The Hunt for the BTK Killer (2005 TV Movie) User Reviews

Excellent portrayal of an egomaniac serial killer

[Ed-Shullivan · 7/10 · 11 November 2013]

The Hunt for the BTK Killer (the initials BTK stand for serial killer Dennis Rader's monogram Bind, Torture and Kill), which Rader signed on most of the taunting communications he sent to the police and various media outlets over a 30 year period. This made for TV movie is based on the true account of Dennis Rader, a serial killer from Witchita, Kansas. He was responsible for the murder of at least 10 people over the 17 year period between 1974 and 1991. Rader then somehow stopped his murderous ways for more than 13 years. It is believed that he took exception to a television show narrated by David Lohr on Court TV on the BTK killer, and also to writer/lawyer Robert Beattie's book released in 2005. Rader said that he chose to resurface in 2004 because he wanted his story to be told by himself.

Gregg Henry's performance as serial killer Dennis Rader was uncanny. I recall first watching Gregg Henry as a young actor as Wesley Jordache in the 1976 mini-series Rich Man Poor Man. From that first performance on the small screen he has went on to an endless and varied stream of television and big screen performances. The lead investigator Detective Jason Magida was played by one of my favorite actors Robert Forster (best known for Jackie Brown).

This story is outlined in a quasi documentary style that commences with the actual arrest of Dennis Rader in his vehicle. The movie then takes us through some of the actual events and Rader's murders, as narrated through the interrogation of Dennis Rader when he was first arrested.

What this movie does well is it outlines how Dennis Rader was able to elude capture for so long (over 30 years) as his murders were sporadic, and then he just simply stopped killing and sending any further taunting communications signed BTK. Gregg Henry looked and acted quite similar to the real serial killer Dennis Rader. The movie may not appeal to all movie enthusiasts as it focuses more on the events surrounding how Dennis Rader was actually captured. I would say that his capture was a combination of sound police work, and Dennis Rader's ego not willing to let anyone else glean any notoriety due to his infamy, which forced him to come out again and start taunting police. What he did not realize was that over the past 13 years when his killings had stopped, the world of technology was advancing rapidly and the police sciences were also ahead of the criminal curve.

This TV movie provides insight in to the mental instability of serial killer Dennis Rader and his intense need for acknowledgement through the media for his murderous crimes known under the monogram as the elusive BTK serial killer. His actual court "matter of fact" confession is still available today on youtube for those of you that are interested in evaluating Gregg Henry's uncanny portrayal of Dennis Rader. Rader's court confession is told as if he were making dinner or calmly putting on his coat, not outlined as the actuality of his having sexual fantasies of killing people and then living out his fantasies by plotting and then committing these heinous crimes. On closing, Dennis Rader tells the police and the judge that there were many people who are very lucky to be alive today due to unforeseen circumstances that did not allow him to execute some of the murders that he had planned.

Going About His Business

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 18 February 2016]

Another made-for-TV serial killer movie "based on a true story" that tries to introduce one or two notes of originality into a cinematic pattern that is so nearly exhausted it's staggering on its pins.

One such attempt is in the musical score. Ordinarily with a story about a serial killer, we'd expect violins tremolo until they shriek madly as the hatchet descends. Not here.

As Dennis Rader, the "BTK Killer", Gregg Henry, in a completely satisfying performance, goes about his business of seeing to it that the community's lawns are properly mowed and that his victims are tortured, raped, and killed, and he's accompanied by some kind of Orff Schulwerk music filled with glockenspiels and a cute pizzicato melody. Well, why not? It worked in "Badlands." But when the rubber meets the road and there is action on the screen, Tree Adams, the composer, goes nuts and the air is filled with the loud racket of pots and pans being clanged together. It may be innovative but it's distracting too.

Robert Forster does a decent job as the detective in charge but because of lax direction or some other reason he's not as convincing as he was in "Jackie Brown." He's given a voice-over narration that's stale. Something like, "I realized we had to go through this to be a better people." Ugh. It's too bad that the narration is so full of old saws and empty observations because the plot really needs something to tie the episodes together. The killings themselves aren't a problem because they're not lingered over and are only suggested in double- and triple exposure. But the timeline is warped. There were times when I didn't know whether we were in 1974 or 2004. No kidding.

It isn't a memorable movie but Gregg Henry has the simple, innocent, friendly face of true evil down pat.

