Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders

Description

Based on a true story, prepare to relive the terrifying rampage of the Hillside Strangler as psychiatrist Samantha Stone (Brittany Daniel, White Chicks, Joe Dirt, Club Dread) interviews Kenneth Bianchi (Clifton Collins, Jr., Mindhunters, Tigerland, The Rules of Attraction) to try and decipher the motivations behind his frightening reign of fear.

Customer Reviews:

"P"is for PUTZ.......2006-10-09

Putz is a yiddish word that more or less means "jerk",which is exactly the word that springs to mind when I am confronted with the reviews that have been given for this film...You want realism read a book,or go watch one of those A&E biographies(talk about B-O-R-I-N-G !)about serial murder..When something is"based on"it usually means that the resulting work is more fiction than fact...And this film is quite candid about the fact that it is only"based on"the Hillside Strangler murders...So somebody wanted to make a serial muder movie that incorporates elements from reality but which also allows the imagination a wide berth...So what?"Ghandi"the award winning biographical film about the Indian statesman had a lot of fiction thrown in in order to make the film something other than an out and out snoozer,but who complained?..As for the acting,if these people had more money they would have hired better actors,but,believe me,the acting here is about on-par with your average made-for-teevee film,so it ain't all that bad(and what made-for-teevee film gives as much nudity and violence as this movie does?)As for the camera work,I can only refer anyone interested to the technique used by the late Sergio Leone,the man who gave us the Italien western genre...All of those long and utterly meaningless shots of the eyes,or the nosees(complete with flies buzzing around)or the mouths of gunfighters before a shoot-out,and this guy has been hailed as a genius..So the director in this film likes to get cute with his camera...So what again?He wouldn't be the first and he will not be the last either...Given that this film is essentially an exploration into the mind of a murdering creep with multiple personalities the technique used here seems spot on...
In sum then,this is a low budget movie about a serial killer..It has sex,drugs,murder,madness,average acting,and makes no bones about the fact that it ISN'T an accurate re-telling of the real events but is,instead,merely a story that has been "based on"the facts...That said,the film was about average..It won't put you to sleep,and that has got to be a plus considering some of the stuff that's out there competing for your attention.

A silly police drama.......2006-08-09

The story is so unrealistic that its off putting. A serial killer is loose. So the police call in a psychologist to examine the suspect. From the start, I thought something wrong as she is certainly not dressed like a professional person doing this sort of work. More like a sexy woman going to a party. In the process of trying to get close to the alleged killer, we find out she is quite a free spirit with plenty of sex and drugs with several people one who she does not know. With AIDS now days, you really think a doctor would know better. Towards the end, she hypnotized the alleged killer and finds out that he is lying. Unfortunately for me, I have been hypnotized several times and I did not find this scene particularly convincing. So I did not enjoy what was probably suppose to be the highlight.

The acting, I thought was okay. Nothing special.

Shampage: The "Not So True" Hillside Strangler Murders.......2006-06-06

*** SPOILER ALERT *** Based on a true story. LOL. The only basis of truth to this story is the murders happened in California and the murderer's name was Kenneth Bianchi. After that there is no truth. The police keep saying that if they don't have enough evidence to convict him they will have to let him go. When the California court system got a hold of this guy he was already indicted for murder up in Washington State. He was not going to be let go. He never was released nor did he show up at the psychiatrists' house. The shame of it is that this movie has so many untruths about the case that the younger generations of watchers who do not know the true story is going to go on thinking that this is what really happened. If you want to watch one man's fantasy about what might have happened, then go ahead and watch this movie. If you want the facts, stay as far away as you can from this one.

Very Good.......2006-04-24

A sexy ..and I do mean sexy doctor, Samantha is a psychologist assigned to the murder case of the so-called 'hillside strangler'. She comes upon Kenneth Bianca who is at first accused of these crimes but needs to be assessed in order to further tie him to the murders.

At first convinced of his innocence Samatha sets out to do more test on Ken.

Along with this assignment Samantha finds joy is drugs and sex ( she's gorgeous). As the murders come close to home she decides to up the stakes and hynotized Kenneth to see which of his multiple personalities -if any- could have committed these horrible crimes.

Dealing with a psychotic mind which masks high intelligence, she must pull out all the stops to get this killer at his own game.

This movie was surprisingly Good.

I recommend this.

Panning mania to the extreme but why???.......2006-04-09

What is up with this director desire to do overlapping and panning camera shots? I mean if you going to use it a few times, as pointless as it is...no problem but for every scene? C'mon now...aint we getting a little carried away here. I was dizzy after the first 5 minutes and still manage to watch the whole movie which is a feat that i challenge anyone here to take. You would most likely turn the movie off within 10 minutes and burst out profanities in the process.

