Th) Serial Killers + mass murderers>

An impressive performance by Diane Lane who leads the cast in this Serial Killer thriller, where the excitement commences immediately and continues until the very end.

I am a huge fan of these type of stories and although the killer wasn?t as strong a character as it could have been, plus there was an element of predictability, it was a much enjoyed film with a fresh new perspective on internet killers.

Another impressive film from Clint Eastwood. A fascinating storyline based remarkably upon a true story. It?s good to see Angelina in a non-Action/non-love interest role and the era of the 20?s seemed to be accurately portrayed. A strong woman for her time, this film reveals much more than first imagined.

Quite a lengthly film, but with the interesting storyline you?ll find it easy to follow.

An impressive Korean Thriller about a Serial Killer, which has a high level standard of acting and believability to it. The violent gore is not in every scene, but the scenes when it does arise are frighteningly realistic.

It does have it's moments whereby the fast pace of the films slows down somewhat, but soon picks up speed again and if anything, that heightens the suspense again.

Although I've only rated this film a 4, I feel it's one that after one or two more viewings, the rating will inevitably rise.

Incidentally there is a remake (presumably Hollywood) in the pipeline , I've seen comments that Leonardo DiCaprio may be taking an interest, (not sure if that's true?) it would be good to compare the two, but I have a feeling this one may come out on top.

Well, there are good parts and bad parts to this film. I felt the basis of the storyline was good and this could have turned out to be a pretty good Thriller, but the film somehow felt way too corny to have Al Pacino star in it.

Pacino himself played an ok role (in comparison to his many outstanding roles in other films), but the acting elsewhere lead this film to look like a very average slasher film.

The biggest problem I feel, was it?s lack of suspense and the use of other known Actors, this gave the game away from the very beginning, it?s pretty obvious that if they are in it, they are going to be in the film throughout. This type of film always benefits from new unknown Actors, that way it keeps you guessing.

The (not so) grand finale opens with options of who the killer may be and so much more could have been made of the build up toward this, giving it rather an anti-climax feel.

On a more positive note, despite all the faults mentioned, it was watchable, disappointingly though it really gives nothing original to the offering.

The Boston Strangler aka Albert De Salvo ?? This version of the film challenges the grounds that evidence on this case was based on and to this day has a non-closed status.

The actual film wasn?t particularly well done, it told the story and all that needed to be told, but with no thrills at all. The story is an interesting one and had a more high profile Director been involved with this project, we may have seen something a little more interesting here.

Antibodies really exceded my expectations on many levels. Firstly as a fictional story of a serial killer, this has to be the best one since ?The Silence of the Lambs?. It was controversial, made you feel uncomfortable in parts, it was casted well, especially in the case of the serial killer.

In terms of World Cinema, this is way up there with the best, it?s also high up there as a Thriller, as there are twists and turns that left me shouting at the tv screen!

If you enjoy films which cover any of these genres (Serial Killer, World cinema and Thrillers) give it a watch, it?s impressive, you won?t be disappointed.

I had hoped to watch the original first, however, this was certainly a a much enjoyed re-make.

Some great performances here particularly Naomi Watts and Devon Gearhart (who took the part of the son), who certainly in one scene did a great job. Michael Pitt as always plays sinister well in a quiet psycho type way.

What I like most about this film is the lack of explanation and justification behind it and the lack of analysis of the characters. The audience participation added to the creativity of the piece.

Interesting, enjoyable and pretty unique.

Slightly disappointed by the build up of this film, was hoping it would make the 5 stars. I still enjoyed it though and is a very detailed version of events in comparrison to the last film made about The Zodiac. A great performance by Jake Gyllenhaal and not a bad performance from Robert Downey Jr.

The special features are definitely worth a watch if you want to look at some of the real life characters and facts.

VERDICT: A very interesting account of the story, definitely worth a watch.

Being a musical, this film, no doubt will become better with each viewing, but definitely has a strange target audience. Those fans of Depp and Burton may be put off with this being a musical and musical fans may be put off because of it?s dark violent tendancies.

The look of the film is visually stunning, with a gloomy cloud hanging over Victorian London, which sets the mood of this piece perfectly, the enhancement of colours at moments of intensity work well and also the brighter flashback scenes.

Both Depp and Bonham-Carter were perfect for the main roles and even Sacha Cohen Baron makes an interesting appearance. I now can?t imagine another Director being able to bring this story to life the way Tim Burton has done.

If you watch this on dvd and have the special edition, there is a huge amount of background information to this tale on the Special Features and anyone with an interest should definitely take a look.