Informative and Compelling True to Life TV Movie

[Bob_the_Hobo · 7/10 · 4 May 2012]

Dennis Rader went decades living as the BTK Killer (stands for Hunt, Torture, Kill), with his final amount murder list will probably never be known for sure. "The Hunt for the BTK Killer" follows Rader, played by Gregg Henry, and Detective Magida, Robert Forster, the man responsible for taking him down.

This is a very good true to life television film. The story is for the most part correct, and while I don't know if there was a Det. Magida (or if that was the Detective's name) the police investigation kept me interested as to exactly how BTK was caught. Rader's kills are presented in a creepy and fascinating way. Overall the script is tight and consistently keeps your attention.

Henry and Forster are really the only characters that are given much depth, but those two are the only ones that need it. The script typecasts Forster's Magida as your usual cop, he's an older gumshoe working with a beautiful younger actress as partner. Henry does a fantastic job as Rader, his interviews at the end are creepy and award-worthy.

There is a voice-over narration by Forster that guides the film, which I suspect was brought in afterwards to tie up loose ends. In any other case, I would drop the quality down for using the worst tool in the business, but here it actually enlightened about Rader instead of insulting the viewer's intelligence.

If you're interested in BTK, or serial killer media in general, this one is worth a watch.

Pretty good; Henry met the challenge

[vchimpanzee · 20 October 2005]

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.

A simplified review of the BTK case.

[ddbibb · 6/10 · 9 October 2005]

While the Variety reviewer did not liked this version of the BTK story, I found it to be a good, but not exciting, movie. The lead investigator does the role with almost a Jack Webb approach and his narration is also reminiscent of Webb. The movie spends relative little time rehashing the murders and focuses on the actual hunt and capture. It also features Gregg Heny as Dennis Rader and plays the role well, especially as he resembles, through makeup, the killer. It is his chilling take on the killer that makes this movie worth watching. The movie combines characters and simplifies the events, but stays, mostly on track with the actual events.

Competent serial killer thriller/documentary

[Coventry · 6/10 · 18 October 2017]

Between the years 2000-2010 it was quite popular (and very profitable) to make horror films/thrillers that were based on real- life serial killers. Practically all notorious American serial killers from the second half of the 20th century passed the revue, and the nastiest ones even twice or more, like Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Charles Starkweather, Albert Fish, John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgway, etc. Many of these flicks aspired to be semi- documentaries and as factual as possible, but still most of them are pure rubbish (especially the ones directed by Uli Lommel, of course). Dennis Rader, more commonly known as BTK-killer, from Wichita Kansas also had the questionable honor to form the main subject of at least three contemporary low-budgeted horror flicks; one directed by the aforementioned Uli Lommel (I rather die than ever having to watch that one), one starring the legendary Kane Hodder in the titular role (which allegedly is quite decent) and this modest but surprisingly adequate made-for-television and documentary-styled thriller.

It's fairly obvious why the film industry wanted to exploit the story of BTK – short for "Bind Torture Kill" – as much as possible. Even though he committed his vile crimes, the murders of at least 10 innocent people, 10 to 30 years earlier, Rader only got apprehended in 2004 following a massive police hunt that he pretty much set into motion himself. Rader was always proud of the unsolved murders and suffered from a tremendous ego, so he really couldn't accept that a random writer/profiler was psycho-analyzing him on television. Rader, now a happily married and respectable church-community member, started sending clues and evidence of his old murders to the press and the authorities. He gradually became more careless and megalomaniac, which led to his arrest. "The Hunt for BTK Killer" focuses primarily on the police investigation, but also follows around Dennis Rader in his private life, during the preparations of the correspondences in his tool shed and as he's stalking a potential new victim. There are also a couple of sequences in the courtroom that feature blurry flashbacks of the murders committed in the early seventies and eighties. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this film. It doesn't aim to be overly sensational but provides a solid rundown of the facts, as well as a realistic impression of the fear and paranoia that reign in a small town when it gets faced with the return of an old boogeyman. Robert Forster's performance comes across as fatigue, but that's also what you expect his character to feels like after chasing a killer for three decades. Gregg Henry's performance as Dennis Rader is more than praiseworthy, as he manages to find the ideal balance between menacing creep and exemplary community hero. One more element that really struck me as far above average is the score and effective use of music. The soundtrack is moody and ominous, and sometimes it even sounds as if the tunes could easily have been composed by Hans Zimmer.

Shockingly awful!

[BunnyBri · 1/10 · 10 December 2007]

I'm from the Wichita area, so am very familiar with this case and was shocked by the factual errors and poor quality of this film.

The single redeeming quality of this movie is Henry's portrayal of Dennis Rader. He did an excellent job of capturing Rader's mannerisms and bore a striking resemblance to him.

