H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

John Borowski

Writer:

John Borowski (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Crime | History

Tagline:

The Castle. The Murders. The Monster.

Plot:

Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.

Plot Keywords:

1890s | Murder | Murderer | Serial Killer | Chicago Illinois

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tony Jay	...	Narrator (voice)
Harold Schechter	...	Himself, Author "Depraved"
Thomas Cronin	...	Himself, Criminal Profiler
Marian Caporusso	...	Herself, Programs Section Chief, Illinois State Police Forensic Science Center
Ed Bertagnoli	...	Chicago Police Officer
Cary Callison	...	Chicago Detective
Willy Laszlo	...	H.H. Holmes
Rachelle Villarreal	...	Alice Pitezel
Audrey Welling	...	Castle Victim
Beka	...	Carrie Pitezel (voice)
Tom Ciappa	...	(voice)
Sarah Mills	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
H.H. Holmes	...	Himself (archive footage)

Runtime:

USA:64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Waterfront Productions

A First Class Documentary!

Who says you have to spend so much money to make a good quality film, well you don't. John Borowski's documentary on the notorious Dr. H. H. Holmes born as Herman Mudgett is a perfect example. It's creepy and reminds you of the golden days of good thriller films where it didn't take much to scare the life out of you. The story of Dr. Holmes should not be forgotten. The reenactments are not that graphic or bloody. I like the fact that Tony Jay narrated the documentary. He was wonderful. John Borowski is an up and coming director from Chicago where the house of horrors and part of Dr. Holmes' crimes took place. Nobody could imagine the horror not even by reading Harold Schechter's book, Depraved, about his crimes. Schechter gives great commentary but I think he could have been used more regarding his knowledge of information. The forensics specialist came off kind of too detailed for the average person. The criminal profiler reminded me of Chris Parnell with blonde hair. He kind of had a good sense of humor despite the horror. I recommend watching the behind the scenes the making of the documentary. It's well documented and looks 100 percent professional.