Anthony Hopkins gave us three great performances as Hannibal Lector. As a book I can see how Hannible Rising plays it's part in the jigsaw, however, the Hannibal Lector here did not resemble Anthony Hopkins in any way, physically or otherwise and although this is a good film in it's own right, it's very difficult to imagine Gaspard growing into the man Hopkins portrayed.

LONELY HEARTS

Jared Leto loses his boyish looks in this film as he transforms himself into an older man and teams up with Salma Hayek to become lovers on a rampage in a Bonnie & Clyde fashion.

Worth watching, but don?t make it a high priority.

Although this is a little corny in parts, it's definitely my type of movie. Criminal profilers in a situation of survival.

I'm not quite sure if Johnny Lee Miller's accent was entirely convincing to anyone else, it seemed really over the top to me, but maybe that's because I know what his speaking voice is like usually.

Maybe people who enjoyed 'Saw' would like this film, although there is slightly less gore

An interesting story based on true events and for that reason of course a worthy watch. As far as it's appeal as a film from this genre, it was just a story with no particular brilliance.

Not entirely sure what to make of this film, I've been wanting to see it for a long time now. Firstly I think the acting was pretty amateur, the way they chose to tell this story was also quite boring, however there were a few very realist gory parts.

Of course it should be remembered that this is based on a true story and I'm sure the film delivers most of the facts and that that is more important that it being some big blockbuster movie

VERDICT: Unless you're interested in the actual case, it's probsbly not one I would recommend

A unique story of a serial killer, the cover of the dvd says 'The Spanish answer to Hostel'. Although the film is based on Sadism and torture, the scenes (unlike Hostel) were left to the imagination at the last bit, however they are realistically done.

VERDICT: Personally I thought it was a really good film, but it won't be for everyone, not just because of the violence, but because of the sub-titles too.

This film feels quite disturbing to watch, mainly because it?s filmed in the style of a documentary and makes it feel real, but is probably no different in violence to your average horror movie. A clever concept that makes the viewer uneasy as if watching a real snuff film, but brings to light a few valid points and in some parts, is actually quite humourous in a dark comedy kind of way. A slow moving, but orginal film

A very enjoyable watch with a great performance from Ben Kingsley. A well thought out plot, definitely a recommendation.

A sinister and gruesome tale based on a true story, well played by Malcolm McDowell. The film starts off with some pretty realistic, uncomfortable viewing which actually brings the reality into this story. It does seem to go on a while and some of the acting (with the exception of McDowell) wasn?t all that good.

Certainly worth a watch if you find this genre interesting, however it was a little drawn out.

A much enjoyed film, best watched, as I did in bed with the lights out. Very rarely do I feel scared watching horrors etc and yet, I have to admit, I had to look over my shoulder at one point during this film. I?m not saying it?s extremely scary, but there is a good build up of tense moments, in the right setting.

The acting wasn?t particularly fantastic and the ending was a tad disappointing, but there?s something about this film that I really liked.

My biggest complaint would be how stereotypical the Englishman was made. I?ve lived in England all my life and encountered all kinds of people, but I?ve never quite met anyone like this guy, ha ha.

With scenes of extreme violence and sexually explicity, this film based on the true story of Charles Manson and his followers and the murders they comitted is shot partly as a pseudo documentary style film, whilst flashing back to the actual events.

Having not known too many of the details before viewing this film, it's difficult to know how much of the film is accurate, however it does prove that the power of suggestion through brainwashing is a dangerous and powerful thing.

VERDICT: As long as you are not offended by the sexual nature of this film and have the stomach to watch the details, it's defintely an interesting watch.

It?s hard to believe from watching this film that this is the same actor, who warmed our hearts as Ponyboy Curtis in ?The Outsiders?.

A much more realistic look into the murders committed by serial killer cousins; Ken Bianchi and Antonio Buono , known infamously during the period of investigation as ?The Hillside Strangler?.

Perhaps the most explicit of the true crime serial killer films as sex was very significant to the pair before and during their reign of terror.

The true story of Charles Starkweather and Caril-Ann Fugit, who went on a killy spree, often compared to 'Badlands' although this is the actual story of the pair, but evidently not as popular. Also I'm sure 'Natural Born Killers' was probably influenced by the original story too.

This story is one to be watched if you have a general interest into the case, however it's comparison to the film 'Monster' in terms of quality is definitely not accurate.

A film I have watched over and over, a genius notion for a low budget film to be filmed all in the same place, this can only work if the storyline is good enough to carry it through with a life changing phone call from a killer with menace in his voice, blackmail provides enough ammunition to control the circumstances of individuals predicament.

