"Zodiak - Der Horoskop-Mörder" (2007) TV mini-series

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

3 September 2007 (Austria)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Everyone is a suspect - but who is the Zodiak?

Plot:

Esther Nentwig, daughter of Gabriel Fischer-Hellwarth is returning from the USA to Austria for the birthday party of her father. With Esther Nentwig the Zodiak Killer is also returning.

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series

Cast

Alexandra Neldel	...	Esther Nentwig (4 episodes, 2007)
Fritz Karl	...	Anton Keller (4 episodes, 2007)
Friedrich von Thun	...	Gabriel Fischer-Hellwarth (4 episodes, 2007)
Corinna Kirchhoff	...	Ursula Nentwig (4 episodes, 2007)
Bernhard Schir	...	Peter Fischer-Hellwarth (4 episodes, 2007)
Matthias Schloo	...	Robert Fischer-Hellwarth (4 episodes, 2007)
Filip Peeters	...	Sebastian Heegert (4 episodes, 2007)
Beate Maes	...	Juliane Heegert (4 episodes, 2007)
Michou Friesz	...	Staatsanwältin Lippmann (4 episodes, 2007)
Miguel Herz-Kestranek	...	Georg Attenberg (4 episodes, 2007)
Ulli Maier	...	Elisabeth Fischer-Hellwarth (4 episodes, 2007)
Edita Malovcic	...	Linda (4 episodes, 2007)
Misel Maticevic	...	Mathias Vollmer (4 episodes, 2007)
Claudia Mehnert	...	Marion Fischer-Hellwarth (4 episodes, 2007)
Konstantin Reichmuth	...	Adrian Vogler (4 episodes, 2007)
Hans Sigl	...	Felix Vogler (4 episodes, 2007)
Harald Posch	...	Maximilian (3 episodes, 2007)
Elias Pressler	...	Alexander Fischer-Hellwarth (3 episodes, 2007)
Michael Schönborn	...	Gerichtsmediziner (3 episodes, 2007)
Karl Fischer	...	Woreck (2 episodes, 2007)
Erni Mangold	...	Gertrud Orlak (2 episodes, 2007)
Cornelius Obonya	...	Mark Stankowski (2 episodes, 2007)

(more)

Series Directed by
Andreas Prochaska		(4 episodes, 2007)

Series Writing credits
Eva Spreitzhofer		(4 episodes, 2007)

Series Produced by
Klaus Lintschinger	....	executive producer: ORF (4 episodes, 2007)
Kerstin Wiedé	....	executive producer: SAT1 (4 episodes, 2007)

Series Original Music by
Stefan Bernheimer		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
David Slama		(4 episodes, 2007)

Series Film Editing by
Karin Hartusch		(4 episodes, 2007)

Series Production Management
Christian Wolf	....	production manager (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Kathrin Hertzberg	....	boom operator (unknown episodes, 2007)
Thomas Szabolcs	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes, 2007)
Max Vornehm	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes, 2007)
Wolfgang Wanderer	....	boom operator (unknown episodes, 2007)

Series Visual Effects by
Stefan Bredereck	....	title artist (unknown episodes)
Mirko Schmidt	....	title animation (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Petro Domenigg	....	still photographer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF)[at]
• MR TV-Film Produktions
• MR-Film Gruppe
• Sat.1

Distributors

• Sat.1 (2007) (Germany) (TV)
• Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) (2007) (Austria) (TV)

Country:

Germany | Austria

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Carinthia, Austria

Company:

Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF)[at]

Movie Connections:

Version of Zodiac (2007/I)

Lost in Space

The synopsis for this mini serial sounded quite promising – good actors, suspense mystery story, beautiful locations – and a budget to produce something to attract even an international market. After "Se7en" serial killers with a religious or esoteric system are still en vogue. And at first it looked well done. Fancy camera work and fast editing is used to hide plot holes. Alas, when you see the whole show you see a lot of flaws.

The two main characters, Esther, the illegitimate daughter and Keller, the special investigator, are less well developed and believable then most of the others. We see a lot of them but neither is very convincing. Keller is too much of a super hero, always there to rescue Esther; and Esther is much too naive for being a lawyer.

The family members are the usual lot: greedy, secretive, stupid, overlooked, addicted, innocent, cold hearted, clever, stubborn and good looking. Inside such a combination you can push everyone forward for a time to be considered to be the killer or the next victim.

The whole police investigation is a foggy affair. Although this seems to be a big case with prominent people involved, the only investigators visible are Keller and his underling Spannemann. They apparently have no boss, they report only to a state prosecutor. Every now and then there is a raid of someones apartment and lots of heavily armed policemen are seen, but they are faceless. Kellers sidekick is not much help to the case but is always willing to suspect something of his boss. Together they get a big guy in the red light district to give away information of a hoist. They threaten him with 48 hours in prison! Gee, how terrible! Who comes up with such unbelievable nonsense?

What also annoyed me was the unclear geography. Beside Vienna, you never know where you are. When in Vienna you even hear of specific streets, that do exist, but every other location is a mystery. There is this beautiful family mansion in Carinthia, but where? It is at a lake but which? When Esther takes a rest at the sea, where is she? Austria has no sea. Is she in Italy, Slovenia or Croatia? No town in Austria is mentioned in the whole serial. Then there is this strange thing about distances. Between Vienna and Carinthia you drive at least three hours by car, mostly on a highway. Although there is a lot of traffic to and fro, you never see a highway but beautiful side roads. And the way it is edited, it looks as if Carinthia is a few minutes ride from Vienna. And this space-less and timeless feeling characterizes the whole show.