David Fincher is an obsessive filmmaker. He's become somewhat infamous for his perfectionism, shooting multiple — some would say exhausting — takes to get what he needs. There's a method to this madness: Fincher is looking for something raw and honest. "I hate earnestness in performance," the filmmaker once half-jokingly said. "Usually by Take 17 the earnestness is gone." It's fitting, then, that Fincher's best film is about obsession. "Zodiac," which hit theaters in 2007 and promptly failed at the box office, is the best work of art the filmmaker has created so far; a brilliant, captivating film that grabs you by the throat from the first frame and doesn't let up. Like the characters who inhabit the movie, we grow obsessed with the story; with the mystery; with the truth that can never really be learned.
Fincher knows a thing or two about serial killers. His thriller "Seven" (or "Se7en" if you want...
Fincher knows a thing or two about serial killers. His thriller "Seven" (or "Se7en" if you want...
- 2/15/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
David Tennant took on one of his darkest roles to date when he played Dennis Nilsen – the notorious “Muswell Hill Murderer” who killed at least 12 young boys and men in North London from 1978 to 1983 – in ITV’s Des.
Tennant was the latest in a long line of actors to dramatise the lives of some of the world’s most prolific murderers – and it’s easy to see why such a part would be appealing. Playing a serial killer allows an actor to show their range and move away from being typecast. For those who’ve gone before them, such roles have been known to make a career, winning Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas for those who take them on.
However, portraying serial killers obviously comes with its own set of challenges. These are people audiences know well, so do they mimic them word for word or do their own interpretation,...
Tennant was the latest in a long line of actors to dramatise the lives of some of the world’s most prolific murderers – and it’s easy to see why such a part would be appealing. Playing a serial killer allows an actor to show their range and move away from being typecast. For those who’ve gone before them, such roles have been known to make a career, winning Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas for those who take them on.
However, portraying serial killers obviously comes with its own set of challenges. These are people audiences know well, so do they mimic them word for word or do their own interpretation,...
- 4/21/2023
- by Isobel Lewis and Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
Few major Hollywood pictures have developed the kind of infernal reputation that "The Exorcist" has since its release in 1973. The audience reaction to its shocking scenes is the stuff of legend and religious figures have widely deplored it. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Film and Broadcasting (Usccb-ofb) condemned the film; The Christian Century labeled it "hardcore pornography;" and evangelist Billy Graham also had plenty to say (via Sage Journals). He stated that watching the film was like "exposing oneself to the Devil" and that "there is a power of evil in the film, in the fabric of the film itself" (via True Crime Edition).
Was Graham right? If the myth is to be believed, "The Exorcist" was surrounded by malevolent forces from Day One; William Friedkin's production was apparently beset by a series of mishaps, bad omens, accidents, injuries, illnesses, and even deaths, with nine...
Was Graham right? If the myth is to be believed, "The Exorcist" was surrounded by malevolent forces from Day One; William Friedkin's production was apparently beset by a series of mishaps, bad omens, accidents, injuries, illnesses, and even deaths, with nine...
- 1/26/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
This month, David Tennant will take on one of his darkest roles to date. In ITV’s Des, he plays Dennis Nilsen, the notorious “Muswell Hill Murderer” who killed at least 12 young boys and men in North London from 1978 to 1983.
Tennant is the latest in a long line of actors to dramatise the lives of some of the world’s most prolific murderers and it’s easy to see why such a part would be appealing. Playing a serial killer allows an actor to show their range and move away from being typecast. For those who’ve gone before them, such roles have been known to make a career, winning Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas for those who take them on.
However, portraying serial killers obviously comes with its own set of challenges. These are people audiences know well, so do they mimic them word for word or do their own interpretation,...
Tennant is the latest in a long line of actors to dramatise the lives of some of the world’s most prolific murderers and it’s easy to see why such a part would be appealing. Playing a serial killer allows an actor to show their range and move away from being typecast. For those who’ve gone before them, such roles have been known to make a career, winning Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas for those who take them on.
However, portraying serial killers obviously comes with its own set of challenges. These are people audiences know well, so do they mimic them word for word or do their own interpretation,...
