Kenneth Bianchi, the serial killer known as the Hillside Strangler, was captured by L.A. police and tried to build a psychiatric defense around a split personality disorder. What followed was a genuine medical puzzle which a clever psychiatrist had to figure out: was Bianchi actually insane or just a clever con man?
In its attempts to fictionally re-create this famous story, this movie proves a rather mixed bag. Brittany Daniel plays a sexy swinging police psychiatrist (the real one was a middle aged fat guy) matching wits with Clifton Collins Jr. as Bianchi. Their interactions make up the dramatic center of this film and are moderately effective but lacking in the on- screen fireworks required to make this sort of exercise really work (as in Silence of the Lambs). Much of the background of the film is made up of clumsy ruminations by the film makers as to whether the permissive, anything-goes sex and cocaine L.A. lifestyle and its resulting alienation of the individual could be responsible for the Strangler's rampage. It certainly gave him a big city to hide in and a smörgåsbord of vulnerable victims to prey upon.
This movie, in short had certain potential given its complex real life narrative, but its execution fell far short of its ambitions. Not awful, but not really recommended for anybody looking for insights into one of the most famous serial killer cases in recent years.
In its attempts to fictionally re-create this famous story, this movie proves a rather mixed bag. Brittany Daniel plays a sexy swinging police psychiatrist (the real one was a middle aged fat guy) matching wits with Clifton Collins Jr. as Bianchi. Their interactions make up the dramatic center of this film and are moderately effective but lacking in the on- screen fireworks required to make this sort of exercise really work (as in Silence of the Lambs). Much of the background of the film is made up of clumsy ruminations by the film makers as to whether the permissive, anything-goes sex and cocaine L.A. lifestyle and its resulting alienation of the individual could be responsible for the Strangler's rampage. It certainly gave him a big city to hide in and a smörgåsbord of vulnerable victims to prey upon.
This movie, in short had certain potential given its complex real life narrative, but its execution fell far short of its ambitions. Not awful, but not really recommended for anybody looking for insights into one of the most famous serial killer cases in recent years.