The Hillside Strangler poster & wallpaper

Aimee Brooks, Allison Lange, C. Thomas Howell

C. Thomas Howell and Nicholas Turturro star in this chilling film that posits an alternative theory about who was responsible for the series of murders that had the entire city of Los Angeles quaking ...( read more  read more... )in fear in the 1970s. Could it be that the heinous crimes were committed not by a solitary kook but by two demented cousins fueled with rage and resentment and ready and willing to kill? Extras include deleted scenes, cast interviews and more.

Flixster Users

38% liked it

1,194 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Chuck Parello

Release Date: February 25, 2004

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: November 9, 2004

Stats: 70 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

None yet... Got one?

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (70)

  • organgrinder136
    September 24, 2009
    organgrinder136
    starts off promisingly... and i'm not just talking about the random sex scenes... much... yet descends into a boring murder spree. not alot else to say about it... i didn't find it shocking, just dull???
  • 76Majikat
    August 25, 2008
    76Majikat
    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 per...( read more)iod 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.
  • creepfreak
    August 3, 2008
    creepfreak
    Disturbing, utterly disgusting, and vile film. This movie is based on the true story of Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi.

    The Real Victims:

    "The first victim of the Hillside Stranglers was a Hollywood Prostitute, whose body was found near the Forest Lawn Cemetery on October...( read more) 18, 1977. The corpse was cleaned and faint marks could be seen around the neck, wrists, and ankles where a rope had been used. She had also been viciously raped.

    On October 31 1977, police were called to an Eagle Rock neighborhood, north of downtown Los Angeles. The body of a teenage girl, wrapped in a tarp, had been found on a curb in a small residential area. Bruises on her neck indicated strangulation. The body had been dumped, meaning she was killed somewhere else. The girl was about 16 years old, weighing 90 pounds (41 kg), and had medium length, reddish-brown hair. The girl was eventually identified as Judith Miller, a 16-year-old destitute.

    On November 6, 1977, the nude body of another woman was found near the Glendale Country Club. Similar to Judy Miller, she had been strangled with a ligature. The woman was identified as 21 year old Lissa Kastin, a local waitress. She had been last seen leaving work on the night before she was discovered.

    On November 13, 1977, two school girls, Dolores Cepeda, 12, and Sonja Johnson, 14, boarded a bus and headed home. They had last been seen getting off a bus and going over to a large two-tone sedan car. Inside the car reportedly were two men. On November 20, a young boy cleaning up a trash-strewn hillside near Dodger Stadium found two bodies. Both girls had been strangled and raped. They were soon identified as Cepeda and Johnson.

    Later that same day, November 20, 1977, hikers found the nude, dead, sexually assaulted body of Kristina Weckler, 20, on a hillside near Glendale. Unlike previous victims, there were signs of torture on the body as indicated by oozing injection marks.

    On November 23, the badly decomposed body of Jane King, 28, was found off an exit ramp near the Golden State freeway. She had gone missing two weeks earlier, around November 9. With the continued discovery of bodies in hilly areas, a task force was formed to catch the predator who was deemed the "Hillside Strangler."

    On November 29, police found the body of Lauren Wagner, 18. She, too, had been strangled with a ligature. There were also burn marks on her hands indicating she was also tortured. The law enforcement task force - Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, and Glendale Police Department - began to assume that more than one person was responsible for the murders, even though the media continued to use the singular, Hillside Strangler.

    On December 13, 1977, police found the body of 17-year-old prostitute Kimberly Martin strewn on a hillside, her body pointing toward city hall.

    The final victim in Los Angeles was discovered on February 16, 1978, when a helicopter spotted an orange Datsun abandoned off a cliff in the Angeles Crest area. Police responded to the scene and found the body of the car's owner, 20-year-old Cindy Hudspeth, inside the trunk.

    The Stranglers had stopped Catherine Lorre with the intent of abducting her, but after learning that she was the daughter of famed actor Peter Lorre, they let her go. It was only after the two men were arrested that Lorre realized whom she had met."


    C. Thomas Howell(from The Hitcher) plays Kenneth Bianchi. He plays the part so well, making his character so believable that I just wanted to reach inside the TV and strangle his disgusting and perverted ass. Nicholas Turturro(the brother of John Turturro) plays a very believable role as well. These two were total disgusting, down right perverted slobs who should have been shot the day they were born(the real murderers of course). It's scary how C. Thomas Howell and Nicholas Turturro played the part so well, and believe it or not I almost couldn't distinguish the characters from the real life murderers. That's how fucking well they played it!

    This is the kind of movie where you feel like washing your hands after you see it. It makes you feel dirty and even almost makes you regret sitting through this pile of vomit inducing trash. Not to say that this movie is really bad or anything like that, but it is what it is...trash. I'm sure that the director knew what he was making was going to be trash, I'm also sure that he knew this movie was going to disturb a lot of people. So all in all he accomplished pretty much what he set out to do. So now I'll put it this way...this is not a good quality film. This is a good trashy ass film. The only reason why I didn't give this movie a higher rating is because, like I said before, it made me fill up with too much disgust and tons of rage. Yes, this movie seriously got me pissed off. It was not a good feeling while watching this film, not the least bit at all.

    Don't expect any gore or anything like that, and even though this film is graphically violent, it suggests most of it's disturbing content. This movie degrades women to the max and it doesn't hold anything back. It's in your face raw and uncompromisingly savage. A dirty perverse little film that's unfortunately all so true. I recommend this film only to those who think that they can stomach it. If you're curious to see as to what really happened revolving around Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, I'd say give this movie a peak. If not, I'd say spare yourself from this cinematic torture, and watch something more along the lines of "The Silence of the Lambs".

    A filthy, disturbing, and perverted movie. For fans of "true crime" flicks or extreme cinema, I highly recommend this.

    Photobucket
  • djkynky1
    June 19, 2009
    djkynky1
    Really nasty serial killer movie, but i mean that in a good way. Great Performances.
  • bbliumis
    January 15, 2009
    bbliumis
    WAY better that expected!
  • matthewb1000
    August 28, 2008
    matthewb1000
    wow, what a brutal scene.
  • shygirl342002
    August 3, 2008
    shygirl342002
    EXECLENT MOVIE I LOVE REAL LIFE MOVIES
  • tozier1981
    August 3, 2008
    tozier1981
    Keeps you on your toes
  • Xxw33j3nniixX
    August 3, 2008
    Xxw33j3nniixX
    Scarey nd Gewd Gt Oan Dvd
  • angel49137
    August 3, 2008
    angel49137
    Talk about some men with women issues. Brutal and abusive....

View All The Hillside Strangler Reviews

Critic Reviews

No recent reviews.

View more The Hillside Strangler reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "The Hillside Strangler" !

Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Cast

More Like This

This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

The Hillside Stra... : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for The Hillside Strangler. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add The Hillside Strangler to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?