Forum.RttP{Serial Killer biopics}

well, there are ZILLIONS of serial killers out there (for all the _billion_ victims), but I've noticed there's been a slew of biopics comic out, mostly made-for-cable-tv stuff, Mystery and the True Stories channel. Showtime had the EXCELLENT 'Citizen X," about the Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. But just this past year I've seen the biopics for
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DAHMER (**): kinda slow, strikes me as highly speculative (but it has to be--any witnesses to the crimes would've been snuffed!, or busted lil' Jeffrey way back and there'd be no story). It's basically a couple of days in the life of Jeffrey, with flashbacks to his Dad's leaving the family, his first kill (hitchhiker), and impaling the dog's head in the woods.

He takes a gay acquaintance home and plays mind-games with him for a bit. Meanwhile, a young Filipino boy is wasting away in his bedroom (drill to the skull). By the end he tries to strangle his friend, who LUCKY AS FUCK gets away.

Other than my beef (sorry, that's bad

) with the PACE of the film, I think the set designer made Jeffrey's apartment a hell of it neater and ritzy than the actual 213, so that stretched my credulity a bit. The flashbacks are the stronger element.

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ED GEIN (****): Deeeeaaaad Skkkiiiinnnn Maaassskkkk!
"One of the weirdest motherfuckers to ever walk the planet"--Answer Me! magazine
Agreed. What sets this one apart is the more, well, CANDID scenes with Ed home alone trying make use of his time (laughing in the mirror as he tries on different noses, dancing with the woman's-torso-vest beating a skin drum and howling at the moon, reading Nazi nudie mags). There is also a great moment towards the beginning when he almost gets busted by some kid who sees his 'shrunken head' collection.

But ultimately, along with the details with which they delve into what probably made Ed tick (I recommend watching Hitchcock's 'Psycho' in close conjuction with this), is the performaance by Steve Railsback as Gein, who played Charles Manson in the original TV movie HLETER SKELTER.
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GACY (****): This one's been on a lot lately. What made this work is the emphasis on the dulaity between Gacy's killer side and his public, philanthropic, politically-connected side.

But the BUGS in his basement, SIZE OF HOGS! Some of the maggots are squirming down there for so long they hatch into winged insects, and hapless young employees of Gacy's construction business are forced to dig into the crawlspace and spread lime all over. Sklee.

Few things I hadn't known about the case, that being politically connected in any community will also win you some enemies, and towards the end there is a virtual posse watching Gacy's house. One of his victims escapes (barely), and the rest is history.
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I haven't seen BADLANDS in a while, but I give that (***). Starkweather was a fucking violent kid, and I think they should've emphasized that a bit more, but the narration is from Caryl Ann Fugate's prespective, so perhaps it makes sense that it would be diluted somewhat.
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