Feast of Death (2001)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Vikram Jayanti

Plot:

A documentary about James Ellroy and his fascination with unsolved murder cases, especially those of his mother, and the similar, infamous, Black Dahlia murder. |

Plot Keywords:

Black Dahlia

Cast

Mike Berchem	...	Himself, LAPD Detective, 1st Feast of Death
Brian M. Carr	...	Himself, LAPD Detective, 1st & 2nd Feast of Death
Paul W. Coulter	...	Himself, LAPD Detective, 1st Feast of Death
Louis D. Danoff	...	Himself, L.A. County Sheriff's Department Detective, 2nd Feast of Death
James Ellroy	...	Himself
Larry Harnisch	...	Himself, 2nd Feast of Death
Karen Hilliker	...	Herself, 2nd Feast of Death
Rick Jackson	...	Himself, LAPD Detective, 1st Feast of Death
Janet T. Klock	...	Herself, 2nd Feast of Death
M. Brian Klock	...	Himself, 2nd Feast of Death
Mindy Klock	...	Herself, 2nd Feast of Death
David Lambkin	...	Himself, LAPD Detective, 1st Feast of Death
Tim Marcia	...	Himself - LAPD Detective, 1st Feast of Death
Frank Merriman	...	Himself, L.A. County Sheriff's Department Detective, 2nd Feast of Death
Eric J. Mosher	...	Himself, LAPD Detective, 1st Feast of Death
Nick Nolte	...	Himself
Ray Peavy	...	Himself, L.A. County Sheriff's Department Detective, 2nd Feast of Death
Elizabeth Short	...	Herself (archive footage)
William Stoner	...	Himself - L.A. County Sheriff's Department Detective, 2nd Feast of Death (as Bill Stoner)
Rey Verdugo	...	Himself - L.A. County Sheriff's Department Detective, 2nd Feast of Death (as Reynold A. Verdugo)

Also Known As:

James Ellroy's Feast of Death (Canada: English title) (festival title)

Runtime:

Canada:90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Showtime

Movie Connections:

References L.A. Confidential (1997)

Darkness of Murder Revealed in Ellroy's Feast of Death

I've been drawn to this movie in a morbid sort of way. It is disturbing on many levels. Straight out we know that James Ellroy's mother was brutally strangled and the murder will be revisited and this has fashioned him as an authored. He is by the way the author of L.A. Confidential, which was made into a movie. The movie goes deeper than simply examining his mother's murder. It also examines the famous Black Dahlia murder involving Mary Short, which also played a role in Ellroy's becoming a murder mystery writer. Not wanting to be a spoiler here, the movie is more graphic than many horror films in the murders examined and Ellroy's prose is tossed in from time to time, describing why humans kill, makes for a chilling, yet informative kind of viewing. This film is not for squeamish folks. I would not let my children watch it. Some of the stuff was that disturbing. But, like I said, for some reason, like a moth to a flame, I've been drawn to this film over and over again.