Review: The Zodiac (** 1/2)

THE ZODIAC
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes



RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2



Great case; mediocre movie. Alexander Bulkley's THE ZODIAC, the first of
two films about the infamous Zodiac killer coming out this year, is indeed a
second-rate production, but it is fascinating nonetheless. The script by
the director and his brother Kelley Bulkeley feels consistently
underwritten, and the second tier cast never warms up properly to the
material. (For the record, the brothers actually do spell their last names
differently. Go figure.) But all of the problems with the movie can't
diminish the engrossing aspects of this true story.



For those who have not heard of the Zodiac or who have forgotten his crimes,
he was a serial killer who randomly murdered people in the San Francisco Bay
Area beginning around the late 1960s. As man was preparing to walk on the
moon for the first time, an event chronicled in the movie, the Zodiac killer
started his long crime spree with a series of attacks on kids frequenting
the lovers' lanes of Vallejo.



The movie follows young Inspector Matt Parish (Justin Chambers) as he bangs
his head against the wall trying in vain to crack the case. Rory Culkin
plays his young son Johnny, a junior detective who likes to hang around
crime scenes and visit his dad at the office. Robin Tunney ("Prison Break")
is wasted as the wife who refuses to follow Matt's orders to stay calm.
Matt, an alcoholic who is rarely home, yells at his wife for keeping their
house locked. He thinks that her caution reflects badly on his ability to
maintain a safe environment for the community.



Although Matt starts with no leads and no motives to go on, the killer soon
starts calling the police station and sending letters to the newspapers.
The Zodiac is a braggart who likes nothing better than trying to prove how
much smarter he is than the officers on his case. His most famous
communication was a three part cipher which he demanded be printed in the
newspapers, otherwise he would immediately start a "kill rampage" -- the
letters were full of grammatical and spelling errors, which the detectives
couldn't figure out were significant or not. Although he claimed that the
decoding of his cryptogrammic triptych would reveal his identity, it didn't
and was merely more of his boastful prose.



By the "end" of his crime wave, the Zodiac claimed to have killed
thirty-seven people. In his last communication he said, "I am now waiting
for a good movie to be made about me." Perhaps he will break his silence to
tell us which of the two films about him he likes best. (SE7EN's David
Fincher's version will be released this fall.) Maybe, he'll just turn
himself in, but I doubt it. Then again, he hasn't said anything since 1978
so perhaps he isn't even alive anymore.



THE ZODIAC runs 1:32. It is rated R for "strong violence and language" and
would be acceptable for teenagers.



The film is playing in limited release now in the United States.



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