Zodiac - review

Zodiac (15)
Dir. David Fincher

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


Dear Herald & Post editor...
This is the Zodiac speaking, I have been observing the behaviour of several people in your area. You will be sad to hear that they are now dead and if you have any interest in preserving the people of your town I insist that you try to find me… Perhaps a good move would be to venture to the local picture house where you will surely flinch when you see my acts of utmost brutality depicted larger than life on the big screen.
You will however not catch me as I am far too clever, the film about me will mess with your head and may lead you in many directions before giving you enough evidence for you to draw your conclusions as to my identity.
Zodiac (great title for my film) is expertly crafted, well acted and dripping with oppressive tension as you might expect from master director David ‘Seven’ Fincher. Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. produce outstanding work, giving their characters heavyweight presence and deliciously believable quirks. The only minor niggle might be that it takes over two and a half hours to explore my tale but that surely only speaks masses as to how obsessed the film makers became with my ruthless and sadistic reign of terror. And I object to the implication that I might not have actually been the mass killer I took credit for – nobody should doubt my unhinged dedication to my campaign against rational humankind. There are scenes in this film that get so scary they are liable to give you heart palpitations. The plot takes up the story of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Robert Graysmith – a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle (although I think he might have moved the Biggleswade Chronicle now). This likeable hack became completely fixated with tracking me down, he simply would not let go of the trail even after the cops had all but given up. It is a fascinating tale that shows there is more than one way to lose your life to a killer… But who wouldn’t feel the need to stand there, to look me in the eye and know that you’ve found the psychotic enemy of the people. But you never will – despite the compelling evidence pointing towards one suspect, the investigation into my crime spree is still filed as ‘open’ - so if this film inspires you to take up pursuit of me, I’ll be waiting...

Darkmatters rating system (out of 5):

Action ööö – something wicked this way comes
Laughs ö – couple of amusing quirky bits but if the person watching this starts giggling - run!!
Horror öööö – nasty murders and pervading menace
Babes öö – limited babeness on offer

Overall öööö1/2 (watch this - I'm watching you)

Darkmatters: H O M E