- 8/24/2022
- by Isobel Lewis and Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
David Tennant took on one of his darkest roles to date when he played Dennis Nilsen – the notorious “Muswell Hill Murderer” who killed at least 12 young boys and men in North London from 1978 to 1983 – in ITV’s Des.
Tennant was the latest in a long line of actors to dramatise the lives of some of the world’s most prolific murderers – and it’s easy to see why such a part would be appealing. Playing a serial killer allows an actor to show their range and move away from being typecast. For those who’ve gone before them, such roles have been known to make a career, winning Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas for those who take them on.
However, portraying serial killers obviously comes with its own set of challenges. These are people audiences know well, so do they mimic them word for word or do their own interpretation,...
Tennant was the latest in a long line of actors to dramatise the lives of some of the world’s most prolific murderers – and it’s easy to see why such a part would be appealing. Playing a serial killer allows an actor to show their range and move away from being typecast. For those who’ve gone before them, such roles have been known to make a career, winning Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas for those who take them on.
However, portraying serial killers obviously comes with its own set of challenges. These are people audiences know well, so do they mimic them word for word or do their own interpretation,...
- 8/24/2022
- by Isobel Lewis and Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
It would appear easy enough to lose “Black Bird” in the shuffle of true-crime prestige TV series. It’s got the usual mix of name talent both young-ish (“Rocketman” and “Kingsman” star Taran Egerton; “Richard Jewell” star Paul Walter Hauser) and established (Greg Kinnear; the late Ray Liotta); it’s got real-life mystery that’s compelling but not wildly unpredictable; it’s even got a forgettable title that doesn’t reveal its connection to the story at hand until late in the series. So it’s a wonderful surprise to realize so quickly that this six-episode Apple TV+ series is more than the sum of its familiar parts: It’s an unexpectedly exacting and quietly gripping series of interlocking character studies.
The premise evokes both “The Departed” and “Zodiac.” In one storyline, cocky and charming drug dealer Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is nabbed and unexpectedly sentenced to a decade in prison,...
The premise evokes both “The Departed” and “Zodiac.” In one storyline, cocky and charming drug dealer Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is nabbed and unexpectedly sentenced to a decade in prison,...
- 7/7/2022
- by Jesse Hassenger
- The Wrap
This article contains The Little Things spoilers. You can read our spoiler-free review here.
Despite what those looking for clear answers after that ending might hope, The Little Things is not based on any specific true story or serial killer investigation. It was a 1993 screenplay penned by writer-director John Lee Hancock. However, there are similarities to several well known cases. The film even mentions the Night Stalker, aka Richard Ramirez, all while stopping short of naming names or committing to a specific lethal predator in its own yarn.
This is by design. In a recent interview with The Wrap, Hancock said “the whole reason I wrote the script” was to lean into the ambiguity and frustration of criminal investigations. Yet several ongoing serial killer investigations during the time of his writing raises questions about whether this intent was partially influenced by two open-ended searches for serial killers.
In the near...
Despite what those looking for clear answers after that ending might hope, The Little Things is not based on any specific true story or serial killer investigation. It was a 1993 screenplay penned by writer-director John Lee Hancock. However, there are similarities to several well known cases. The film even mentions the Night Stalker, aka Richard Ramirez, all while stopping short of naming names or committing to a specific lethal predator in its own yarn.
This is by design. In a recent interview with The Wrap, Hancock said “the whole reason I wrote the script” was to lean into the ambiguity and frustration of criminal investigations. Yet several ongoing serial killer investigations during the time of his writing raises questions about whether this intent was partially influenced by two open-ended searches for serial killers.
In the near...
- 2/1/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
John Carroll Lynch is adding another distinct character to his repertoire on the new ABC mystery drama “Big Sky.” In the series, the actor plays state trooper Rick Legarski, who is revealed to be involved in sex trafficking and finds himself in hot water after the disappearance of two teenage girls. Lynch has found a way into inhabiting all the unique idiosyncrasies of Rick thanks to the flexibility of Emmy-winning series creator David E. Kelley. “There’s always a freedom to interpret,” says Lynch in an exclusive new interview for Gold Derby. “It feels like jazz with his scripts. You can play it a lot of different ways.” Watch the full interview above.
