Gacy (2003) (V)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Clive Saunders

Writers:

David Birke (writer)
Clive Saunders (writer)

Release Date:

16 April 2008 (Italy)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Friend. Neighbor. Killer.

Plot:

Based on a true story of serial killer a model citizen, loving father and husband and serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a man with over 30 dead men and boys entombed in the crawl space underneath his house which he shared with his family.

Plot Keywords:

Crawl Space | Serial Killer | Victim | Democrat | Abusive Father

Cast

Mark Holton	...	John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Adam Baldwin	...	John Gacy, Sr.
Tom Waldman	...	Hal
Charlie Weber	...	Tom Kovacs
Allison Lange	...	Gretchen
Edith Jefferson	...	Mother Gacy
Joleen Lutz	...	Kara Gacy
Scott Allen Henry	...	Young John Gacy
Kenneth Swartz	...	Dave (as Kenneth Swartz)
Matt Farnsworth	...	Stu
Joseph Sikora	...	Roger (as Joe Sikora)
Jeremy Lelliott	...	Little Stevie
Oren Skoog	...	Jimmy
Joe Roncetti	...	Peter
Eddie Adams	...	Duane

Also Known As:

The Crawl Space

MPAA:

Rated R for strong grisly violence, language, some sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (video rating) | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Company:

DEJ Productions

Trivia:

The character of Tom Kovacs is a composite of two actual youngsters that lived with John Wayne Gacy during his murder spree.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The 828 area code on the telephone number displayed in the background during the "gas and dash" scene wasn't in use until 1998, when it was introduced in North Carolina. In 1978, all U.S. area codes had a middle digit of zero or one. Chicago's area code was 312 at the time the film was set, and including an area code in a local phone number would not have been necessary, as 10 digit dialing was still years away.

Movie Connections:

Version of To Catch a Killer (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Can't Keep Your Body Off My Mind

Nothing special

I rented this movie not expecting a lot, but was very interested to see how one of the most disturbing serial killers in American history was portrayed.

Often times movies about serial killers, especially made for TV movies fall short because they get caught up trying to get away with showing as much of the gruesome acts that their subjects committed, rather than delving into the environment that could've produced them, or the circumstances in which their acts were committed.

E! True Hollywood Stories do a better job of relaying the events than movies such as Summer of Sam, the slew of movies made about Charles Manson , the handful of Ted Bundy movies and the recent film Gacy. Gacy is not a bad movie. It is just kind of boring to be honest. There is absolutely no suspense, no true horror, a few kind of gruesome scenes and it doesn't leave the viewer with any answers as to what could have possibly created a monster like John Wayne Gacy, aside from the brief lack luster 2 minute scene with a young Gacy fishing with his father.

To make a film about John Wayne Gacy and have it not be interesting is like messing up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The part of Gacy is very well acted however by Richard Holton. He is perfect for the role, you may recall him from his role as Francis in Pee Wee's Big Adventure (a true classic.) Back to the point, if you are a serial killer aficionado this could be worth checking out, if you're a Killer Klowns from Outerspace fan don't bother Gavy dresses up like a clown once and its brief. This film would have better spent its time tackling the enigma that was this monster of a man and the double life he led for years instead of simply relaying events in a rather boring way. Not worth the 4 some odd dollar rental fee unless ur a big serial killer or Gacy buff.