The Zodiac Killer

A colleague at work told me he had ordered the directors cut of a movie I had never heard of: ZODIAC. We discussed it over lunch, and this evening I went to the DVD store, and watched it. I also paid-it-forward, recommendation wise, as there was a couple in the store who couldn't make up their mind what to watch. I suggested Gran Torino, and they took it out.

Now, ZODIAC. It bears some resemblance to Jack the Ripper, a case I also went through in some detail on this blog. It's similar because the killer names himself, approaches the newspapers with clues and other information. The killer also makes spelling errors and is particularly brutal. Unlike the Ripper, Zodiak preyed on couples. It's possible that both cases share something else - that the killers took credit for crimes they didn't commit. And, and this is much worse, despite the mendacity of the crimes, the Ripper was never identified, and the Zodiak was never caught.

That said, it was almost certainly this man: Arthur Leigh Allen.



For an interesting link showing the real cast versus the reel cast, go here.


I recently read about Charles Manson's murders as well, and one must ask: why did the cartoonist - Robert Graysmith - become so obsessed with this case? I find there is a tremendous amount of attention on this blog, finding out about Richard Kuklinski, who must be one of the most heinous serial killers ever. Why is the subject so popular?

In the 90's I wrote a manuscript titled FLY BY NIGHT. It had 4 principal characters. Kato, a down on his luck fellow pursued by a wealthy London socialite, Trillian. For Kato, money, he said, was a curse, and despite coming from a wealthy family, he lived a less than meaty existence, sticking closer to the bare bones of existence. Trillian, very wealthy, enjoyed Kato for his simple love of life, but berated him for his naivety. Even so, Trillian called her own beauty 'her curse'. And then there was Inspector Frakes, a jaded London detective, a bloodhound on the trail of a serial killer in London. One of his prime suspects - Kato. There is a fourth character whose name I forget [I've lost the story; I believe it's on a stiffy], but she was based entirely on a comic book character, Artemis. A powerful woman with a long red rope pony tail. In Fly By Night everyone becomes increasingly suspcious of Kato, and ultimately, Kato begins to suspect himself. But the Artemis character provides the foil; she not only fights back but vindicates Kato and releases him from his 'curse', and his relationship with Trillian.

The backdrop to FLY BY NIGHT, the canvas, is serial killings. It is a powerful subject because it covers a multitude of subjects. Social culpability [we all contribute to the society we create, and the individuals and monsters within it], depravity, manners and the moods all this imbues.

In ZODIAC Robert Graysmith played credibly by Jake Gyllenhaal is cartoonist who takes over the case when the police have given up. His suffers the temporary loss of his family. And for what? Why is he doing this. It's not his job, after all. He says, "If I don't care, who will?"

That to me is the essence of the serial killer story; or any serial killer story. Do you care? I'll tell you why - because you should. A serial killer is by definition strongly influenced by society. He is a vessel of rage and hate and bitter revenge. And to understand a serial killer is to understand ourselves, the struggles of the police, the lot of their victims, and what feelings the victims must have aroused in their killer/s.

It is also interesting to see how serial killers are pardoned and parolled, or their sentences commuted. Charles Manson's 'family' saw their death sentences commuted to life. It is an irony to see mercy given to people who showed no mercy in their crimes.

It is also interesting to note modern examples of brazen killing sprees who got away with it. OJ Simpson, and New Zealand's David Bain.
David Bain wants rifle, photo albums returned
I've said this before, and it probably comes across as psychobabble, but it isn't. How can a society that lies to itself, that profits and earns its daily bread from misleading and manipulating people/consumers/'the market' be capable of even starting to attempt real justice? The answer is we can't, because 'real' no longer exists. The the serial killers rage against this unreality, and the worst of them contact the media and authorities and say, "Do you see me, do you hear me, I'm real? Do you care enough to catch me?"

Somewhere in that criminal logic is the idea that the more crimes that are committed, the more people will care about the person. The killer remains anonymous, but flirts with this anonymity, because somewhere in all of this, the killer wants to be caught, and if not, certainly wants to be pursued. The only thing worse, is obscurity, to be ignored, to be lost in the chaos of an uncaring world. Every act from every serial killer is an opportunity for society to look at itself and answer the question: "Who cares?"

I highly recommend watching David Fincvher's 2007 movie, ZODIAC. it's not sensational, nor inaccurate, the acting is solid and the cinematography is sophisticated. A cleverly crafted flick: 8/10.