One of the strongest memories from my youth was watching To Catch a Killer together with my dad and his new wife (they never married, but they seemed married - and you couldn’t call them boy- and girlfriend exactly!) and it really touched me on several layers. I discovered Brian Dennehy, still one of the best actors who ever lived, it raised my cliched interest for serial killers (Yeah, YAWN!) and made me also appreciate made for TV productions a lot more. This is not only about nostalgia, it’s also because To Catch a Killer is one of the finest slices of true crime ever to be produced - its even up there together with fiction like Zodiac, Silence of the Lambs and Seven. That’s how good it is - and it’s a true fucking story.
Dennehy is John Wayne Gacy, a quite successful contractor - and serial killer. When we meet him he’s already been going on for a few years, luring young men into his basement to play pool, smoke pot and engage in forced sexual activities - and then strangle them, bury them in his crawlspace and that’s it. Nice bloke. NOT. After him, first on hunch and a few details here and there linking him with a young man who disappeared from a pharmacy, is Joe Kozenczak (Michael Riley), a detective who just won’t give up. We follow him and his teams work while finding clues and trying to break down Gacy to leave a trace or two…
To Catch a Killer is probably the three best crime-hours you could spend, because it’s one of those rare mini series where there’s absolutely NO dead moments. Like David Fincher’s Zodiac it’s a lot of normally boring things that becomes extremely exciting, like answering phones or turning papers on a desk. It’s neither exploitative or homophobic, which a movie about a gay serial killer (I wouldn’t call him a pedophile, because he doesn’t attack children) easily could have been, especially during the republican years it was shot. But believe me, it’s a fucking scary production - the atmosphere is so realistic, like it’s a very slick documentary you’re watching.
Michael Riley is excellent as the obsessive Kozenczak, and have several excellent supporting actors around himself: Margot Kidder (awesome, I love that lady!), Meg Foster (brilliant actress and extremely edgy what ever she’s doing) and Brett Halsey (a true character actor, very reliable - even in the Italian horror films he worked in!). But the shining star here is of course Brian Dennehy, a man who actually is far too handsome to play Gacy! He really makes the character come alive and he’s a very, very convincing sexual predator, master manipulator and ruthless killer! There’s so much going on in Dennehy’s eyes here, just look at them - and when they’re turning black, you know someone is in danger.
I’ve read about the case now afterwards, and To Catch a Killer seems fairly faithful to what actually happen. They’ve compressed a couple of characters into fewer, changed a few names and added scenes with Gacy performing at a hospital dressed as Pogo the Clown, his very disturbing kids character. There’s no proof at all he actually did it, it was just something he said, but it ties the two episodes together in a good way and… like always, no matter what you think, when you film something and edit it together it’s always fiction - even documentaries. Smoke and mirrors. It’s needed to tell a story.
It’s a big shame To Catch a Killer hasn’t been re-released on DVD or blu-ray since the old VCI DVD in 1999! This would be a perfect title for Shout Factory, who’s been doing a nice work releasing lots of TV-classics. Or hell yeah, why not Mill Creek, whose level of quality have decreased a lot during the last five or so years. Come on, distribution dudes and dudettes. We need it! Everyone need it! NOW!
"I discovered Brian Dennehy, still one of the best actors who ever lived"
I haven´t seen this one but Dennehy usually delivers.
"its even up there together with fiction like Zodiac"
I think I prefer something else here....like M (1931) , 10 Rillington Place (1971), Roberto Succo (2001).
"Margot Kidder (awesome, I love that lady!),"
Everybody loves Kidder....even Spielberg at one point.
"But the shining star here is of course Brian Dennehy,"
Yeah.....you should give In Broad Daylight (1991) a chance, another great psycho role for Dennehy.
"It’s a big shame To Catch a Killer hasn’t been re-released on DVD or blu-ray since the old VCI DVD in 1999! This would be a perfect title for Shout Factory, who’s been doing a nice work releasing lots of TV-classics. Or hell yeah, why not Mill Creek, whose level of quality have decreased a lot during the last five or so years. Come on, distribution dudes and dudettes. We need it! Everyone need it! NOW!"
It´s very odd......not even cable is showing this one, great review and thanks Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | October 08, 2014 at 23:12
Totally agree Fred. This is an excellent film/TV drama. Dennehy is superb, completely chilling and completely believable. I really love Dennehy. He did some fantastic work in TV movies. As Megatron says he is excellent again in In Broad Daylight (a TV movie). He also amazing in another TV movie The Jackie Presser Story as a union boss tied up with the mob. He somehow pulls off being a bully as well as being an indecisive weakling. Guess that's because he's a great actor.
Posted by: Exploding Helicopter | October 19, 2014 at 23:26