I'll try to list the factual errors sequentially. First off, Magida is a fictional detective, probably based on Ken Landwehr. There were no female detectives in lead roles on this case. I'm surprised at the leaps the movie makes, using the real names of the judge and attorneys but fictional names of law enforcement officers. Also, no detectives who were present at the scene of the Otero murders were on the team that eventually caught Rader.

Second are the location errors. The Sedgwick County courthouse, where Rader's trial was held, is NOT a small, old-fashioned building in suburbia!! It's actually a very modern building, several stories tall in a busy downtown area. The "Cousins Cafe" is also a complete fabrication. Rader went home for lunch, as he was a creature of habit the police knew what time he would be headed there and apprehended him on his way to lunch.

Third are the errors in the crimes committed and reported. He was only linked to 8 murders until shortly before his capture, the Hedge and Davis murders were not committed in Wichita and originally not thought to be BTK killings. The Bright murder was not portrayed correctly either, I will not go into the specifics...read the books if you want to know.

On to the film itself. It begins with Rader in the courtroom recounting the murders, but abruptly shifts to a portrayal of the case from the fictional Magida's eyes. Either point of view would have been fine, but if this is meant to give an accurate look at the horror of the murders, several have been left out.

If you are interested in the BTK case, I would NOT recommend watching this movie. Read one of the books, but not Beattie's, unless you're interested in long and irrelevant diatribes on the author's life.

Born to Kill

[Abominog · 7/10 · 30 July 2007]

60 years old Dennis Lynn Rader, was a model Wichita's citizen, suburban Park City's compliance officer, former Kanzas Cup Scout leader and the president of the local Lutheran Congregation Council, yet the neighborhood's ultimate nightmare.

The four members of Joseph Otero's family killed in early 1974 were first victims of the B.T.K. strangler. The killing spree in the area that further spanned throughout the following seventeen years has abruptly ended in 1991.

Despite tireless and meticulous investigation the police had failed to reveal the murderer's identity that time and the the case was remaining one of FBI's top unsolved mysteries until the killer resurfaced again in early 2004.

In an attempt to draw media attention he sent a letter to Wichita's local news room claiming credits for a number of unsolved murders. This has triggered resumption of investigation and eventually led to detention of Dennis Rader who was accused of murdering at least ten people between 1974 and 1991.

The account of Rader's crimes were dramatized in two feature movies released in 2005 the year when Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms.

'The Hunt for the BTK Killer' focuses more on exhibiting Rader's sweet facade as a considerate family man, meticulous civil servant and committed community leader rather than elaborate depiction of grisly acts he has committed to materialize his sick sexual fantasies (which are only sporadically shown in flashbacks in the course of the court proceedings).

The film features memorable, impeccable performance from (hardly recognizable - kudos to the wizards from the makeup department) Greg Henry as the aged killer. He made it to alter flawlessly between mild mannered, affable and respectable Wichita's resident and sinister, calculating shape-shifter contriving a cat and mouse game with the police.

He could have managed to further evade justice unless his paranoid lust for limelight has eventually exposed his disguise.

Only a mere accident and Rader's computer illiteracy has enabled the forensic lab experts to derive a badly wiped out file from a dumped floppy and identify the BTK strangler.

The killer's shocking revelations at the interrogation room about his frightening past when he refers to his poor victims as the "projects" are presented in a semi-documentary manner.

Of course the creators of the film took some liberty in simplifying the story and adapting it to the TV movie format, modifying some details and introducing fictional elements and characters like collective figure of Det. Madiga convincingly played by veteran actor Robert Forster.

Nonetheless it is pretty accurate in providing insight to the tragic events that has kept Kanzans on tenterhooks for over three decades. I guess it deserves to take a worthy place among the best examples of TV true crime dramas like 'The Deliberate Stranger' (Bundy), 'Out of the Darkness' (Berkowitz), 'To Catch A Killer' (Gacy) and 'Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker' (Ramirez).

What a waste of airtime. Potential Spoilers

[fsnyder-3 · 2/10 · 9 October 2005]

The Story of BTK was a complete misrepresentation of actual facts. In a rush to get a story out, MANY facts were blurred, or altogether made up. A scene retelling the 70's attempt to place subliminal messages in newscasts to have BTK contact the police is depicted as happening in 2005. Events happening in the daytime are shown at night. At one point it is implied that Wichitans were turning against each other as suspects to BTK. If anything, the community was unified in its desire to find the person responsible for terrorizing their families. The pivotal piece of evidence, the note relating to the floppy disk, is shown being found in the back of a truck at home depot, when it was actually thrown away at the employees home, but not disposed of. It was at their home that the evidence was found.

