The Hillside Strangler

source: The Hillside Strangler

The Hillside Strangler

"The Hillside Strangler" is a seedy, hard-hitting and unflinching serial killer movie, based on true events that occurred in '70s Los Angeles. C. Thomas Howell plays a role very distant from Jim Halsey in "The Hitcher". His portrayal of true-life serial killer Kenneth Bianchi is very convincing, to say the least. I was genuinely taken aback by his gaunt appearance in this film - he isn't instantly recognisable. Nicholas Turturro is splendid as the psychotic, cruel other half of the serial killer duo, Angelo Buono. The Tartan-funded film contains some hard-hitting sequences but despite these it remains an entertaining experience. You won't feel like you need a shower after watching this movie but you may feel a little guilty for viewing some of its seedier content. Definitely recommended for fans of true-life crime.

This was a very poor serial killer movie. It was very lightweight. It was not scary or disturbing in the slightest. It kind of jumped around a lot and didn't keep you "in the moment." "Manhunter" was a thousand times better than this pulp. There was very little character development to show you what was inside the heads of these killers. The movie should have shown more about why the liked to do this so much. In fact, they were drawn as such cartoons, it was hard to believe this was a true story. Also, the victims were not believable at all. I seriously doubt that whores in downtown LA look like this! This didn't even qualify as a "guilty pleasure." Just pass on by this one.

Well, not bad but by no means not great. What is missing from this telling of The Hillside Strangler story is what is usually important to making a good serial killer movie: "police involvement". The fact that what really stumped the LAPD for so long is that they didn't know they were looking for two people was key in the real-life story and not even mentioned here. Also the film makers failed to really show (only in some quick snippets) just how sick and twisted these two were and some of the really gruesome things they did to their victims. I'm not saying it needed to be shown but it should have been at least mentioned. But there again that would call for police involvement. That being said I would mention that C. Thomas Howell turns in a pretty good performance here. With his gaunt appearance, silly thin mustache and pathetic shleprock mannerisms he gives his character, he almost channels the spirit of an icky Willem Dafoe performance. Almost. I'll be kind and give this a C-.

I made the wrong decision, when i saw this Disgusting movie. I am surprised some people have given this film good reviews. It was completely Out of this world and shockingly Nasty. I have never seen such a unpleasant movie before. I thought Clockwork Orange was Disturbingly nasty, this one goes 10 steps ahead. The movie focuses on 2 cousins who kidnap, torture and rape their victim again and again. If the director wanted to make a movie based on real life incidents like the hillside stranglers. Why did he make it from their point of view, He should of made it from the Polices point of view. This movie is the most shockingly disturbing film I've ever seen. It should of been banned instantly, Cant believe i had to see this crap. Not recommended at all, I know some people like a challenge of a movie, but this one is not worth a look.

This was a pretty decent flick. It wasn't amazing or anything. It had a real dirty 70s feel to it though. Thats what I liked best. The film has dirty language and dirty characters, which I enjoyed. They drop some serious bad words in bad combinations and mistreat women pretty constantly. Its not a happy film. Its a little light on the horror and gore, but its not really focusing on that. It focuses more on what kind people the serial killers were. Namely dirty bad people. But I found myself enjoying it and have recommended it to like-minded individuals. If you like dirty and exploitative films, you'll enjoy this throwback. I give it an overall 6 of 10, but it will probably find its niche out there.

This film turned out to be much more than I thought that it was going to be, most notably, it was extremely disturbing and at times I found myself not able to watch - particularly the rapes and deaths of the poor women. The Hillside Strangler(s) played their roles well, both utterly convincing and rather frightening. Allison Lange was fantastic as the long-suffering Claire. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone who is faint-hearted. It was a good film, but so disturbing. There was plenty of nudity, offensive language, drug use and violence splashed throughout the movie, but the treatment of the women was so shocking. For that reason, I cannot give this film a rating.

If you've seen the other serial killer movies by Tartan films, you'll get exactly what you expect from this film: actors you haven't seen in awhile steeped in extreme violence with not a whole lot of emphasis on the facts. There are some gruesome scenes here, though tamer than the actual crimes of the Hillside Stranglers. Pretty good performances all around, but not excellent. Some interesting camera work, better than you'd expect from a film with so low a budget. I was concerned by the casting of Turturro and Howell, having had a fondness for the earlier portrayals by Dennis Farina and Billy Zane. Plus, C Thomas Howell just seemed too cute to play Ken Bianchi. But once I got a look at him, I was shocked by his gaunt, creepy appearance. I sincerely hope he looks better than that in real life. To conclude, this is by no means the movie of the year, but if you liked Tartans Gein, Gacy or Bundy, give this one a watch.