Viewers are gradually coming to understand Rick’s motivation with each passing episode. Lynch describes his character as having “an ill-founded moral righteousness,” and the actor admits, “I have behaved this way in various circumstances where I...
Viewers are gradually coming to understand Rick’s motivation with each passing episode. Lynch describes his character as having “an ill-founded moral righteousness,” and the actor admits, “I have behaved this way in various circumstances where I...
- 12/16/2020
- by Kevin Jacobsen
- Gold Derby
The Zodiac Killer attacked at least eight people in California between 1966 and 1969. He claimed to have killed at least 37 people, although only five of those deaths can be definitively attributed to the killer. While the Zodiac Killer has never been caught, his case is still active, and now one major mystery has been solved: an international team of private citizens and codebreakers have cracked the Zodiac Killer’s mysterious “340 Cipher” 51 years after it landed on the FBI’s desk.
Zodiac had a habit of taunting police by sending letters to the press, and several of those contained intricate codes, some of which he claimed would ultimately reveal his identity. This marks the second coded message to be broken by civilians. In July of 1969, a puzzle sent in pieces to The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, and Vallejo Times-Herald newspapers in 1969, was cracked by a school teacher from Salinas, Calif.
Zodiac had a habit of taunting police by sending letters to the press, and several of those contained intricate codes, some of which he claimed would ultimately reveal his identity. This marks the second coded message to be broken by civilians. In July of 1969, a puzzle sent in pieces to The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, and Vallejo Times-Herald newspapers in 1969, was cracked by a school teacher from Salinas, Calif.
- 12/12/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
While you processed the simultaneously poppy and freaky '80s vibe of American Horror Story: 1984, you might have scratched your head over why the terrifying Benjamin "Mr. Jingles" Richter, the ear-obsessed creep who killed nine campers, looks familiar. For those who know American Horror Story in and out, it's because the actor behind the murderer, John Carroll Lynch, has played a - let's say twisted - character before: Twisty the Clown from Ahs: Freak Show. Plus, Lynch is a pretty prolific character actor who's been featured on the big and small screens over the years.
First, let's talk shop about his new character. Ahs: 1984 immediately introduces us to Mr. Jingles in the first episode when they flash back to the killer murdering nine people at Camp Redwood in 1970. There is one survivor from his attacks: Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman), who is the evangelized owner of the camp in the...
First, let's talk shop about his new character. Ahs: 1984 immediately introduces us to Mr. Jingles in the first episode when they flash back to the killer murdering nine people at Camp Redwood in 1970. There is one survivor from his attacks: Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman), who is the evangelized owner of the camp in the...
- 9/20/2019
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Don Kaye Mar 2, 2019
Why David Fincher’s masterpiece about the Zodiac Killer still haunts us all these years later.
David Fincher’s Zodiac is now over ten years old. The two-hour-and-38-minute film follows the years-long investigation by police and journalists of the Zodiac Killer, a serial murderer who killed five people and injured two others during a spree that stretched across 1968 and 1969 in northern California. The Zodiac may have also been responsible for a number of other killings, going back as far as 1963 and as late as 1972, but those have never been confirmed. The Zodiac himself, who wrote a series of letters to the press, was never captured and a long list of suspects that have surfaced over the years has yet to yield a conclusive answer to the question of his identity.
Fincher’s goal with Zodiac was not to make a fast-paced, grisly thriller like his earlier classic,...
Why David Fincher’s masterpiece about the Zodiac Killer still haunts us all these years later.
David Fincher’s Zodiac is now over ten years old. The two-hour-and-38-minute film follows the years-long investigation by police and journalists of the Zodiac Killer, a serial murderer who killed five people and injured two others during a spree that stretched across 1968 and 1969 in northern California. The Zodiac may have also been responsible for a number of other killings, going back as far as 1963 and as late as 1972, but those have never been confirmed. The Zodiac himself, who wrote a series of letters to the press, was never captured and a long list of suspects that have surfaced over the years has yet to yield a conclusive answer to the question of his identity.
Fincher’s goal with Zodiac was not to make a fast-paced, grisly thriller like his earlier classic,...
- 3/1/2017
- Den of Geek
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