Probably the most disturbing element of this story, is the minute amount of time spent on the victims. The story is alleged to be taken from Robert Beattie's book "A Nightmare in Wichita". If that was the case, the producers of this story would have known the bulk of this book was dedicated to telling the stories of the victims, not the killer. At least they got the letters B T and K right.........

'Now call the chief.'

[punishmentpark · 6/10 · 15 September 2013]

Starring Gregg Henry as Dennis Lynn Rader. At times his interpretation is downright eerie, as I can compare it to what I've seen in a recent documentary. At other moments I felt he was overdoing it a little, but mostly he was relatively convincing. The final scene (the interrogation) was in any case impressive.

The role of Robert Forster was quite dull, as were many of his lines. It felt like his part was there to convince the audience of how hard the police had worked and how dangerous and crazy the world out there really is. Point taken, but not very well worked out here (also see next paragraph). On top of that, Rader practically turned himself in...

Then, the film falls apart a little with all the different angles; that of Rader('s personality as an older dog catcher and Christian family man), the police('s investigation, which was rather dull - although I had not heard before about those subliminal messages), the murders (which aimed for more tension, though they were sparse and short), the letters and the taunting, the biographer, the panic caused among the people, the waitress... Now, that's a lot, and it wasn't quite coming together as a whole, though some individual scenes worked really well.

'Of course', not all of this TV-movie is completely accurate, but that was to be expected; most movies like these are dramatized and facts can always be found through various other sources. And more so, since this one is mostly about the year before his apprehension (many years after his crimes), I'd say this film does not cover all by a long shot...

All in all: not bad, not great, just about doable. A small 6 out of 10.

Pretty much what you can expect from a TV movie on a serial killer.

[MovieCriticMarvelfan · 5/10 · 9 October 2005]

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.

For a TV Movie, this was actually very good

[trublu215 · 8/10 · 23 June 2013]

I caught this on Netflix and was surprised by how good it was, namely due to Henry's performance as Dennis Rader. I wasn't too into it in the beginning after hearing the usually great Robert Foster deliver a horrible line to a reporter. However, I overlooked it and bared through it which I'm glad I did. The film does not portray any of the killings and focuses on the actual hunt for the BTK killer which actually worked for the film because it gives the audience an even more uneasy feel watching Dennis Rader pick and choose his next potential victims. The film's greatness exists in Henry's performance. The performance is so controlled and hinders on the brink of a violent breakdown that as an audience member, you can't help but get the chills when you see him on screen.

The film does have it's flaws, between horrendous acting from some actors and some campy and cheesy dialog it still screams TV movie. However, for a TV movie, this is pretty damn good. Let's put it this way, for a regular theater movie, this would be a 4/10 easily. For a TV movie, 8/10.

Find Another Avenue?

[realfandangoforever · 6/10 · 1 July 2018]

180629: If you're a serial killer aficionado like myself, this made for television movie might provide some entertainment. If you're not, you'll be better served finding another avenue.

Bad for a movie, pretty good for a documentary

[info-4540 · 3/10 · 31 March 2007]

As a TV movie it had a lot more potential to bring it as a film. For example they could have chosen not to start in the beginning revealing who the serial killer is. But they did, and the rest of the movie is in fact set up like documentary. It tells the story from the view of the serial killer and a part from the police side with a little part of how the investigation was done.

That's why I would not call this one a movie, because it isn't. And if it is, then it's a bad movie, without suspense in it. No real action, only a storyboard.

However, if one is interested in serial killers en one likes documentary's or life story's about them, this is one of the better I've seen. Luckely I belong to the persons who are interested in the ways of thinking and acting of a serial killer and why they become them etc. So I've seen it completely.

But due to the fact that it's called "film" and not "documentary" it got a 3 from me. Was it called documentary it would have gotten an 8.

Disappointing, to put it mildly

[Wizard-8 · 29 October 2015]

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.

Chilling

[trafficbabe2000 · 6/10 · 19 February 2019]

I found it to be a chilling portrayal if BTK. Robert Forster was great and btk actor was on point. No oscar worthy, but better than everything else out there.

