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*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Another one of a strew of TV movies that hit the small screen in the 80s, concerning the crime cases that made big news. This time, it's the infamous Hillside Stranglers, who terrified and stalked Los Angeles in the 1970s, abducting, sexually assaulting and strangling young women. This might have been a dismal movie-of-the-week had it not been for the late Richard Crenna (in one of his many excellent turns), who portrays a cop investigating the case, Bob Grogan, Dennis Farina and a young (and hot) Billy Zane as the killer cousins, Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi. Crenna's believable portrayal is what makes this film, as he follows the harrowing path in investigating the murders and trying to apprehend the perpetrators. What is most moving is his concern for his daughter, who is the age of the girls who are being murdered. The compassion that Grogan shows for the victims and their families is heart-wrenchingly powerful. Another scene that is impressively handled by all the performers is the one in which Kenneth Bianchi, now charged with murder and incarcerated, attempts to feign multiple-personality disorder in order to fabricate an insanity defense. Zane's performance is appropriately calculated and chilling, and Crenna's when he discovers that Bianchi is faking, is absolutely priceless. "Ken, you're full of crap!" And the ending makes me a bit teary-eyed. After Buono and Bianchi are convicted, Grogan goes to a telephone booth outside the courtroom and calls his daughter. "Honey, we got them," he tells her. "I still love you, Dad," she responds lovingly.And we do too.
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