The Hillside Strangler

"Hillside Strangler" tries to given a realistic portray of two cousins who became one of the most notorious mass murder duo ever. First up, the actors were quite good - in C. Thomas Howells' case, it's hard to recognize him when keeping his teenage roles from the 80s in mind. But as far as acting goes, he obviously improved. Lots of good looking girls share the scenes, but when the viewer is shown were it all leads to (as if we didn't already suggest from the title), the more disturbing the story becomes. Not only do Kenneth and Angelo rape, torture and kill these girls on the screen - they did it in reality. What we see is, of course, an "alternate version" to the real world, but still one that sticks to the actual events quite closely. Even though many people may feel uneasy when watching both the explicit sexual scenes and the even more graphic murder moments, it seems that some gruesome details have even been left out. Other parts, such as a female writer who fell in love with Kenneth while he already in prison and who tried to commit another murder in order to install arguments for him being innocent, have been changed, though not entirely made up - that woman really existed (and seemingly, still does exist in some jail). In total, the movie gives a very realistic insight in the late 70s Californian suburban atmosphere and it's darker sides, with the Hillside Stranglers minds being the pinnacle of darkness.

Is there anything more inscrutable and unfathomable than the mind of a serial killer? Probably not, yet, year after year, undeterred filmmakers attempt to come to grips with this elusive subject matter, usually with unsatisfactory results.

Generally, serial killer stories are placed in the context of a police procedural, in which a crack homicide investigator searches for clues in the hopes of finding the culprit before he can claim his next victim. But, once in awhile, filmmakers will take a more serious approach to the topic, focusing more on the killer himself, his methods and his madness, as a means of trying to "open up" the psyche of such a person in the hopes of finding answers. "The Hillside Strangler" is in the second category.

The so-called "Hillside Strangler" actually turned out to be TWO serial killers who, working in tandem, terrorized Los Angeles in the early 1970's. Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were "cousins" who acted out their hatred of women by kidnapping, raping and slaughtering an assortment of innocent victims they picked out at random (they started with streetwalkers, then branched out to women in general). Bianchi was a loser "nobody" who found murdering helpless young women and terrorizing a whole city (albeit in anonymity) the only way in which he could achieve the status of a "somebody." Buono was a smalltime auto repairman who, through the murders, finally got the opportunity to act out his sadistic sexual fantasies on an epic scale. In fact, as portrayed in the movie, both men use the killings as the ultimate orgasm, confusing the destruction of the helpless with sexual fulfillment.

The problem with a movie like "The Hillside Strangler" is that, no matter how serious it is in its intention and approach, the film is bound to feel exploitative in its darkest moments. Although this is definitely no sensationalistic rabblerousing gore-fest like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," after we've watched a half dozen or so innocent terrified young girls being essentially tortured to death, we still wind up asking ourselves what the purpose of the movie really is. Director Chuck Parello adopts a cool, detached, documentary-style tone throughout, but it still isn't enough to smooth us past the emotionally disturbing rough patches.

That being said, there are a few quality elements in "The Hillside Strangler" provided one has a high tolerance for depictions of disturbing violence. The movie effectively shows just how easily two utterly amoral individuals can pass for rational and normal in the eyes of the outside world. Bianchi is particularly adept at leading a double life, going so far as pulling the wool over the eyes of his very own wife who has no clue about her husband's deadly nocturnal activities. C. Thomas Howell and Nicholas Turturro give complex, chilling performances as Bianchi and Buono, keeping us on the knife-edge of suspense through much of the movie. The film also does a good job capturing the look of the '70's, right on down to the polyester clothes, perms and ubiquitous moustaches that helped to define the era. The poorly lit, slightly grainy photography also gives the film the look of one of those low budget exploitation pictures of thirty years ago. (There is at least one inadvertent anachronism in the film: the skyline we see in some of the establishing shots is of Los Angeles today, not three decades ago).

The screenplay by Parello and Stephen Johnston pays little heed to the detection aspects of the story, so much so that we never find out what it is that made the police suspicious of Bianchi in the first place. We see him being apprehended but have no idea what the clues were that led to his capture. This is a frustration oversight on the part of the filmmakers.

"The Hillside Strangler" deserves credit for at least trying to bring a more controlled, less sensationalistic approach to a topic that often gets thrown onto the trash heap of two-bit police dramas and slasher horror films. But, for all its good intentions, the film doesn't wind up revealing much about the psychotic mindset that we didn't already know before. Thus, the rewards are not sufficient compensation for the unpleasantness of sitting through so much of the movie.

I suppose it's a bit trendy to do so, but Tartan films certainly does take advantage of the direct to DVD/late night cable market. The books recounting the ill deeds of Gein, Dahmer, Gacy and Buono/Bianchi are well documented. Cram as much shock into 90 minutes as possible and if you can effectively capture the pathos and motivation of these grandiose sickos all the better. I love a challenging film, one that leaves me a bit mentally drained without long-term ill effects.

I'd say this is one of the better ones, due mostly to the benefit of having two protagonists with anti-social manias to capture instead of one. And the casting of fairly well known actors doesn't hurt either, although the roles actually could have been reversed physically speaking. What I remember from the book's photos is that Bianchi was much more vital and really did look like a cop, not the skinny smarmy John Watersy used car salesman-y figure Howell presents. And Angelo Buono was tall and lean and the book described him as incredibly fastidious and anal, whereas Turturro is a bit too cliché Italian. Either way, the formula works and I think their chemistry is still effective.

This is definitely the hardest of this series of movies by the producers. The language, the real-time realism, the fear of the victims are all very palpable.

If you've seen the other serial killer movies by Tartan films, you'll get exactly what you expect from this film: actors you haven't seen in awhile steeped in extreme violence with not a whole lot of emphasis on the facts. There are some gruesome scenes here, though tamer than the actual crimes of the Hillside Stranglers. Pretty good performances all around, but not excellent. Some interesting camera work, better than you'd expect from a film with so low a budget.

I was concerned by the casting of Turturro and Howell, having had a fondness for the earlier portrayals by Dennis Farina and Billy Zane. Plus, C Thomas Howell just seemed too cute to play Ken Bianchi. But once I got a look at him, I was shocked by his gaunt, creepy appearance. I sincerely hope he looks better than that in real life.

To conclude, this is by no means the movie of the year, but if you liked Tartans Gein, Gacy or Bundy, give this one a watch.

This film turned out to be much more than I thought that it was going to be, most notably, it was extremely disturbing and at times I found myself not able to watch - particularly the rapes and deaths of the poor women. The Hillside Strangler(s) played their roles well, both utterly convincing and rather frightening. Allison Lange was fantastic as the long-suffering Claire. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone who is faint-hearted. It was a good film, but so disturbing. There was plenty of nudity, offensive language, drug use and violence splashed throughout the movie, but the treatment of the women was so shocking. For that reason, I cannot give this film a rating.