Awakening the Zodiac

Over 40 years since the infamous Zodiac killer terrorised inhabitants of San Francisco and surrounds, three people make an amazing discovery. They stumble across homemade films made by the Zodiac Killer, films of some of his murders. In an attempt to claim a large reward, rather than alert the police, they try to track down the killer themselves. This puts them in danger.

Pretty lame B-grade (at best) thriller. When I read the film summary I figured the movie was set in the 1960s, when the Zodiac Killer was at the peak of his infamy, making the danger more tangible. Having seen the excellent David Fincher-directed 2007 movie, Zodiac, I thought this may be something along those lines.

When I discovered it was actually set in 2017, my heart sank. Even if the killer is still alive, he's in their late-60s, at least, so what kind of thriller is this going to be? A dull, implausible, contrived one, I thought, and I was right.

Unoriginal, filled with every thriller/horror cliché, implausible, predictable, unengaging and quite dull. The Zodiac element was just a ploy to suck viewers in.

Avoid.

Quite a vacuous film about a trio of scavengers who chance upon footage of the Zodiac killer's crimes decades later and attempt to track him down to claim a reward. It manages to hold the viewer's interest for a while by generating the expectation that something will happen but very little does for most of the film and when the killer finally appears and interacts with the protagonists, this has little logical connection with what has gone on before. Usually, when mysteries introduce only one suspect, it's a cinch that that suspect is the killer, but this film bucks that trend: the killer is some random person who we know nothing about even after the film ends. There are any number of loose ends the narrative doesn't even attempt to tie.

The real life, unsolved Bay Area Zodiac killer case gets a fictional exhumation four decades after the murderous spree, when a trio of junk collectors stumble upon canisters of incriminating film. This clever retro take on the YouTube crime clip phenomena presents our innocents with a chance at a $100,000 reward. And we're off.

For the most part, this is a terrifyingly terrific movie, full of creepy, shadowy scenes, hair- raising tension and clever comedic quips. Our trio of trailer trash Sherlocks are very engaging as they stagger into a complicated and dangerous world, not so much for possible riches, but also for adventure. Taunting cryptogram clues, a sinister hood, and creepy voice messages; the Zodiac put the "K" in killer.

Great stuff, but it is almost ruined with a messy, straight forward, by the numbers, uninspiring climax. Which in turn is then inexplicably thrown under the bus with an attempt at an open ended, confusing conclusion. It really does suffer from a proper wrap. "Awakening The Zodiac" needs a rewrite tweak focusing more on mystery than monster. Still a pretty good thrill ride.

Saw this recently on a DVD. Having background information about the Zodiac n having seen Fincher's excellent Zodiac multiple times, i decided to watch this. Obsession apart, honestly, the trailer was very enticing but the movie wasn't. This film is about a couple who gets hold of some snuff footage linking it to the Zodiac. They along with the help of a friend, decide to track down the true identity of the Zodiac and claim the long offered reward money that could change all their lives. The movie opens with a re-creation of one of the Zodiac's murder—an attack on a couple parked in a car on the side of a road in San Francisco a la David Fincher's Zodiac. This movie relied more on the silly investigation as opposed to the actual murders committed by the Zodiac Killer. Even the investigation was kinda meh. The connection between the snuff footage and the Zodiac killer is concluded very easily by the trio. The premise of the film was very good. The film reels are discovered in a small town in Virginia where the couple reside in a trailer. The Zodiac killings happened in San Francisco. How did those reels get there all the way from San Francisco? The Zodiac going into hibernation? The film also has some decent cinematography, likable characters n acting. But the suspense n tension was lacking leading it to a dull n meh kinda ending.

The characters are so dumb in this film. How do you not know how a cipher works?! Ugh these characters are ridiculous. Acting out of pure emotions and not giving any thought whatsoever to their actions. Dumbest characters ever.