Wizard-8 Although I had heard several mentions of the BTK Killer over the years, I didn't know any of the hard facts about the case. So when I got a copy of this movie, I thought it might give me some insight. Let's just say that this movie failed to satisfy my curiosity. Being that it was made for commercial television, the treatment feels very soft. For starters, it doesn't go into much depth to the actual murders; had it had done so, it might have given more insight to the killer. Also, the movie is lacking a hard edge - we don't get the feeling that the title figure is a ruthless monster (mostly we see him do mundane day to day things), nor do we feel the urgency the authorities must have been pressed with investigating who the killer was. The movie also comes across as cheap, from its low rent production values to a musical score that is not only cheesy but inappropriate at times. All this may explain why much of the cast gives passionless performances; even Robert Forster, an actor I've liked in many other movies, seems to just be going through the motions. You'd probably be better off reading a book concerning the BTK Killer instead of watching this movie.

Woodyanders After terrorizing Wichita, Kansas for thirty-one years, the police led by weary, yet determined Detective Jason Magida (the always excellent Robert Forster) manage to track down and apprehend vicious and calculating serial killer Dennis Rader (a chilling and convincing performance by Gregg Henry).Director Stephen Kay, working from a compact script by Tom Towler and Donald Martin, relates the gripping story at a steady pace, grounds the premise in a believable everyday reality, and effectively captures the stark horror of Rader's atrocious acts in a tasteful, yet still potent and upsetting manner. However, this film's crowning achievement is the uncanny and unsettling way it depicts Rader as a seemingly harmless and amiable guy who was even a pillar of his church community as well as a complete sadist whose out-sized ego and narcissistic need for attention ultimately proved to be his undoing. The fine acting by the top-rate cast keeps the picture on track, with especially praiseworthy contributions from Maury Chaykin as cagey writer Robert Beattie, Michael Michelle as Magida's loyal partner Detective Baines, and Donna Hoodhand as Rader's sweet unsuspecting wife Paula. Both Boby Bukowski's crisp cinematography and the rattling score by Tree Adams are up to par. Worth a watch.

vchimpanzee As the movie opens, Dennis Rader has been arrested for his string of killings over a period of many years in Wichita, Kansas. Through flashbacks, we see the events leading up to his capture, as well as some of the murders.Gregg Henry had a very challenging role, and in my opinion, he delivered. Dennis Rader was shown as very normal at times, a kind and caring person. In fact, he was so normal the background music made me think of ice cream trucks. Then he was shown as cruel and unfeeling, but not in a situation necessarily related to any murders. Where the murders were planned, Rader was depicted as quite demented and somehow controlled by an unknown force, with background music appropriate to the situation and sometimes so weird it could not even be called music. After his arrest, Rader described what he had done with almost no emotion, as if explaining how he remodeled a house or something, though sometimes he bordered on demented in describing his actions. He seemed to show no remorse, despite being an upstanding member of the community. I am assuming Henry was able to work with footage or good memories to create his impressions of Rader in custody.The murders were quite scary because of the special editing and visual effects, which may have made them look less graphic but certainly added to the horror of what took place.Robert Forster did a very capable job as Jason Madiga, a detective on the case. According to what I have read about the case, he was not a real person, but that does not matter. His performance, and the efforts to solve the case, make the movie worthwhile almost as much as Henry's performance.It was a better than average fact-based TV movie.

MovieCriticMarvelfan It doesn't present anything that we haven't seen in a gazillion movies with the same premise of serial killers and slasher flicks, but it was OK TV movie.This movie is about the BTK killer who like the Zodiac Killer, Son of Sam terrorized a community in Kansas with his own reign as a warped killer. Actually he's not that warped, Dennis Rader as portrayed in the movie was Presiden of the Lutheran Church was actually a Greg Henry portraying the killer Dennis Rader is actually very good, damn he almost looks like the guy with that makeup applied. Henry though has played enough killers in his time to probably do this type of role without breaking a sweat.The movie then chronicles how he taunted and fooled the police for thirty years sending them cryptic messages and watching them idiotically trying to put clues together. Despite Robert Forsters's portrayal of a cop "hot on his trail", the scent is very cold, and really if anything the cops in the movie are incompetent , dimwits who have the luxury of having a vital clue fall in their lap done by an over cocky Rader ( a floppy disk).Still this is an OK TV movie. They even have a psychiatrist at one point trying to explain the killer's state of mind but really any "theories" about the guy failed to produce any concrete leads until the killer himself made a crucial error of ego.Overall though the acting was good, and it shows how the so called "normal" looking guy and allegedly good upstanding citizen can be that hidden serial killer who nobody suspects because of their misconceptions about what a killer is supposed to be.Good movie.