"The Zodiac" is about Seargant Matthew Parish (Justin Chambers, of TV's "Grey's Anatomy"), a police detective in the San Francisco area in the late 1960s. On December 20, 1968, two young people are shot to death in their car late at night. This is just the beginning of a murderous rampage that continued until late 1969. The killer, who calls himself "The Zodiac", taunts the police with cryptic messages and letters, and terrorizes the city residents. And while the Zodiac causes chaos for the citizens, relations in Matthew's family, with his wife Laura (Robin Tunney, of "The Craft"), and his son, Johnny (Rory Culkin) begin to crumble as he is consumed by the disturbing case.
Based on the real-life unsolved serial killing that took place in the late 1960s San Francisco, "The Zodiac" is a well-told and interesting thriller that was much better than I was expecting it to be. I personally don't know a lot about the actual Zodiac case (I just know the basic things), but from what I've been told, this movie does leave out some elements in the actual case and twists things a bit for storytelling purposes, which isn't necessarily bad. Nonetheless, the story is well told here and will give a nice insight into the Zodiac killer for those who aren't very familiar with the real case. It doesn't lose it's focus either, which is a good thing. However, I did feel that it kind of dragged it's feet a bit in certain areas, but after awhile it began to pick itself up again.
The 1960s setting is brought through here very nicely with the costumes, cars, locations, etc. It does bring you back to the time of the real incidents, which is effective. Vietnam and a country in chaos is an ironic backdrop for the chaos caused by the Zodiac within San Francisco, and the time period is brought to life with numerous clips and footage from the era, including footage of actual things related to the case. As for the murder scenes, they are surprisingly saddening, and brutal to say the least. The presence of the killer himself is eerie enough, and he is only really seen in a couple of scenes, but of course his face is never shown. Good acting here as well from Justin Chambers, who was an odd choice for a lead, but pulls off the role. Robin Tunney is great as his sympathetic wife, and Rory Culkin is also good as their son. The conclusion is a bit empty, but what can you really expect, seeing as the real killer himself was never caught? The reality is that these things did happen, and that is what gives this movie it's creepiness.
Overall, "The Zodiac" is chilling and eerie movie that chronicles one of the most infamous serial killings of all time. It's not perfect and it has it's flaws, but it is a decent account of the crimes, and does put on display the Zodiac's mystery and intrigue. The actual Zodiac killer himself sent a letter to police asking, "When will there be a good movie made about me?". Well, people's opinions of this film will obviously vary, but I'd say this was fairly good and worth a watch, especially if you find the Zodiac killing case of any interest. 7/10.
Based on the real-life unsolved serial killing that took place in the late 1960s San Francisco, "The Zodiac" is a well-told and interesting thriller that was much better than I was expecting it to be. I personally don't know a lot about the actual Zodiac case (I just know the basic things), but from what I've been told, this movie does leave out some elements in the actual case and twists things a bit for storytelling purposes, which isn't necessarily bad. Nonetheless, the story is well told here and will give a nice insight into the Zodiac killer for those who aren't very familiar with the real case. It doesn't lose it's focus either, which is a good thing. However, I did feel that it kind of dragged it's feet a bit in certain areas, but after awhile it began to pick itself up again.
The 1960s setting is brought through here very nicely with the costumes, cars, locations, etc. It does bring you back to the time of the real incidents, which is effective. Vietnam and a country in chaos is an ironic backdrop for the chaos caused by the Zodiac within San Francisco, and the time period is brought to life with numerous clips and footage from the era, including footage of actual things related to the case. As for the murder scenes, they are surprisingly saddening, and brutal to say the least. The presence of the killer himself is eerie enough, and he is only really seen in a couple of scenes, but of course his face is never shown. Good acting here as well from Justin Chambers, who was an odd choice for a lead, but pulls off the role. Robin Tunney is great as his sympathetic wife, and Rory Culkin is also good as their son. The conclusion is a bit empty, but what can you really expect, seeing as the real killer himself was never caught? The reality is that these things did happen, and that is what gives this movie it's creepiness.
Overall, "The Zodiac" is chilling and eerie movie that chronicles one of the most infamous serial killings of all time. It's not perfect and it has it's flaws, but it is a decent account of the crimes, and does put on display the Zodiac's mystery and intrigue. The actual Zodiac killer himself sent a letter to police asking, "When will there be a good movie made about me?". Well, people's opinions of this film will obviously vary, but I'd say this was fairly good and worth a watch, especially if you find the Zodiac killing case of any interest. 7/10.