L'emprise du mal

Not familiar with the actual incident this movie is based upon, so cannot comment as to the accuracy of the facts and portrayals presented, but give this movie credit for holding a viewer's attention without being overly sensationalistic. The performances are stellar, and the tone of the movie is realistic and gritty - it feels like Pennsylvania, and it could be the town where you live.

I was delighted by a small inside joke. Gary Cole, who plays an investigator in this movie, is sitting in the courtroom while one of the defendants is being questioned. Reference is being made to the books the defendant owned and used as references, including the book "Fatal Vision," upon which another television movie based on fact was made. The camera swings slyly to Gary Cole, who did, in fact, play the infamous defendant, Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, in the movie "Fatal Vision." Very cute.

This movie was being broadcast on Lifetime, which I normally tune to when I want to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I was drawn in far enough I never took that nap.

Bill Bradfield was my landlord back in 1982. He was preparing to go to trial for the murder of Susan Reinart at the time. My friends and I rented a fixer upper from him out near French Creek Park. He was at the house all the time. Things happened there that could never be explained, and I became very frightened. He drove a green VW, and had a very nasty dog. I had many encounters with Bill and I never felt comfortable around him. It wasn't long before I left and moved back home to live with my father. Peter Coyote was great in the movie, but the Bill that I knew at that time was a tall, manipulative, clever, and creepy man. The movie didn't make me as sick as I did when I was around the real thing. Great movie though.

The night Part 1 aired on tv, I was inexorably drawn in. When Part 2 aired, I recorded it because I had to work that night. It was the same night a horrible storm hit--when I came home to my VCR, I'd discovered that the entire episode was UNWATCHABLE! This forced me to buy the novel to find out what happened. The novel is much more graphic and involved, but it turned me on to Joseph Wambaugh because it was the only true-life-horror-mystery-tragedy that I actually laughed out loud while reading! The book is very morbidly funny! Years later when I acquired the video, my girlfriend lamented that it was too long--until we started watching it...when Gary Cole utters the final lines of the cliffhanger--"What kids?" then we saw "To Be Continued..." flash across the screen, I jokingly said: "Well, it's late and I need to be leaving, I'll show you Part 2 some other time." She grabbed me and told me that I WASN'T GOING TO LEAVE until we watched the second video! Yes, it's that good! Watch it if you like true crime--but read the book too!

Just happened to see this web site. I was the Lynn Reinert that was featured in the film. My then husband, Ken Reinert, and I had been married about 2 years when all this occured. The movie is very accurate. Joseph Wambaugh sat down with me for a month and interviewed me for the book. It was a nightmare and is still hard to believe that it happened to us at all. If anyone has any questions about the whole thing, I'll try to answer them. Ken died 2 years ago this June. At least now he's with his children and knows what happened to them. It was a very disturbing thing to go thru and something that I hope no one else ever has too. As I said, if anyone has any questions I'll be happy to try to answer them.

I went to Upper Merion High School in 1973. The school was a regular school to me. Mr. Bradfield was my English teacher. I learned a lot from him. I invited him and Sue Myers to a bar-be-cue at my sister's house that summer and they came together and he brought me a parting gift which I still own to this day. A swiss Army knife. We all liked him and thought he was the best English teacher. Of course I did not speak any English at that time. So I owe that to him. I left UMHS that summer and based on what happened 6 years later I was glad I did. I could not believe what happened. I was shocked to say the least. I have read Echoes in the Darkness and watched the mini-series when they came out. As recently as one month ago I found out there were two other books out on this; Principal Suspect, by William Coustoupoulus and Engaged to Murder by Loretta Shwarts-Nobel. After reading all books I have concluded that Bill Bradfield masterminded the whole thing and may have paid someone to commit these atrocious crimes. I don' believe that the Mr. Bradfield I knew was capable of such heinous crimes but based on his economic circumstances I believe him capable of masterminding it all. Mr Smith may or may not have anything to do with this. According to the Pa Supreme Court Mr Smith was found guilty with lies from a convicted perjurer cop (Martray) and hearsay from all Bradfield's friends and lovers and that evidence was not admissible. So the state's investigators and lawyers messed that one up since Wambaugh wanted to have a good ending to his novel. Now Smith is a free man and Bradfield died in jail in 1998. Whew... I am glad I got that out.