Whether it’s podcasts, true-crime documentaries or Netflix series like Monster: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer: serial killers are more present in the media than ever before. But true masterpieces are rare in the genre, which often dullly delights in real horror and its victims. David Fincher’s 2007 Zodiac is cut like a diamond. The 2.5 hour long thriller masterpiece has been available on Netflix for some time. Find out here why the epic based on real events is worthwhile.
What is Zodiac about?
A killer is on the loose in San Francisco. He sends endless tips to a newspaper commenting on the murders. This is so-called perpetrator knowledge, i.e. information that only the perpetrator himself can have. The journalist team believes the letters. Star journalist Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and the otherwise rather reserved cartoonist Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) are particularly obsessed with the case. They are joined by detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and attorney Melvin Belli (Brian Cox). A decade-long investigation begins.
Trailer – Zodiac – The Killer’s Trail
Why is Zodiac one of the best serial killer movies of all time?
David Fincher filmed Zodiac 12 Years After Seven. Unlike Seven, Zodiac is based on real-life murders. The Zodiac Killer killed five people between 1968 and 1969. Since then he has kept the police and true crime fans busy. The Zodiac Killer grew into a myth and Fincher is working on it. Here you can read more about the real background of Zodiac.
His film is not about the killer himself, but about the mania he triggered. The characters of Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal collapse into wrecks in their exhausting search for a phantom. Again and again they seem to be only inches away from the truth before it eludes them again. Zodiac is exciting and quite entertaining, although it does without the standard effects of the genre. There isn’t just one indication that means a breakthrough. The film torments its characters and its audience with uncertainty until the grandiose goose bumps end.
A spoiler, but somehow not: There is no clear resolution in the film. However, the case was never solved and is considered one of the greatest mysteries in American criminal history.
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