Description
With a much higher budget Zodiac could have indeed been a much better film, but as it stands, the movie is a bit of a grind. Based on One of California's most infamous unsolved killing sprees, director Alexander Bulkley and his co-screenwriter brother, Kelly Bulkley have made a rather strange film based on the string of murders that terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s and '70s.
Taking place almost entirely in Vallejo, the filmmakers essentially end the movie halfway through the narrative, so we only get part of the story of this killer, who even today remains at large. Themore… hero of the film, fictitious Vallejo police Detective Matt Parish (a very good Justin Chambers) who becomes obsessed with cracking the case, to the detriment of his family. Repeatedly beaten down, he becomes consumed, spending long nights at the office and finally turning to drink.
As pressure from his chief (Philip Baker Hall) to solve the crimes mounts, Matt loses himself emotionally in all the ciphers, codes and clues the murderer uses to taunt the police and press. At home his wife Laura (Robin Tunney) waits, becoming increasingly paranoid that the killer is coming for her. Their son Johnny (Rory Culkin) mopes through the film becoming as obsessed by the case as his father, but nobody really notices or cares.
The film's biggest problem is that it has the look of a straight to video production, with most of it shot in irritatingly close-up so that at times it becomes almost impossible to see what is going on. The period detail however, when you can see it, is mostly well done. On a limited budget, Bulkley does a good job of situating the story in a definite time and place.
Images of the moonwalk, Nixon, Vietnam and Black Panthers flicker across TV screens. Period details in the rural communities of the North Bay Area read convincingly without calling too much attention to the cars, hairdos and clothes. Bulkley ends up telling the story without embellishments but also without much excitement.
The scenes showing the zodiac killer (Marty Lindsey) are your usual serial killer clichés, with shots of the back of his head, and walking from a phone booth, and in his lair. The only journalist (William Mapother) seen covering the case - who ironically ends up having a lucrative career from the killings, ascending to the job of network news anchor - is portrayed as ruthless and self-righteous as he reports that the police are inexperienced in the matter and totally oblivious to the real identity of the killer.
For those of us who are unfamiliar with the Zodiac murders, the story is indeed quite compelling, but also somewhat frustrating. With no one ever caught, there can be no resolution to the story and there's also no resolution for the characters in this movie who deserve some sort of closure for all their angst and torment.
At the end, we are told that the Zodiac's final letter included the line "I am waiting for a good movie about me." He may have to wait a bit longer, for David Fincher's bigger budget version starring Jake Gyllenhaal is due to be released next year. Mike Leonard September 06.
| Robin Tunney |
| Justin Chambers |
| Rory Culkin |
| William R. Mapother |
| Brad Henke |
Info:
- Category:
- Movies > Films
- Case Type:
- DVD
- Release Type:
- Custom
- Language:
- English
- Region:
- R1
- Comments:
- 1 read add
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Cover Info:
- Title:
- The Zodiac (2006) R1 Custom DVD
- Part:
- CD
- Dimensions:
- 1417 x 1417 px
- Size:
- 370 KB
- Downloads:
- 181 (0 today)
- Uploaded:
- 09/09/07 by Corbyt
- Quality Rating:
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- Currently /5 Stars.
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