blackwingbear-588-577034 Not too shabby for a documentary distributed by Troma, but it would have been MUCH better without the annoying inserts of a blues band singing songs about Bob Berdella and his deeds. This documentary is both about him and WITH him. He's pretty unrepentant, and feels personally that it shouldn't have taken the 5-0 so damn long to find him - he did, after all have naked hippies wearing dog-collars stumbling naked out of his place, messed-up on Drain-o. He was just feeding people human flesh a la his chili at his flea-market stand and selling human-bone jewelry to school-kids. Ya know, the day-to-day routine.With his display of human-skulls for basketball-fans ("the final four...") was considered a bit over-the-top by more conservative members of the area, but all-in-all he was just a FABULOUS serial-killer, trying to live life the only way he knew how.

ChimpyMatlock I checked the box for "contains spoiler", but there's no box for "contains spoiled material", which would have been more apt. I'm not sure it's possible to make a more inept documentary, but I haven't seen the director's other work. Perhaps, sadly, this is his Godfather.Here's an overview: Weak flashback dramatizations, odd musical tributes, and actual archive material have been mixed together (can't quite call this editing) in a haphazard way and presented for your viewing displeasure.I gave it a 2/10 simple because I felt bad giving it the 1/10 it probably deserves. If you LOVE bad movies, watch it. If you have something other than ALF re-runs to watch instead, I suggest you do so.

becky_6262 Movies on serial killers are sometimes so over dramatized that it leaves viewers like me disappointed. They loosely base movies on actual killers using well known actors and then blow the facts out of proportion, changing them or even leaving facts out entirely; raising these killers to an almost "hero cult" status, just to get the dramatic effect they are looking for. This takes away the reality of what they actually did. I found Ben Meade's "Bazaar Bizarre" to be a very innovative, to the point, even funny film about the sick and twisted life of Robert Berdella. The way it was presented, with a combination of James Ellroy's narration, documentary and dramatization style snaps you into the reality that serial killers DO exist. Many lives are lost every year to these kinds of sick cold-blooded killers. This is definitely a must see film for the true crime buff. I loved it!

cabrerahot69 Bazaar Bizarre is an attack on the subject matter of serial killing unlike any other. Defying all logical genre definition it plays out like a aural, visual, and physical meditation on the mental capacity that is required to enact crimes such as serial rape and murder. Society is quick to judge such acts. We are fast to condemn. There are times in Bazaar Bizarre that do this as well, but just as often it seems to ask us to slip into the mind of the killer, to see something that we may not want to. Is it poking fun with these sensory assaults, or unsettling the viewer even more with this skewed view of the world? I cannot say. There are no answers in this film, just questions.The strange case of serial killer Bob Berdella began for authorities when a man was found running naked in the streets of Kansas City. Unable to talk, ass cheeks bloody, and wearing a dog collar and leash, this man spun a terrible tale. This was to begin unraveling a story that was as wondrously weird and hideous as they come. For days, the man had been being kept a prisoner in the home of a local man. Over these days he was repeatedly raped, tortured, and photographed. Drain cleaner had been injected into his vocal chords, and he was unable to speak clearly, but for slight as his voice may have become, his tale was as strong as any could be. He led officials to the house, and the peeling of the many layers of the life of Bob Berdella commenced.Bob Berdella was the owner of a local shop that carried curios and oddball nick-knacks from all over the world. In Kansas City, if you wanted to purchase a shrunken head, Bob Berdella was the man to see. His shop was "Bob's Bizarre Bazaar". Need bone jewelry? Or maybe ask him to try some of his home made chili that he shared with other shop owners. Well maybe not...Director Ben Meade also hails from in Kansas City, and there's something intimate about his look into the mind of this killer. Understandable, as Meade himself had come face to face with the killer at least once at his shop. Maybe it is this backyard proximity that allows Meade to pounce with such unflinching zeal on the topic. Aided with commentary and narration by James Ellroy, author of L.A. Confidential, both men constantly creep into and out of the mind of Berdella...Meade lulls the viewer into a feast for the eyes with stunningly awkward visuals, documentary montages with Berdella himself, and musical interludes that fixate upon the events and give the viewer a moment to collect his or her thoughts. Ellroy crashes in, here and there, with a gut punch of verbal realism. He is the sound voice of reason in the chaos. He speaks a true grit truth. He has no love, compassion, or empathy for Berdella. He lets this be known, unmistakably.Meade has concocted a strange brew of a film. He has interviews with the aforementioned surviving victim, one with Berdella, and with people who were involved with the case and its media coverage. Meade mixes all of this in a fashion that is not locked into any format. Unlike other forays into serial killer docudramas, there is not a chronological time line. Instead, Meade allows the mind of the viewer to connect the dots themselves. A higher form of reward is earned in this manner, as people are asked to involve themselves and potentially become immersed within the framework of the film.There are scenes in Bazaar Bizarre that are gruesome. Some of the exploits of Bob Berdella were not the type to be readily accepted by Mr. And Mrs. Middle America. The recreations tickle the edges of exploitation with a grainy realism. A well used attempt to blur the boundaries between the stock archival footage and staged magic of film. This forces the viewer to accept a more intimate arrangement with a very twisted mind. The exploits of Bob Berdella are not narrated over black and white stills. It is much more closer to us than that.Bazaar Bizarre will not suit the taste of every one. It is a hybrid of experience and knowledge. We are taken to places and then given pause. The pace is one that allows for introspection, but at the same time if the viewer does not have a lot to bring to the intellectual table, they may find that this dance is a bit one sided. Berdella's story is not shown as a parable of humanity. There is no attempt to make him anything other than what he was.