The only reason i watch the whole thing not because i wanted to know about this sick killer's multiple personality defense interview but the person who was giving the interview, the ultra hot Brittany Daniel. We went gaga over her role as the devious temptress in Dawson's Creek but as a 70's chick doing the interview....OMG! It almost seems like she was enjoying the fantasy about this guy based on her expression and body movements. She was dress to kill with that 70's disco outfit. The movie scenes was accurate to the times which is a plus.

Still it was a badly directed movie with horried camera work and the dialog was bad too(accurate or not) that even the lovely Brittany cannnot save. Not recommended even if your a fan of the Hillside Strangler. And if you are...seek help!

Average customer rating:

Intelligently done - not for thrill seekers.
Some interesting segments but watch out for the music
informative

The Serial Killers
Starring: Ted Bundy , Ronald DeFeo Jr. , Henry Lee Lucas , Kenneth Allen McDuff , and Kenneth Bianchi
Manufacturer: Dark Sky Films
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0009OL8GM
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Description

The Serial Killers is a fascinating and shocking documentary of the most notorious murderers of our time. Infamous serial killers such as Kenneth Bianchi, Ted Bundy and Henry Lee Lucas give chilling first-hand accounts of their brutal crimes. The program also examines the sadistic exploits of lesser-known murderers whose crimes are just as terrifying and bizarre. Profiled in this 3 disc set are:Michael Bruce Ross (The Roadside Killer), Arthur Shawcross (The Monster of the Rivers), Catherine May Wood and Gwendolyn Graham (The Lethal Lovers), Douglas Clark (The Sunset Slayer), Harvey Louis Carginan (Harv the Hammer), Theodore Robert Bundy (The Ladykiller), William Heirens (The Lipstick Killer), Kenneth Allen McDuff (The Broomstick Killer), Kenneth Bianchi (The Hillside Strangler), Henry Lee Lucas (The Confession Killer), Ronald DeFeo, Jr. (The Amityville Horror), James A. Paul (The Executioner).

Customer Reviews:

Intelligently done - not for thrill seekers........2007-02-16

Obviously structured to be a television series, this is a series of twelve interviews with notorious serial killers.

This is not a slick, glamorized series. This would not be of interest for someone who wants graphic pictures of victims, or slow-motion details about the killings, the cases or a "how to." More than enough of this information comes out, but it is often relayed in a very matter-of-fact blasé tone of the killer himself - recounting it as if it were a trip to the corner store. In some respects this series does start out almost boring... but this is obviously orchestrated, to tailor it's own audience to the text, to eliminate the thrill seekers.

What this series is: a thoughtful series of interviews with the serial killers. The focus here is not on the gruesome, but on the minds of these (mostly) men, and how their minds work - or don't as the case may be. The cumulative effect is slow and powerful. The series as a whole becomes possibly the strongest intelligent argument for the death penalty that has even been created.

Others have noted that the music is odd, but again, by the end, the irregular rhythms and random notes echo the distorted viewpoint of the thought process of these people. Exceptionally well done - for someone seeking an in depth look at the psychology of these killers. It leave us seeing some deep similar facets: their inability to say "I killed"... but instead saying, "she got herself killed," how each of them who is able to be somewhat introspective flatly states that there is no solution for them but to be put to death, how pornography and popular culture tool sexual fantasies in this direction, and how everyday people around them were often complicit in really sickening ways.

The series is intentionally structured to become more psychologically complex toward the end, which makes it get more interesting as it progresses. (That does not lend itself to film-making, but more to a learning/clinical process, which again, seems to be the intent, and the accomplishment here.)

Deeply thought provoking.

Some interesting segments but watch out for the music.......2006-09-16

This DVD contains approximately 6.5 hours of interviews with various serial killers and one mass murderer (Ronald DeFeo Jr, who one night shot his entire family while they slept, "inspiring" the movie "The Amityville Horror"), and various law enforcement officers, lawyers, psychiatrists, etc who were involved in the cases.

Some of the serial killers are very well-known, such as Ted Bundy, Kenneth Bianchi ("The Hillside Strangler") and Henry Lee Lucas ("The Confession Killer"), whilst others are not so well-known. The segments I personally found most interesting were those on Ronald DeFeo Jr, Ted Bundy and Kenneth Bianchi. I had previously know little about Kenneth Bianchi, and I found the descriptions of some of his murders particularly disturbing, especially those relating to the two young girls he murdered.

