The Hunt for the BTK Killer

This was a historically-accurate depiction of what really occurred. This was overall a good movie. Henry did an exceptional job with the voice and the mannerisms of Rader. Well done.

Although I had heard several mentions of the BTK Killer over the years, I didn't know any of the hard facts about the case. So when I got a copy of this movie, I thought it might give me some insight. Let's just say that this movie failed to satisfy my curiosity. Being that it was made for commercial television, the treatment feels very soft. For starters, it doesn't go into much depth to the actual murders; had it had done so, it might have given more insight to the killer. Also, the movie is lacking a hard edge - we don't get the feeling that the title figure is a ruthless monster (mostly we see him do mundane day to day things), nor do we feel the urgency the authorities must have been pressed with investigating who the killer was. The movie also comes across as cheap, from its low rent production values to a musical score that is not only cheesy but inappropriate at times. All this may explain why much of the cast gives passionless performances; even Robert Forster, an actor I've liked in many other movies, seems to just be going through the motions. You'd probably be better off reading a book concerning the BTK Killer instead of watching this movie.

Dennis Rader went decades living as the BTK Killer (stands for Hunt, Torture, Kill), with his final amount murder list will probably never be known for sure. "The Hunt for the BTK Killer" follows Rader, played by Gregg Henry, and Detective Magida, Robert Forster, the man responsible for taking him down.

This is a very good true to life television film. The story is for the most part correct, and while I don't know if there was a Det. Magida (or if that was the Detective's name) the police investigation kept me interested as to exactly how BTK was caught. Rader's kills are presented in a creepy and fascinating way. Overall the script is tight and consistently keeps your attention.

Henry and Forster are really the only characters that are given much depth, but those two are the only ones that need it. The script typecasts Forster's Magida as your usual cop, he's an older gumshoe working with a beautiful younger actress as partner. Henry does a fantastic job as Rader, his interviews at the end are creepy and award-worthy.

There is a voice-over narration by Forster that guides the film, which I suspect was brought in afterwards to tie up loose ends. In any other case, I would drop the quality down for using the worst tool in the business, but here it actually enlightened about Rader instead of insulting the viewer's intelligence.

If you're interested in BTK, or serial killer media in general, this one is worth a watch.

Another made-for-TV serial killer movie "based on a true story" that tries to introduce one or two notes of originality into a cinematic pattern that is so nearly exhausted it's staggering on its pins.

One such attempt is in the musical score. Ordinarily with a story about a serial killer, we'd expect violins tremolo until they shriek madly as the hatchet descends. Not here.

As Dennis Rader, the "BTK Killer", Gregg Henry, in a completely satisfying performance, goes about his business of seeing to it that the community's lawns are properly mowed and that his victims are tortured, raped, and killed, and he's accompanied by some kind of Orff Schulwerk music filled with glockenspiels and a cute pizzicato melody. Well, why not? It worked in "Badlands." But when the rubber meets the road and there is action on the screen, Tree Adams, the composer, goes nuts and the air is filled with the loud racket of pots and pans being clanged together. It may be innovative but it's distracting too.

Robert Forster does a decent job as the detective in charge but because of lax direction or some other reason he's not as convincing as he was in "Jackie Brown." He's given a voice-over narration that's stale. Something like, "I realized we had to go through this to be a better people." Ugh. It's too bad that the narration is so full of old saws and empty observations because the plot really needs something to tie the episodes together. The killings themselves aren't a problem because they're not lingered over and are only suggested in double- and triple exposure. But the timeline is warped. There were times when I didn't know whether we were in 1974 or 2004. No kidding.

It isn't a memorable movie but Gregg Henry has the simple, innocent, friendly face of true evil down pat.

I caught this on Netflix and was surprised by how good it was, namely due to Henry's performance as Dennis Rader. I wasn't too into it in the beginning after hearing the usually great Robert Foster deliver a horrible line to a reporter. However, I overlooked it and bared through it which I'm glad I did. The film does not portray any of the killings and focuses on the actual hunt for the BTK killer which actually worked for the film because it gives the audience an even more uneasy feel watching Dennis Rader pick and choose his next potential victims. The film's greatness exists in Henry's performance. The performance is so controlled and hinders on the brink of a violent breakdown that as an audience member, you can't help but get the chills when you see him on screen.

The film does have it's flaws, between horrendous acting from some actors and some campy and cheesy dialog it still screams TV movie. However, for a TV movie, this is pretty damn good. Let's put it this way, for a regular theater movie, this would be a 4/10 easily. For a TV movie, 8/10.