Charlize Theron really pulled out all the stops when playing the role of Aileen Wuornos in this film. Apart from the huge physical transformation Charlize went through to look like Aileen, she studied everything about her - mannerisms, the way she talked, how she acted toward people, this has to be one of the most researched roles and most accurate impersonations ever to have been put into a performance, something (as you can probably tell) impressed me a lot.

The story isn?t told from the day of the first murder up to trial, but instead gives you a real background on Aileen Wuornos? life, from a young girl, up to and including the time of the killings.

I guess no-one can really know the whole truth to this story, but it certainly indicates that perhaps had some kind of different upbringing and not encountered many of the problems that she had, these may have been avoided circumstances.

Anyone who doesn?t know about the real story and is interested should check out the documentaries by Nick Broomfield ? ?Aileen ? Life and Death of a serial killer? and ?Aileen ? The selling of a serial killer?.

As someone with a psychological interest in killers, I found this documentary most facsinating, anyone who enjoyed the film Monster and would like to see the real Aileen would find this interesting

A film I've enjoyed watching over and over, corny yet quite a clever twist and storyline.

Overall a really enjoyable film.

Really impressed with this one, hadn't heard of it before and not the type of film I would've expected Meg Ryan to have been in, but she did a very good job, as did Mark Ruffalo. The film itself is quite slow moving, but I think that was the beauty of it as it made it more realistic. Avery enjoyable serial killer movie

Really good film, be warned it is sub-titles but the story is great.

An original take on a serial killer film, not particular tense for a thriller and a little slow moving, but a much enjoyed story all the same.

I enjoyed this movie at the time, but time for a re-watch

I can?t count the number of times I?ve watched this particular instalment to the series, but it?s cast alone is very impressive. Unlike the film ?Hannibal? Red Dragon is the film out of the four that is most like the original film ?The Silence of the Lambs?. With a unique way of telling the story (in terms of going backwards in order of instalments) the story unfolds and gives insight into how Dr Lecter was captured in the first place.

Yet another good storyline of a Serial Killer awaiting to be caught, with a much more divulged storyline than in SOTL. Ralph Fiennes played this part well, for which I gained a new respect for him in this serious role.

As with the other films in this series, there is an offering of Interlect and Culture, which is what adds to the mystery of the killers.

I should have known better than to watch this, it's a very typical scary type movie. Lots of screaming, very predictable most of the way through. Have to say the ending made this a little more barable, as it warmed up in that last 10 minutes

Hannibal is a film which benefits from multiple viewing. When I first watched this film at the cinema at the time of it?s release (having already watched ?The Silence of the Lambs?), I?d anticipated a much more tense thriller, instead it was one of the first films to really show something gory, particular the end scene (but perhaps not to today?s standard).

On re-watching this film several times, I can really appreciate it as a well put together Psychological piece. We get to see the real Hannibal outside of the institution for the first time, we indulge in his love of culture and sophistication.

Following in Jodie Foster?s Footsteps, must have been a daunting task for Julianne Moore, who in her own way put her own mark on the role of Clarise Starling, however I do feel that Jodie Foster should have been in this sequel as the whole continuity would have worked better.

Overall a different, yet unpredictable film, which kept the interest of the Hannibal Lector fans.

Yet another intriguing Lynda La Plante Drama. Similar topic, different angle, fans of the crime writer won?t be disappointed with this one.

Jack the Ripper; one of the most infamous serial killers of all time is still very much an unsolved enigma to this day. ?From Hell? tells the story through partial fact and partial theory, which opens the suggestion to a high level conspiracy surrounding the murders, which at least leaves you pondering the possiblity.

The set build was accurately constructed to represent the dark streets of Whitechapple, with the alleyways providing the murder sites of the women who were killed, which was shown with great effects by the flashes of the steel of the blade along with an almost subliminal images, which were effective.

Possibly an equally frightening thought was the surgery carried out on perfectly healthy people to render them catatonic, where they carried out out the rest of their days in a mental institution.

The sub-plot of Johnny Depp?s character, was to reveal a dark, fearless character who seemed to have given up on his own life, this goes on to show an addiction to ?chasing the dragon? along with drinking ?absinthe?, which we probably think of more as a modern day issue and so was a revealing factor of that time.

The acting was far from perfect, with Robbie Coltrane coming across very much as the humour of his tv character ?Cracker?. Many of the accents weren?t entirely convincing (even Johnny Depp) but they weren?t unbearably bad either. This film still remains to be a favourite of mine though and Ripperologists and Serial Killer film fans will certainly enjoy, if they have not already managed to have watched this.

As an extra the Special Features include a vast amount of information on the original case and a lot of behind the scenes footage and certainly worth the watch.

