It's a killer

Rating: 8/10 (5 October 2008)

"Zodiac" starts ominously in small American town, Vallejo, 1969, where the likes of an unseen evil lurking in the shadows is almost unimaginable. This is, until, two lovers are gunned down by the man that would continue to haunt the hearts of all Americans for decades. This sets the scene for the rest of the film, which takes us on a dark and depraved journey through the 1960's where America was plagued by one of its most notorious serial killers, the Zodiac killer.
"Zodiac" is probably the closest a film has ever been to portraying the true effects of a serial killer on a society as a whole. While one man strides the streets, hundreds close their blinds, lock their doors and cry in fear. And this is what I believe "Zodiac" achieves in showing to the viewer, and in such a gritty and brutally honest way. This did happen, and Zodiac comes nothing short of showing how very real this time was and how it changed America's people forever. But one man that was probably effected more than anyone is that of Robert Graysmith, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain). Graysmith is a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle and one of many to experience Zodiac's terror first hand. Gyllenhaal really out does himself as Graysmith, showing how "Zodiac" is not only a film about a serial killer, but a film about one mans undying thirst for the truth, and how that continues to affect the entirety of his life. Gyllenhaal could have portrayed this no better and is showing how much a commendable actor he truly is. Other performances by Downey Jr. (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man) are very impressive.
While this movie captures your attention almost the whole way through, it does fall through in the third quarter and I was really beginning to lose interest. This is then justified by the final act which is nothing short of exceptional. All this said, this film isn't so much a "true" serial killer film. It falls into that same category of similar films like "Jarhead", often called a war movie without the war (also starring Gyllenhaal). While the film offers plentiful amounts of blood, violence and frightening encounters with the Zodiac killer - the picnic scene is truly one of the most terrifying in cinema - this film is much more about the social impact this one man had during these years. At the heart of "Zodiac" is something much more real than any other serial killer film before.
8.5/10
Hamish Kearvell A.K.A Screaming Japan Productions - www.myspace.com/screamingjapanproductions