This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2017) |
The Zodiac Killer | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tom Hanson |
Written by | Ray Cantrell Manny Cardoza |
Produced by | Tom Hanson |
Starring | Hal Reed Bob Jones Ray Lynch Tom Pittman |
Cinematography | Robert Birchall Wilson S. Hong |
Music by | Dennis Thomann |
Distributed by | Adventure Productions, Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Zodiac Killer is a 1971 slasher film directed by Tom Hanson and starring Hal Reed, Bob Jones, Ray Lynch and Tom Pittman. The plot is based on the murders committed by the Zodiac Killer in the San Francisco area, though it takes many liberties with the actual investigation with the film providing a name and back story for the killer.
The film is a highly fictionalized telling of a month in the life of the Zodiac Killer (played by Hal Reed). The film follows the killer (whose identity as the Zodiac Killer is not revealed until the end of the first act of the film) and a friend, Grover (a drunk, toupée-wearing truck driver who is divorced from his wife and in financial trouble from his divorce) as they meet and go about their normal day. Grover eventually has a nervous breakdown due to the upheaval in his life caused by his divorce, as he is denied the right to visit his daughter when he makes a surprise visit to his ex-wife. Taking his daughter hostage, the police are called and as he tries to escape, Grover sees the day's paper laying on the front steps announcing another murder by the Zodiac Killer. In a fit of madness, he declares himself the Zodiac Killer and lets his daughter go in order to flee. The police shoot him dead as he falls into a nearby pool.
The second act of the film follows the real Zodiac Killer, who the film positions as having a day job as a much put upon postal carrier. The death of his friend causes him to phone the police to announce that the man they killed was not the Zodiac Killer, then goes about a major killing spree culminating in him murdering a pair of lovers in a park. The film also portrays him as a Satanist and one who actively kills those in his personal life who mock him or are mean to him in his normal life or who he hears mock his alter-ego.
The final act of the film attempts to provide a motive for the crime. The Zodiac Killer visits his father in a hospital, where he is kept in a caged room on the top floor. It is implied that the Zodiac's father is mentally ill and has to be restrained 24/7 and refuses any verbal communication with his son. The Zodiac Killer begs for his father to talk to him only to be rebuked. The staff of the facility ask the Zodiac Killer to leave, claiming his presence "upsets" his father. On his way out, the Zodiac Killer takes out his anger on two patients, wounding one and killing another.
The film ends with a voice over monologue as the Zodiac Killer goes about his normal routine. The Zodiac Killer brags about how he will never be caught and taunts the viewers of the film telling them that other monsters like himself lurk out there, able to blend in with normal people to avoid being caught while doing evil.
In a 2012 interview and again in a 2017 interview, Hanson stated that the production of the film was motivated by an elaborate plot to catch the killer, who, Hanson reasoned, would not be able to resist attending the film's premier. [1] [2]
The opening night screening took place at San Francisco's RKO Golden Gate Theater on April 7, 1971. Audience members were asked to write their answers to "I think the Zodiac kills because ..." and drop their entries into a large box in order to enter a raffle to win a motorcycle donated by Kawasaki. The unsuspecting filmgoers didn't know that there was a volunteer crouched inside the box comparing their handwriting with samples of the Zodiac's, and that there were goons (including members of the film's cast) waiting in the wings ready to apprehend and interrogate anyone whose penmanship raised a red flag. [3]
The Blu-ray for The Zodiac Killer was released on July 25, 2017 by the American Genre Film Archive and Something Weird Video. [4] The Zodiac Killer was the first film restored by the American Genre Film Archive. [5] Special features on the Blu-ray include a commentary track and an interview with director Tom Hanson and actor Manny Nedwick. [4]
Natural Born Killers is a 1994 American romantic crime action film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childhoods who become lovers and mass murderers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history," and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.
Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological horror-thriller film directed by Michael Powell, written by Leo Marks, and starring Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey and Maxine Audley. The film revolves around a serial killer who murders women while using a portable film camera to record their dying expressions of terror, putting his footage together into a snuff film used for his own self-pleasure. Its title derives from the expression "Peeping Tom", which describes a voyeur.
Child's Play is a 1988 American supernatural slasher film directed by Tom Holland, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Don Mancini and John Lafia based on a story by Mancini. The film stars Catherine Hicks and Chris Sarandon with Brad Dourif as Chucky. Its plot follows a widowed mother who gives a new doll to her son, unaware that it is possessed by the soul of a serial killer.
