hadmatter

Just wanted to point out that the previous poster (who mentioned Robert Hays and Pam Dawber) was actually referring to the movie "The Girl, The Gold Watch, And Everything". This movie ("...And Dynamite") is the sequel to the Pam Dawber movie (she isn't in this one). While the original TV movie is better, they're both enjoyable pieces of adolescent fluff, particularly for those of us who grew up in the late seventies and early eighties. I was lucky enough to see them both in their first broadcasts, but sadly I could never find the first one again. It seemed like they ran "...And Dynamite" all the time (probably because of Morgan Fairchild). But not the first one.

Not that "a film by Ulli Lommel" filled me with hope, but I must confess that ZODIAC KILLER managed to sink beneath my lowest expectations. There is a recent trend among young filmmakers of utilizing digital video for their early projects, which is all well and good for giving these kids the opportunity to create work without spending all their money on expensive film stock. But many of these young filmmakers have also wised up to the notion of filtering the finished movie so that it appears qualitatively more like celluloid. The effect is never perfect, but it helps. Unfiltered digital video really only works for the "mockumentary" style, because it never looks like anything other than video. Therein lies the primary trouble with ZODIAC KILLER. Watching the movie feels like watching a daytime soap opera about a murderer. It does not feel like watching a movie. And what's even more unforgivable is that the Lommel is NOT a young filmmaker. He ought to know better. He ought to know that it's virtually impossible to generate horror (or even suspense!) on video. For the love of god this guy has been directing since the sixties! He may be the only director who has failed to improve over a forty year career in the business. And lucky us, he wrote the script too! So you can expect convoluted actions that mean nothing, unjustified behavior, and at least one truly pretentious plot element that will leave you utterly unsatisfied. Please, please miss this film. You'll thank me later.