Starting on a good note, this film was better than a lot of the reviews suggested and Vince Vaughn, was surprisingly ok at a straight part.

The actual Serial Killer was by far, one of the least interesting killers in this genre. The whole film was very theatrical in it?s interpretation which made some of the ?unconscious? scenes of the film visually mesmerising?yes there is a but?the theatrical interpretation was milked for all it?s worth and went on far too long, without any great explanation of the mind twisting scenario. I?m sure many people will have been put off by this element of the film.

America's first Serial Killer Ed Gein was no doubt a very disturbed man. This film is by no means for the weak stomached as although some of it's content can be seen on many Horror style films, the fact that this was based on real people however adds to the eerieness to this dark film.

Ed Gein hears instructions from beyond the grave from his God fearing Mother, of whom he was obsessed with. The film seems to tie up with a lot of the facts that I've read up on and shows Gein's fascination of body snatching, ressurection and cannibalism.

This story was the inspiration to many films you see today, including Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Masacre and The Silence of the Lambs.

I really wasn't a fan of this film first time around, in fact it stopped me watching films with Christian Bale in altogether. Having seen some of his other films lately though, I decided to give this another try and enjoyed it much more this time around.

The materialistic, egotistic living the high life which has become mundane needs to fulfill his compulsion to kill, a different angle on the serial killer front.

VERDICT: Definitely worth a watch

Good viewpoint of the story, enjoyed it, but was a rather long film

Much better than I remember this film being. At the time of it's release I wasn't too impressed by it, but this time around I found it a pretty enjoyable film.

Can't say that there were any outstanding performances in this one and it wasn't particularly gory for a serial killer film, but I don't really think that was the main focus here, it was more to do with working together during the circumstances

Watchable, don't think there was anything spectacular to this, I'm sure the original was much better

AKA The Killer inside.

Definitely more of a film made for TV with not a particularly typical type of Serial Killer storyline, even the dvd box looks very low budget, yet for some reason, it was still very watchable.

Surely Peter Gallagher is Billy Bob Thornton?s long lost Brother? The likeness is uncanny!

Easy watching, no thrills, but no boredom either.

Another watchable James Patterson adapton, starring Alex Cross again. In comparrison to 'Along came a Spider' this one is a better story, but perhaps more predictable.

The film with the best film ending ever! David Fincher?s ?Seven? is one of those films you can endlessly watch over and over and never become bored of, when I remember back to the first time of watching it, the storyline was impressive, there were many tense moments and of course it has become one of the best and most remembered Serial Killer movies ever made. Kudos to Kevin Spacey for his short, but great role as John Doe.

I have to leave a speech from the film which is too long to put into the quote section above:

David Mills: Wait, I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
John Doe: Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!
David Mills: Murderers?
John Doe: A woman...
David Mills: Murderers, John, like yourself?
John Doe: [interrupts] A woman... so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever.

Despite this film being a true story and an horific tale, the actual film isn't one to hold your attention too well. A likeable part by Donald Sutherland (I guess you would need to be Russian to say whether the cast managed to pull the accents off well).

An original plot for a serial killer film and although it?s not exceptionally well acted, it is the plot in this one, that is the main focus of the film. The more you know of Serial Killers the more fascinating the storyline becomes, we see the investigation from a Detectives view, a victim?s view and an analytical view from a criminal profile.

This does happen to be one of my favourite watch over and over films, but that of course is my appeal with the subject matter.

Watch out for a very different looking Harry Connick Jr, who plays quite a quirky psychopath.

Film speeches:

The screams of the victim deaden his pain, the act of killing makes him feel intensely alive, what he feels next is not guilt, but disappointment, it was not as wonderful as he?d hoped, maybe next time it will be perfect and as his determination builds to take another life, he plans in obsessive detail what props he?ll bring, what knots he?ll tie.

I've watched this film countless times and I could never get bored of it. As a fan of Woody Harrelson, even I didn't expect him to pull off the character of Mickey Knox as well as he did and Juliette Lewis being cast for the part of Mallory was perfection.

This film has two parts to it, a 'before' they got caught for their killing spree and an 'after' they got caught. It portrayed a very deep connection between the two main characters, that could not be broken, whether together, seperated or facing death.

I love the story that the Shaman tells about the snake.

The Style of the filming is probably something taken for granted now in these style films, but it's still impressive.

Possibly one of the sickest films of it's genre, covering the facts of the true life story of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Interms of the actual film it was pretty porrly acted and even felt a bit dated.



You may find a strong stomach will help you on this one, purely because it's related to true events, but it's certainly not for everyone.

