The Zodiac Killer (1971)

The Zodiac Killer: Directed by Tom Hanson. With Hal Reed, Bob Jones, Ray Lynch, Tom Pittman. The San Francisco area is beset by a series of seemingly random murders without motive or pattern. The police are taunted by phone calls and letters. Could the maniac be the violent, truck driver, or the seemingly mild-mannered mailman, or even a cop?

“This low, low budget thriller attempts to seriously cast a light on the reality of serial killers in our society, purporting to be u0026quot;based on the factsu0026quot;. It soon came in the wake of the real life Zodiac murders that plagued San Francisco in the late 1960s. While obviously itu0026#39;s not nearly as polished or as well known as u0026quot;Dirty Harryu0026quot;, it is a genuinely interesting curio. This viewer actually thought that the acting wasnu0026#39;t that bad; in fact, itu0026#39;s better than one might ordinarily find in such B level fare.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt first, we follow the day to day activities of two guys: harried mailman Jerry (Hal Reed, u0026quot;The Doberman Gangu0026quot;) and volatile truck driver Grover (Bob Jones). Jerry comes across as a nice enough, polite enough man to others, while Bob likes to impress women by creating a false identity of a successful businessman. While the characters are somewhat entertaining to watch, theyu0026#39;re just not as intriguing as the murder spree that will soon begin in earnest. While the killer will be taunting the authorities and the media with calls and letters, two frustrated detectives, Sgt. Pittman (Ray Lynch) and Officer Heller (Tom Pittman) will try to work the case.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe raw, gritty approach is a plus, although u0026quot;The Zodiac Killeru0026quot; might not be trashy or exploitative enough for some viewer tastes. Location shooting is decent; thereu0026#39;s sufficient violence and a little bit of gore. At times screenwriters Ray Cantrell and Manny Cardoza and director Tom Hanson create some humour with the material. We see our ego-driven, confident maniac (whou0026#39;s identified sooner in the movie than one might expect) actually kill one woman with her own trunk hood, and another with her own spare tire.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile thereu0026#39;s nothing really special here, this makes for some mildly amusing entertainment for seekers of obscure curiosities.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSix out of 10.”