Old Fashioned Serial Killer Films

We tend to think of serial killers as a fairly modern thing. I tend to think of the 1970s, the time when Robert Ressler coined the term “serial killer”, and the period during which many of the most famous (Bundy, Gacy, Son of Sam, Zodiac, etc.) were most active.

But of course serial killers probably predate civilization itself. Someone asked me to recommend some classic films (movies from the pre color era) that involved serial killers.

So, here are a few choices:

Sweeney Todd




No, I’m not talking about the recent film with Johnny Depp, nor am I referring to the Stephen Sondheim musical. This is the original 1936 version of the film made in the UK; it has an authentic cockney flavour to it – and best of all, no cheesy songs.

Bluebeard




This atmospheric thriller from 1944 features the talents of the great John Carradine as an artist who kills his subjects.

The Lodger



Also made in 1944, this film is about a Lodger (of course) who may just be Jack the Ripper; very moody and atmospheric. There was also a very good silent version of this made in 1927 that is also free to watch online: http://www.archive.org/details/AHtheLodger

Bloodlust!



This is a “B” movie from 1961. Essentially a version of The Most Dangerous Game, despite it’s limited budget it’s actually pretty good. Best of all, you can watch this one for free online too: http://www.archive.org/details/Bloodlust.mpeg

Redford, You're Getting Too Old For This...

Spy Game

I'm pulling this review from the archives - it was originally written in August of 2002.

On his last day with the CIA, an agent played by Robert Redford, becomes embroiled in an international incident involving a spy named Bishop (for some reason, always an unlucky name in movies) who he trained years ago.

Over the years, I do think Redford has shown himself to be a very poor (albeit lucky) spy. You'd think he'd lie in wait for the baddies, or at least learn to keep his important files in a safe deposit box or booby trap his office. I mean in 3 Days of the Condor they ransack his office, steal files, and kill his associates... In Sneakers they do it again... and now, in Spy Game - they do it again. At least in Spy Game they don't kill anyone when they ransack his office.

Of course there is a lot of fantasy in this take on the CIA... (we all know the CIA doesn't have all it's internal phones bugged, or know unimportant details about it's long time agents - like whether or not they're married and to whom! NAH, they wouldn't know about that stuff). As usual, anyone carrying an AK can't hit the broadside of a barn (or two guys in the open on top of a hill from a helicopter - or a car in the middle of a street from an overlooking building, etc.).

On the whole, the film is a pretty good thriller of the story-told-in-flashback style. Excusing the small stuff (Brad Pitt hasn't aged a day since Vietnam), the story is both a genre picture, and a commentary on the business of spying not dissimilar to the disenfranchised cold war Hitchcockian movies of the French New Wave, though Spy Game never really elevates much beyond the level of solid genre film.

While both Redford and Pitt turn in fine performances, the thrills never reach the heights of others of it's type (check out the 80s remake of The Big Clock called No Way Out for a more thrilling take on Washington intrigue). All in all, Spy Game is enjoyable but forgettable.

Z: The 60s didn't just happen in America and Vietnam

Z

Much like The Manchurian Candidate, Z is a political conspiracy thriller that was both controversial from the time it was released and largely unavailable for a long time, resulting in its legend growing over time. Unlike The Manchurian Candidate, though, which is allegedly pure fiction, Z, while ostensibly a work of fiction, is generally believed to be a pretty accurate account of real events. Though there are no flags in the film, no names of nations, and even military insignia are relatively generic, it’s generally believed to be a thinly veiled expose of political repression in Greece in 1960s.

The plot deals with the assassination of a respected doctor and anti-war activist and the subsequent events both amongst the population and within the government. The film is unrelenting in its scathing indictment of the-powers-that-be. Even though it’s a thriller, its pretty heavy stuff, and it racked up Oscars for Best Editing and Best Foreign Film, and to this day it remains one of the few foreign films to ever be nominated in the Best Film category.

Again, much like The Manchurian Candidate, the legend has outgrown the film (see review of Manchurian Candidate, The). While it’s still a good story, it is definitely dated not in terms of content (history is history after all), but in terms of filmmaking technique. Many action sequences seem pretty lightweight given what has come since. Furthermore, modern audiences – especially monolingual English speakers – are likely to find it drags, and is overly talky, perhaps even preachy. While this might not be a problem for a film like All the President’s Men, or the aforementioned Manchurian Candidate, when faced with big chunks of subtitling, well, you can imagine the drawback.

Still, there is much to commend it. It didn’t win an Academy Award for editing for no reason. The way the film cuts together with the music score in the latter part of the film is something that was almost unprecedented in cinema up to that time.