I prefer Brad Pitt when he's playing more grotesque characters like this. Juliette Lewis is great in pretty much everything and the storyline is very good. If you like those Serial Killer films, you'll like this one

The trailer for this looked promising with a different angle on the serial killer genre, but I have to say, was bored through a lot of this film I think it was too heavily focussed on the relationship between the two main characters, rather than what could have been an amazing and scary plot

Certainly my favourite Jodie Foster/Anthony Hopkins role, this is my genre, what could be a better story than to have a Serial Killer, profile another Serial Killer? This is a film that sets a benchmark for all other Serial Killer movies.

Also, on the second disc of the dvd is 'A Making of The Silence of the Lambs' which is pretty interesting and well worth a watch, if you like special feature

Quite a gruesome and disturbing film in it's day, possibly a film that's a little more acceptable in today's standards.

Anthony Perkins is no doubt quite a sinister person in films, but I?m not sure this film gave us anything unexpected other than, a few sexually explicit (considering this is a 1988) scenes and they all felt a little too seedy. There was no big thing made out of discovering the potion and the transformation that took place . On another note, I feel if you are going to introduce a theory to a film that Mr Hyde could also be Jack the Ripper, then I feel much more should have been shown in the murders to indicate this.

Pretty dated in looks and it took a while to warm up, likeable, but nothing special

This film seems dated and un-original in the ways that the story is told. Maybe worth a watch if you are into this genre, but certainly nothing amazing.

The original film of Red Draggon, probably should have watched this before the Hannibal films as it's not as good in comparison

As an early Almodovar film, you can clearly see the stamp of the talented Director. A very young Antonio Banderas also provides us with a little insight into his earlier work.

The storyline unravels into a sadistic thriller, where two serial killers share a morbid sexual obsession.

It's certainly an original piece, as are all of the Almodovar films that I've seen to date, perhaps not quite as polished as his more recent work, but still a good watch for any fan.

Highly controversial in it?s time, both in subject matter and portraying the Gay scene and Leather scene in a bad light. It?s very much a film way ahead of it?s time.

Partially based on true events and a real-life undercover cop situation, the film is of interst on many levels. What the film lacks (to it?s credit) is lack of explanation, justification and a particular view point ? leaving viewers to make their own views on the film itself.

I think this film is of interest more as a controversial piece than perhaps just it?s storyline, but one that was an interesting watch, suggestion and subliminal messaging are key behind it?s non graphic impact.

Moments of confusion from the story can be easily cleared up by the Special Features, which are worth taking a look at.

I don?t give up on films very easily, but this was just one huge yawn, despite being a serial killer film and despite being a banned film, it really wasn?t an interesting watch.

For quite an old film that was a little dated, I quite enjoyed it and it's concept

I'd confused this film slightly with thinking it was the actual story of Charles Starkweather rather than the film being based on the events. Good performance from Martin Sheen, I'm sure the film was slightly better in it's day, but I wasn't overly impressed

Based on the true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck (dubbed The Honeymoon Killers). Not every detail is completely accurate to the original story, however it appears to be a much more accurate portrayal than the later film released ?Lonely Hearts? (Salma Hayek and Jared Leto).

Shirley Stoler played her role well as she came across cold, calculating and insanely jealous.

The quality of film appears to look older than it actually is and has a worn look in parts, it seems this is down to the very low budget involved in making the film. Having said that, you get used to the quality pretty fast and the interesting storyline emerges and is an interesting journey of two obsessed lovers on the road on a murdering rampage. .

Not quite as good as I was expecting this to to be, although I think Faye Dunnaway played a great part. Interesting to know the full story, but a lot of boing parts this hasn't made me become any more of a Warren Beatty than I was.

Alfred Hitchcock?s most famous film, inspired by the Serial Killer Ed Gein. This sinister tale still works with great effect today and Anthony Perkins was perfect for this role. The set, the plot and the music all add to the eeriness of this film and must have been quite a fright to people at the time of it?s release, it was also, (I thought) very forensically aware for it?s time, in regards to the ?clean up?.

Hitchcock at his best!!!!

A much underestimated and underrated Hitchcock Thriller, In fact this was Hitchcock?s favourite. Of course this appeals to my interest of Serial Killer films and it?s great to see an enjoyable early one.

The characters were all very developed here and the storyline is told from a unique perspective, in that it involves the Killer?s own family.

An enjoyable performance from X White and Joseph Cotton who are both new names for me.

4 STARS

Another disappointment! I seem to be on a run recently of overrated films. The film of course isn?t all bad, I like the actual storyline and it?s bravery of using a child killer in it?s time, the beginning was good and so was the end, but slumped far too much in the middle.

I can see why it?s a popular choice with people, but found parts far too boring.