A Movie To Catch a Killer
The Zodiac Killer (1971)
** (out of 4)
San Francisco finds itself under attack due to a string of murders where people are shot for no apparent reason. The film introduces us to a "what if" scenario as we meet several people who may or may not be the serial killer.
It's important to remember that when THE ZODIAC KILLER was released, the city itself was still under terror from the real thing. Obviously this has exploitation written all over it but one might be shocked that director Tom Hanson doesn't go over-the-top with the sleaze and instead it tries to take a serious approach on the subject. On the whole this isn't the best movie ever made but it features enough to make it worth viewing for fans of the genre.
What I enjoy most about the film is that it perfectly captures the time that it is set. There have been a lot of movies that tackled the subject but this here is the only one that takes place where the crimes happened. There's a surreal nature to the film that works extremely well and I thought the atmosphere was quite good. You really do feel as if you're watching a documentary on the real Zodiac because of how good the setting is. The film also benefits from some memorable death scenes. None of them, with the exception of a knife attack, are all that graphic but at the same time they are memorable.
With that said, there are some major flaws throughout the picture. The biggest is the fact that the film really drags at 85-minutes. The pacing of the movie is quite poor and it just drags to the point where you'll be wanting to scream for them to speed things up. The performances are also rather poor to say the least and some of the dialogue is even worse. One could also argue that the film doesn't have the greatest of stories but at the same time you have to give them credit for making a film in hopes of catching a real killer!
** (out of 4)
San Francisco finds itself under attack due to a string of murders where people are shot for no apparent reason. The film introduces us to a "what if" scenario as we meet several people who may or may not be the serial killer.
It's important to remember that when THE ZODIAC KILLER was released, the city itself was still under terror from the real thing. Obviously this has exploitation written all over it but one might be shocked that director Tom Hanson doesn't go over-the-top with the sleaze and instead it tries to take a serious approach on the subject. On the whole this isn't the best movie ever made but it features enough to make it worth viewing for fans of the genre.
What I enjoy most about the film is that it perfectly captures the time that it is set. There have been a lot of movies that tackled the subject but this here is the only one that takes place where the crimes happened. There's a surreal nature to the film that works extremely well and I thought the atmosphere was quite good. You really do feel as if you're watching a documentary on the real Zodiac because of how good the setting is. The film also benefits from some memorable death scenes. None of them, with the exception of a knife attack, are all that graphic but at the same time they are memorable.
With that said, there are some major flaws throughout the picture. The biggest is the fact that the film really drags at 85-minutes. The pacing of the movie is quite poor and it just drags to the point where you'll be wanting to scream for them to speed things up. The performances are also rather poor to say the least and some of the dialogue is even worse. One could also argue that the film doesn't have the greatest of stories but at the same time you have to give them credit for making a film in hopes of catching a real killer!
- Michael_Elliott
- Nov 24, 2006