The Zodiac (2006)

As a culture we are obsessed with serial killers. While some writers choose to glorify these monsters, others simply want to show the truth behind their crimes and the investigation that followed. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, the real story is no where near as interesting as Hollywood makes it out to be, that's where the based on a true story comes in. The case of the infamous Zodiac Killer was a fascinating case, of a man who not only killed at random, but who also taunted the police, by publishing cryptic ciphers in the newspaper, claiming if they cracked the ciphers, they'd know who he was. The man behind the crimes was certainly an interesting case, but the long investigation into finding out who the person might have been, was not. As a film, The Zodiac is said to be a fairly accurate portrayal of the crimes, the investigation, the paranoia than gripped the city, and the political pressure everyone faced as a result. The film makers didn't want to take liberties with the story, glorify the crimes, or present unproven theories from any one of the a number of books written about the Zodiac Killer. That being said, what happened was interesting, but also fairly slow moving and more than somewhat dry. For those people who are unfamiliar with the story of the Zodiac, they may enjoy learning about this case, but for those of us who know it, watching this film was like seeing a very long episode of the First 48. It's interest, the acting is suitable, and it passes the time, but if you're looking for a real entertaining, Hollywood version of the Zodiac story, you'll be much happier with the film simply titled, Zodiac, from 2007, starring Robert Downey Jr. That film is based on one of the more populist theories of the crime, and features more edge of your seat action than it's predecessor.

a simple sketch. not very clear, not elaborated, far to be convincing or almost interesting. short, nothing complicated, nothing credible. only few lines from a famous case and Justin Chambers as hero. the problem is not acting or script but the lost of purpose. it seems be a film about nothing, puzzle from different crime films, without roots of characters and full of improvisation. a movie who can be, in the most happy situation, source of sources about subject and a kind of introduction not very smart, but not so bad. short, a gray film. not decent, not bad. only a poor one . about a complex subject who has as meritorious thing only its title.

THE ZODIAC takes a different look at the famous Zodiac Killer case from other screen treatments of the murders. More than a simple crime story, the film is an emotional thriller focusing on the murders' impact on victims, their families and the wider community. The film follows a police detective (Chambers) from "Grey's Anatomy", and his son (Culkin) who become obsessed with the murders and endanger their family in the process.This movie also stars other TV show stars of current drama, such as Robin Tunney from "Prison Break", William Mapother from "Lost", Rex Linn from "CSI: Miami", and Philip Baker Hall from "The Loop".What touches me most perhaps is that it took place in the town I grew up, The Bay Area of California. Sure, it happened long before I was born, but the fact he was never caught is haunting to a child, whose imagination reinvents in timeless fashion the monsters of yesterday's endless mysteries.Chambers plays a detective who is in over his head. Perhaps if the FBI were more involved early on he might have been caught... I guess we'll never know.A film with decent acting, pacing, music, overall feel is like those suspenseful thrillers I used to see as a kid on TV, and I always enjoyed that personable feeling, almost like no one is in character but just feeling out the story that stays true to the real life mystery we were all left with in the reality of The Zodiac.My rating: 6.5 because it failed to draw the characters in, sadly so little was ever discovered about the Zodiac that there wasn't a lot to go on going into the picture and that hole is painfully clear in the end result. Every subplot to the film is a dead end, mirroring the investigation. We see several times how easily the Zodiac eluded capture due to the ignorance and incompetence of the police.

In the late 1960s, a serial killer dubbed The Zodiac, strikes fear into bay area residents of Northern California. The gruesome murders - usually young teenage lovers - had great impact on the victim's families and entire community as a young cop Matt Parish(Justin Chambers)becomes obsessed with capturing the killer. Parish would find himself communicating with the psycho through a series of cryptic letters with the promise of the killer's identity. This fictionalized account of the actual events makes for a gripping movie with strong violence and disturbing images. The cast also features: Robin Tunney, Brad William Henke, Rex Linn, Rory Culkin and Brian Bloom as the voice of Zodiac.