I had a chance to check it out Zodiac Assassin Project earlier this year at Sundance, and as someone who has always been fascinated by the Zodiac case, I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, what I got was one of the most painfully boring and lifeless documentaries I’ve ever seen on the subject.
Apparently this movie is getting some decent reviews, but I honestly don’t get it. I couldn’t find anything engaging in it. However, I guess everyone connects with different things, so to each their own.
Directed by Charlie Shackleton, Zodiac Assassin Project follows the director as he reflects on his failed attempt to adapt Lyndon E. Lafferty’s book The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up: The Silenced Badge into what should have been the definitive documentary about the infamous unsolved murders.
After premiering at Sundance, the film will be released in theaters on November 21st from Music Box Films, and the first trailer has just dropped.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Director Charlie Shackleton was on the trail of America’s next great true crime documentary: a gripping account of a highway patrolman’s quixotic attempt to identify and capture the infamous Zodiac Killer.
“Shackleton devised a plan, began gathering interviews, and shot ‘evocative B-roll’ footage of spooky California highways and parking lots where the killer may once have been hiding. And then the project fell apart, leaving Shackleton with fragments of the unfinished film and time to ponder shortcuts and tropes of the ubiquitous genre.
“A witty, well-assembled dive into our obsession with serial killers and the stories we tell about them, Shackleton’s Zodiac Killer Project emerges from the ash heap to probe and deconstruct the form with the incisive eye of a true crime connoisseur.”
That synopsis sounds pretty compelling on paper, but the execution? Not so much. The documentary unfolds in a slow, overly self-aware manner that feels more like an academic essay. I can appreciate what Shackleton was trying to do by turning the camera inward, but for me it completely sucked the life out of it.
If you like experimental documentaries or meta-approaches to true crime, you might get something out of it. But if you’re looking for a deep and compelling dive into one of the most fascinating unsolved murder cases in American history, Zodiac Assassin Project it probably won’t scratch that itch.
Check out the trailer below and see for yourself, maybe you’ll find something I didn’t.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
