The Zodiac proved to be a bit of a let down for me.  Don’t get me wrong.  It is a wonderfully put together piece of film making.  Great care was taken in all aspects of the technical end of making this film.  It is a period piece harking back to late 1960’s San Francisco when the entire bay area was grasped in the terrifying grip of one of this nations most notorious killing sprees.  Everything looks great.  Problem is that the character development just doesn’t happen and you end up staring at the screen going “man, that looks great, but I just don’t care.”

Following down the same path as most of the recent rash of “serial killer bio-pics” of the last few years The Zodiac attempts to retell the story of the hunt for the killer through the eyes of the man put in charge of catching him.  The film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be and ends up not being much of anything.  There is not enough gore and violence to keep us gore hounds happy and there is not enough drama and feelings to make any of us who might actually want to watch a drama interested either.

It really is a shame too as this film seems to have a lot going for it.  A talented director, a great cast and a wonderful true life series of events that are frankly creepy as hell but for some reason this film just don’t seem to click on all cylinders.

The Zodiac killings remain as one of California’s most notorious unsolved cases.  As the film points out, the last communication thought to be from the killer came on April 24, 1978 where he asked “who will make a movie about me?….I am in control of all things”

Creepy shit, it is too bad that they couldn’t capture in a full length film what terror that short little sentence manages to evoke.

The Zodiac is having a short theatrical run this weekend with a DVD release scheduled soon. 

The film stars Justin Chambers, Robin Tunney and Rory Culkin and is directed by Alexander Bulkley. 

Checkout the official website for The Zodiac.