This is the Zodiac Speaking (2007)

In the intro post to this blog, I alluded to the fact that I watch more than my fair share of serial killer documentaries. This propensity makes This is the Zodiac Speaking- a documentary on the infamous case of an unsolved Californian serial killer-  more in tune with my usual viewing preferences.

Except, oh yes, even serial killer documentaries have their tropes. Often they will start out with something like an account of their crime being uncovered, or news clips from their execution day. These films will then flash back to the killer's childhood, and proceed in chronological, impartial order until the narrative loops back to what was covered in the beginning. Talking heads will fill in the gaps.

This is the Zodiac Speaking takes a different approach, with mixed results.

In some ways you have to approach this case differently than an account of the Bundy or BTK murders. The Zodiac got away with it, for one, and this case hasn't quite receded into the misty realm of legend. It's not quite a Jack the Ripper type enigma, yet! Although maybe someday it might be.

For one thing, a number of associated police officers, 911 operators, and victims (those who survived) are still alive. And it's from these witnesses that the director, David Prior, pieces together a narrative of what happened during those years. Or, at least, what people recall after time and distance. There's no dispassionate narrator to be found here. Each speaker is set up against a plain white background and, for the most part, their words must carry the description of events. This is not a movie for newcomers to the case. This is clearly meant for people who are familiar with the Zodiac Killer's known crimes, and have a desire for something close to primary source material relating to it.

There is some compelling and terrifying discourse here, and it's all the more valuable because it's firsthand. Survivor Bryan Hartnell might be the most electrifying speaker in this, with his vivid memories, and ability to elucidate on what was clearly a traumatic experience. Michael Mageau, the other survivor, is equally compelling; although he survived a Zodiac attack his companion on that day, Darlene Ferrin did not, and he wants to defend her memory.

Other witnesses run the gamut from straightforward to cagey and uncertain. Here and there tidbits of information leak out; a possible first name, a possible appearance, a possible address. But nothing concrete materializes. All these bits and pieces create a baffling tableaux, and the sense that this case probably could be solved, but a missing puzzle piece is just out of reach.

And then the movie tapers off. It simply ends. This is because the Zodiac's crimes ended in an equally abrupt fashion. It doesn't discuss the "non-canonical" attacks, such as the abduction of Kathleen Johns. It doesn't get into conjecture on the killer's identity. This just isn't that kind of film. The effect is such that, when watching This is the Zodiac Speaking, the film feels almost incomplete. It's definitely a frustrating watch. But then again, maybe that's the point.

He was never caught, after all.