Bind. Torture. Kill.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 31 March 2007]

Wichita, Kansas was typically quiet for over a decade; in 2004, anxiety and fear swirls again. Dennis Rader(Gregg Henry), an all-American, church-going, devoted husband and model citizen had a dark and deep secret. Between 1974 and 1991, he tortured and murdered at least ten people in and around Wichita. The hunger of his former notoriety, awakens when Robert Beattie(Maury Chaykin)lets it be known he is writing a book about the BTK killer. The previous murders turned into one of the most infamous of cold cases until a new letter arrives at a local newspaper...the monster inside Rader rears its head again. Detective Jason Magida(Robert Forster)and the police department must stop the terrifying serial killings from starting all over again. The hunt is on. Being made-for-TV, there are no gruesome murder scenes, which I would have welcomed. Also in the cast: Michael Michele, Mimi Kuzyk and Mike Turner.

poor

[petermatrai · 3/10 · 4 April 2019]

The most exciting and "funniest" fact was discluded in the movie. BTK asked the police if he sends his further messages on floppy disk, is the police able to detect, who sent the mails... He expected that the police will not lie, because he thought he is like almighty and police will not lie... But the poilce lied and they said, no it is not possible to get any data about the sender...

Paranoia versus pride

[Dr_Coulardeau · 8/10 · 11 April 2009]

This is a documentary, a true story, a true criminal. A serial killer who had gone rampant or even silent for thirty years or so is titillated one day by some intellectual who is vain enough to do some research on his case. And that is enough to wake him up from his slumber and he will make one mistake that will bring him out, that is to say to court and ten prison sentences for his ten murders. A silly mistake indeed, a mistake caused by his ignorance of the modern world, of the computer he is using, and he will send a floppy disk, or diskette, to the police out of his great vanity and that floppy disk will reveal the identity of the author and the address of the computer on which it was last used. It is true he was a bad speller and he was a D+ and C- student at college. Never trust computers and believe they are mute and silent when you turn them off. They go on talking and telling things. This film is only interesting in the fact it reveals the immense self-satisfied pride of this serial killer, of maybe most serial killers.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEGID

Watch this serial killer movie

[SquirePM · 9/10 · 6 May 2021]

In all the serial killer films that have been made, why it took a TV movie to define the genre is beyond me. But THIS IS THE ONE!

Serial killer movies hold a strange, special fascination for me which I don't really understand. There's something about these purely evil people. And the best portrayal of a serial killer is right here. Gregg Henry as the BTK killer, a real-life serial killer who got away with his gruesome crimes for over three decades.

Gregg Henry is an actor who stands entirely on his own. There's nobody else like him. Even when he plays nice, straight characters he still seems a little weird. When he plays weird, he plays it to the hilt. I never liked him because of this, until I watched this TV movie. Wow. In fact, I didn't even realize it was him playing the BTK Killer until more than half-way through the movie! That's how completely he disappeared into his character.

And Gregg Henry is such a calm, ordinary citizen on the surface that I can understand how he succeeded in his murderous obsession for so many, many years. He shot way up in my panoply of great actors.

Creepy and chilling

[gcasaus · 8/10 · 26 February 2022]

This was a historically-accurate depiction of what really occurred. This was overall a good movie. Henry did an exceptional job with the voice and the mannerisms of Rader. Well done.

Superior TV movie

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 23 September 2015]

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.

Why isn't John Dunsworth ... Jim Lahey in the credits

[dcs4669 · 8/10 · 24 March 2007]

John Dunsworth ... Jim Lahey of Trailer Park Boys has a few different appearances in the movie.

As the Reverand of the church BTK goes to and speaks several lines but there is no mention he is in the movie.

just seemed odd to me.

I am from Halifax and enjoyed seeing a few people I knew in the film and of course recognizing locations.

I did also see a few other people I knew from just seeing them around not really knowing them but there is no mention of them either.

For some reason I never heard of this movie until this week and it is 2 years old. I normally am pretty on top of what movies are out there but this one slipped me by and it was a local movie for me also.

I rather enjoyed watching it but does have a bit of the stereo-type of a Canadian film look to it but very glad to watch it and will again with my wife at a later date.

Typical TV movie fodder.

[Spaceygirl · 14 May 2007]

Boring and bland, this made for TV movie about the famous BTK Killer Dennis Rader is ultimately unsatisfying. With such great material to work with, one would think this would make a great movie, with a real-life serial killer that took thirty years to be caught.

The script is stilted, the dialogue bland and the cinematography....well, it looks like its been filmed with a hand-held cam-corder. Makes one feel quite ill!

In more skillful hands it could have been so much better. Robert Forster and Maury Chaykin gamely plod along, doing what they can with scant material. TV's Michael Michele provides a bit of glamour for what is essentially an ugly little movie.

Not very inspiring!