centers on a horrible killer who, in the end, just cannot successfully embrace or love anything or anyone (in an early scene, his attempts to hug one of his victims is reduced to a pathetic mauling). Throughout this film, Lommel rewrites the rules of the cult-of-personality horror movie; replacing, for example, expository dialogs with strictly visual interpretations of how this killer's mind works. It is a remarkable effort, brought down slightly by a sparse budget and the occasional poor reading. Lommel, a long-time director of thrillers who has recently "returned to life" in a series of interesting horror movies, has with co-writer Jeff Frentzen decorated a somewhat slight true-crime-type thriller with an uncommon depth. Overall, the film seems willing to point a way out for horror movies, which are currently stuck in a terrible trend of rehashing 1970s motifs and remaking old-fashioned plots. It defies the trends. There are no black-eyed ghosts, no elaborately staged human dissections, no noisy cannibals on a rampage, just the inscrutable face of Graan as an ultimately sad character, unconnected to his own humanity, locked in a Hell of his own design.

For me, the point is - this movie is an attempt to cash in on a tragedy - period. Simply put, this makes Uli Lommel a bad person. Most people with no imagination are. They can never ask themselves "What if that were me?" - because it's simply beyond their capacity for empathy. Most serial killers have the same problem. Perhaps this is why he is so drawn to their stories.

Yes, that is a harsh and personal critique - but what else is there to say about someone so willing to further their own career on the suffering of others? Someone so willing to exploit the ugliness in humanity simply to make a dollar? His only saving grace is that he is frankly, not very good at it, and will hopefully pass into filmaking oblivion, along with others of his ilk. Even Uwe Boll has the good sense to stick to satire and video games.

On to the film itself - this film was finished before the trial was done, and most of the testimony was given AFTER the film was released. The film has almost no basis in fact, and no purpose other than to cash in on the deaths of dozens of women. The tag line "Doing Society a Favor" is beyond repugnant. These were real women - someone's mothers, daughters, sisters – not mere cannon fodder for some hack B-Movie maker.

If you want to make a slasher/porno, then by all means do so - just don't attempt to lend your prurient, crappy film legitimacy by associating them with real events. This film cannot, and should not be analyzed in the same way Zodiac, Son of Sam or even Black Dahlia can be. This is not 50 years after the fact, this is not a legitimate attempt to shed light on a damaged psyche - this is raping the corpses of the victims for cash.

As much as I enjoy a good slasher flick, or even a bad one, THIS film will appeal only to the lowest common denominator, even among die-hard horror fans. Those without conscience or empathy, those who secretly harbor the hope that, perhaps American Psycho was an instructional manual – not a satire.

Uli Lommel needs to grow up - or at least stop chasing hearses for film ideas. As for the actors - I can't blame them - work is work. Perhaps if they had more talent or confidence they would be able to work with someone other than this bottom feeder. I wish them luck.