To Catch a Killer 

"To Catch a Killer" tells the true gruesome story of John Wayne Gacy - a good friend and helpful neighbour, a great child entertainer, a respectful businessman, and a violent serial killer ... See full summary »

Stars:

Brian Dennehy, Michael Riley, Margot Kidder

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Brian Dennehy	...	John Wayne Gacy 2 episodes, 1992
Michael Riley	...	Joe Kozenczak 2 episodes, 1992
Margot Kidder	...	Rachel Grayson 2 episodes, 1992
Meg Foster	...	Attorney Carlson 2 episodes, 1992
Martin Julien	...	Koslo 2 episodes, 1992
Scott Hylands	...	Paxton 2 episodes, 1992
David Eisner	...	Williams 2 episodes, 1992
John Boylan	...	Atkins 2 episodes, 1992
Tony De Santis	...	DeMarco 2 episodes, 1992
Mark Humphrey	...	King 2 episodes, 1992
Gary Reineke	...	Petrie 2 episodes, 1992
Tim Progosh	...	Morris 2 episodes, 1992
Danny Pawlick	...	Santori 2 episodes, 1992
Bruce Ramsay	...	Bragg 2 episodes, 1992
Brenda Bazinet	...	Alice Pearson 2 episodes, 1992

Storyline

"To Catch a Killer" tells the true gruesome story of John Wayne Gacy - a good friend and helpful neighbour, a great child entertainer, a respectful businessman, and a violent serial killer who raped and murdered over 30 young boys.

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Plot Keywords:

serial murderer | serial killer | psycho killer | psycho | cruelty | 

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Brian Dennehy, John Wayne Gacy wrote him a letter in protest of the film and to proclaim his innocence.

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Goofs

One of Gacy's potential victims is shown wearing a Michael Jordan t-shirt. Jordan would have been a junior in high school at the time of the murders.

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Quotes

John Wayne Gacy: [as Paxton sits at his table] Wait a minute, who the hell are you?
Paxton: [gestures to DeMarco and King] I'm their boss. I bring you regards, from John Miklovich... said he worked for you.
John Wayne Gacy: I don't remember anybody with a name like that, do you?
[Koslo shakes his head]
Paxton: That's funny, he described you perfectly: loud, big belly. Waiter! What are you drinking, John?
John Wayne Gacy: [snatches pad and pencil from waiter] Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Give me that thing. I want your name and shield number right here,...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Alternate 95 min. (USA runtime) TV movie version is more commonly available.

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Connections

Version of Gacy (2003)

User Reviews

Excellent

Excellent suspense for about 3 hours starting from minute 1. Seldom have I seen a movie that hooked me so much as this one, even after watching it over and over again. Brian Dennehy has shown the best performance in his lifetime. You just sense the evil inside and his performance as an actor should have had a lot more attention, because it's one of the best acting performances I've ever seen.

I mean, I love Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy and I think they're one of the best actors the world has seen, but sometimes a second ranked actor shows a performance that equals top actors like Spencer and Tom; Brian Dennehy is one of them in this movie.

All the actors play very convincing and the movie has dozens of moments that I will never forget. 3 hours of suspense without a drop of blood and compelling from start to end; I find that a major achievement. Not one single moment the movie is slow or boring. What I also really like about the movie is its pace; it's going faster and faster towards the end and this has partly to with the actual story and it makes you so eager to look forward to how it ends.

The movie doesn't have any famous actors, director, story writers and never got any major attention, but it sure is a classic in my opinion.

There are only 3-5 movies (and I'm an older person who's addicted to movies since the day he was born) that really stand out in the history of film-making and this is one of them and the only one in my top 50 list without the famous cast, director or all the major publicity.

A must see!

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

To Catch a Killer

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Creative Entertainment Group, Libra Pictures, Telestories Entertainment Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

178 min (video) 182 min (video) 180 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1