Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders

After seeing that a film of the tag team killers of B & B was now released, I was hopeful that someone had made use of this fertile crime history, and Bianchi's lame MPD defense could have been interesting if made by someone who HAD A MODICUM OF TALENT...and had a real script..I was just stunned at how far dramatic license could be utilized...and still use "actual" names with no actual history to back it up. This is the WORST serial killer flick ever, and possibly a contender for worst film ever. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Hillside case, except that we see the comical appearance of the multiple personalities of Bianchi in the last 15 minutes(permanently damaging the career of this young guy that was in "Traffic"). In the end, the flick is a failing grade at a CC Film School. I don't know much about the "writer/director", but it really makes you wonder how anyone, with just a MiniDV handicam and a loosely written script gets "known" actors to appear in this horrible mess. I felt the pain of these actors (especially Lake Bell, she's fine!) throughout...and the cute blonde from "Joe Dirt" was forced to chain smoke and go bra-less throughout, for what reason ??? Not even that can keep any interest up after the first 5 minutes. This is nothing more than a failed, male sex/murder fantasy, and is the most amateurish film that I've seen in release possibly ever...it should be burned, the MiniDV master should be burned !! Take some Dramamine before you TRY to watch it, it makes the Blair Witch camera work look like Lawrence OF Arabia. Most amateur porn flix have higher production values than this one. Stop making movies Herr Director, even if your daddy owns a studio...

Do you have any idea how wretched a film has to be for me to consider it the worst "true" serial killer-themed movie ever? Well, this one gets that honor. How it was humanly possible to make a movie worse than SPECK boggles my mind. But this crew did. Oh wait, I know why: 1. Here's a movie whose title suggests it will only appeal to true crime buffs. So let's alienate the only possible fan base this movie could have by changing EVERYTHING factual about the case. Nevermind the fact that the real Ken Bianchi was a slick BS artist. Nope, this movie turns him into Kevin Spacey from THE USUAL SUSPECTS. And what's with that title, you ask? Weren't there two Hillside Stranglers? Yes. Yes, there were. But Angelo Buono is a minor character in this piece. Forget the fact that he was the actual brains behind the crimes and was in effect Ken's mentor in murder. Angelo gets one brief scene and then falls off the face of the earth. Interestingly, Angelo's criminal trial was the longest in United States history up to that point. Do they even see fit to give us little slices of information like that in the closing credits? Nah. Because research is hard.

2. There's this wonderful new invention out there called a tripod. It allows a camera to be placed in a fixed position for a steady, undistracting shot. Our cinematographer hasn't heard of this invention. Therefore, he shoots every scene in a circular dolly shot. No, seriously. EVERY scene. Sometimes to break the monotony of the circular dolly shots, we get a circular dolly shot superimposed onto ANOTHER circular dolly shot. Yay.

3. Our psychiatrist Samantha is such a model of professionalism that she keeps candid nude pictures of herself hanging on the wall in her study. I guess this is to provide a conversation piece to visiting patients and law enforcement personnel. She's also apparently so absorbed in her casework that she can never seem to fasten the top 6 or 7 buttons on her blouse. It's impossible to give a tinker's squat about Samantha because her only character development consists of her having increasingly half-hearted sex with a parade of drugged-out strangers.

4. When the story lags, cut to another drug-fueled orgy! Not that you'll be able to see much, because for these sequences they seem to have strapped a camera onto a hummingbird. A hummingbird with a penchant for annoyingly long dissolves. And because recutting a film to meet an R-rating costs money, let's just digitally fog certain props and naked characters that the MPAA finds offensive. Ah, digital fogging. It's not just for Japanese pornos anymore! Classy.

In conclusion, this movie fails as a serial killer biopic. It fails as a character study. It fails as a procedural. It fails as a horror film. It fails as a suspense film. But if you look at it as an Impassioned Plea for Tolerance and Acceptance of the Circular Dolly Shot, you'll find no better example.

What seems to be a sort-of follow up to 2004's "The Hillside Strangler", in this one, "Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders" begins with the suspected Strangler, Kenneth Bianchi (Clifton Collins Jr.) captured and brought in for questioning from Dr. Samathan Stone (Brittany Daniel). The film tells the story of Dr. Samantha Stone and what she goes through during her time on the Strangler case. Not only does she deal with sexism from male detectives, but an abusive boyfriend, and of course Kenneth Bianchi and the is-he-or-isn't-he question that she must ask herself. Her only confidant is a former friend, the District Attorny Jillian Dunne (Lake Bell).

"Rampage" is an interesting film: Fantastic performances from Clifton Collins Jr. as Kenneth Bianchi, and the lovely Lake Bell is terrific as Jillian Dune. However it is almost hard to take Brittany Daniel seriously as a psych doctor, though she gives an admirable performance. Some of the camera techniques are very unusual, particularly at the drug-using party scenes. They add something to the film to liven it up I suppose, which is needed, because the film plods at times, and the pacing seems a little off - the first interrogation for example was far too long. The 70's outfits are fantastic though. The standout performance is obviously Clifton Collins Jr., and the way he pulls of the "personalities" of the Strangler are worth watching this film for, even if it is unfortunately disappointing.

"Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders" could've been so much better.

The plot is: Dr. Samantha Stone (Brittany Daniel) gets a case that involves accused murderer Kennenth Bianchi (Clifton Collins Jr.) She gets into his head, and eventually he does the same to her.

The main problem with the film is that there too many camera and sound tricks. It's very distracting and headache inducing. The camera goes around in circles every two seconds.

What's good about this film is the performances. Clifton Collins Jr. is great as Kenneth. If you watch his other performances in "187" or "Mindhunters", you can see the immense talent he has. Brittany Daniel does a decent job. Yes, she takes off her clothes, but she has acting ability. In the end: This movie is a misfire, but thankfully it does boast two good main performances, without that, it would have been a disaster.

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When I first picked this movie up I feared it to be another cheap, poorly written real-life serial killer movie such as 'Gacy'. I was happy to find while watching it that it was actually a well done movie. Clifton Collins Jr. delivers a strong performance as Kenneth Bianchi, one of the two men responsible for the 1977 murders of many young women. His eerie resemblance to the real Bianchi really gives the film an extra boost of realism. Brittany Daniel gives a convincing performance as well, playing Samantha Stone, a psychiatrist who specializes in determining if a suspect is truly insane.

The movie lacks, though, when it tries to add an additional sub-plot in the story. This being Samantha's troubles with her partying, druggie, cheating boyfriend. This non-conclusive aspect of the story tends to use up time that could have been better used to develop Clifton Collin's character. Also, a factor that I felt was unneeded was the amount of nudity and sex in the film. Many shots of naked Daniel and other random couples having sex got a bit excessive at times, and tended to become redundant.

Over-all, the film was not badly done. I enjoyed a few neat filming effects and techniques in the beginning and other parts of the film. Good dialog, clever ending, and a good plot. 7/10.

*Word of warning- If you're looking for historical accuracy in this film you are not going to find it. It's very loosely based on the Hillside Strangler. The timeline is very far off and the events that occur are mostly made up for dramatic reasons.*