Nicolas Kent Stahl is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face, directed by and co-starring Mel Gibson.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much is a 1963 Italian giallo film directed by Mario Bava, starring John Saxon as Dr. Marcello Bassi and Letícia Román as Nora Davis. The plot revolves around a young American woman named Nora, who travels to Rome and witnesses a murder. The police and Dr. Bassi do not believe her, since a corpse has not been found. Several more killings follow, tied to a decade-long string of murder victims chosen in alphabetical order.
Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by James Vanderbilt, based on the nonfiction books by Robert Graysmith: Zodiac (1986) and Zodiac Unmasked (2002). It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr., with Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Chloë Sevigny, Philip Baker Hall, and Dermot Mulroney in supporting roles.
Perfect Stranger is a 2007 American neo-noir psychological thriller film, directed by James Foley, and starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis. It was produced by Revolution Studios for Columbia Pictures, who released the film on April 13, 2007. The film was panned by critics and grossed just $73 million against its $60 million budget.
My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka and written by John Beaird. It stars Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Valentine's Day party, only to incur the vengeful wrath of a maniac in mining gear who begins a killing spree.
Schizoid is a 1980 American slasher film directed and written by David Paulsen, and starring Klaus Kinski, Marianna Hill, Craig Wasson, Christopher Lloyd, and Donna Wilkes. It follows a Los Angeles advice columnist who is subject to a series of threatening anonymous letters, while members of a group therapy she attends are being stalked and murdered by a killer armed with shearing scissors.
Bloodfist is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by Terence H. Winkless, starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks and Cris Aguilar. The plot sees an American former kickboxer travel to Manila, where he re-enters competition to avenge the murder of his brother and fellow fighter.
Hospital Massacre is a 1982 American slasher film directed by Boaz Davidson and starring Barbi Benton. Its plot follows a woman who becomes trapped on an empty floor of a hospital, where a murderer posing as a surgeon attempts to kill her.
The Prowler is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, written by Neal Barbera and Glenn Leopold, and starring Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Lawrence Tierney, Cindy Weintraub, and Farley Granger. The film follows a group of college students in a coastal California town who are stalked and murdered during a graduation party by an apparent World War II veteran who killed his ex-girlfriend in 1945.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a 2007 American pseudo-documentary horror film written, directed, and edited by John Erick Dowdle from a story he co-wrote with his brother Drew Dowdle. It revolves around a serial killer's murders in Poughkeepsie, New York, told through interviews and footage from a cache of the killer's snuff films.
Prom Night is a 2008 slasher film directed by Nelson McCormick. It is the fifth and final installment of the Prom Night film series. It is a reboot film, mainly taking inspiration from the original 1980 film. The film stars an ensemble cast including Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie, Kelly Blatz, James Ransone, Brianne Davis, Johnathon Schaech, and Idris Elba.
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California from at least the late 1960s to the early 1970s. His identity remains unknown. His crimes, letters and cryptograms to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels, television and more.
To All a Goodnight is a 1980 American slasher film directed by David Hess in his directorial debut, and starring Jennifer Runyon and Forrest Swanson. Its plot follows a group of female finishing school students and their boyfriends being murdered during a Christmas party by a psychopath dressed as Santa Claus.
Hide and Go Shriek is a 1988 American slasher film directed by Skip Schoolnik in his directorial debut, and starring Bunky Jones, Annette Sinclair, Brittain Frye, Donna Baltron, George Thomas, and Sean Kanan in his film debut. The story details a group of teenagers who celebrate their graduation by staying the night inside a furniture store, where they are stalked and murdered by a cross-dressing killer during a game of hide and go seek.
Slaughterhouse Rock is a 1988 American supernatural horror film directed by Dimitri Logothetis, and starring Nicholas Celozzi, Tom Reilly, Donna Denton, Hope Marie Carlton, Tammara Hyler, Steven Brian Smith, Ty Miller, and Toni Basil. Its plot follows a college student who travels to Alcatraz Island with his friends, after having recurring nightmares of a rock band that was killed there.
Nail Gun Massacre is a 1987 American slasher film written by Terry Lofton and directed by Lofton and Bill Leslie. It follows a young doctor and a sheriff seeking a killer in a motorcycle helmet who is murdering locals with a nail gun.