As someone who has thought of myself as having good intuition in relation to people's characters, the aspect of this movie and others like it that I find most unnerving is that the majority of the killers interviewed appear quite "normal" and articulate, even gentle or docile in some cases (e.g. Arthur Shawcross, "The Monster of the Rivers"). Though admittedly, there are a few you would definitely not want to take home to meet your mother (e.g. Douglas Clark, "The Sunset Slayer")!

Unfortunately, there is one aspect of this DVD which lets it down considerably, and that is the music. It really is just not scary, is irritating and does not suit the subject (especially that funky slap bass sound)! Furthermore, it is repeated at the beginning and end of each segment. If the DVD could somehow be reproduced with different, more appropriate music (and not repeated at the beginning and end of each segment), it would be greatly improved. Watching this DVD reinforced to me how important the soundtrack is in the overall quality of a movie or documentary.

If you want to purchase a really good DVD about serial killers and psychopaths, I would strongly recommend "Serial Killers - Profiling the Criminal Mind" (also listed as "Serial Killers 2-Pack") which includes stories on John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer and Charles Manson, and includes interviews with Manson, Patricia Krenwinkle and Leslie Van Houten.

informative.......2006-06-04

This 3 DVD set is nicely put together. 6.5 hours of hard-hitting, brutal info into the how & why, etc.

It wouldn't be a bad idea if a few more horror writers and/or serial killer flick makers would get this DVD for the info alone, and maybe their films wouldn't suck so bad.

Am not pushing gore here, because gore and buckets of blood (alone) do not make for a great scare flick at all, but am talking about looking into these minds here, taking the time to see what serial killers are actually about, why they do the horrifying things that they do, etc.

The only negative is the irritating music that they keep repeating over and over and over and over... It's done after each segment. Oh man, what agony. Had to keep my finger on the volume button throughout basically. They could have also gone into each childhood a bit more (because, as you know, this is where it started, where the problem began; yes, you have the RARE bad seed now and then, but usually, very often, the serial killer's mother was a prostitute, or else there was abuse, all sorts of abuse--sometimes both).

Other than that, this package is definitely worth getting. I don't regret paying what I paid for it.

Average customer rating:

Grim, downbeat...you get the idea
botched
Uncomfortable, But True To Life
a mixed bag
Solid Acting...

Hillside Strangler (Unrated Edition)
Starring: C. Thomas Howell , Nicholas Turturro , Allison Lange , Marisol Padilla Sánchez , and Jennifer Tisdale
Director: Chuck Parello
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
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ASIN: B0002YLD46
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Description

Based on the true story of the Hillside Strangler who terrorized Los Angeles in 1978 and 1979. No one knew that the brutal serial sex killings were the work of not one man, but cousins! C. Thomas Howell and Nicholas Turturro star in this chilling, true story from the makers of Ed Gein and Ted Bundy. Available in a shocking, unrated version.

Customer Reviews:

Grim, downbeat...you get the idea.......2007-02-02

The sordid tale of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, the killing cousins who strangled their way to infamy in 1970s Los Angeles, finally made its way to the big screen (or at least straight to DVD) with director Chuck Parello's 2004 film "The Hillside Strangler". The movie absolutely oozes evil out of every pore, which is just as well considering its grimy subject matter. Bianchi and Buono would pose as cops or modeling agents to lure in girls, and then would kill them and dump their bodies around town during a four-month period in 1977 and 1978. Actually, the two engaged in lots of sordid activities. Bianchi was a chronic thief who posed as a psychologist when he moved out to California in the late 1970s. Buono was a car thief, sadist, and child abuser who ran a car upholstery business in L.A. When Bianchi hooked up with Buono, bad things were sure to follow. And they did. Ten murders, with two more attributed to Ken Bianchi in Washington after he left Los Angeles. Once the authorities apprehended them their trials drug on for years, well into the 1980s, largely because of the scheming machinations of Kenneth Bianchi. He was an accomplished liar as well as a heartless killer.

Parello's film covers most of Buono's and Bianchi's antics, starting with a look at Ken's unsuccessful career as a security guard in Rochester, New York. When his hopes of becoming a police officer end in frustration, Kenny (played by a gaunt C. Thomas Howell) heads to L.A. to stay with his loudmouthed cousin Angelo (Nick Turturro in the performance of his career). The two have an unusual relationship, to say the least. Angelo is an abusive, misogynistic cretin who quickly asserts emotional control over the weaker Bianchi. In no time at all the two set up a brothel in Buono's house, a plan that quickly sours when a rival threatens to kill them for stealing his women. This incident serves as the impetus for murder, as Buono and Bianchi seek revenge against the prostitutes that supposedly sold them out. Meanwhile, Ken Bianchi works hard to maintain a façade of respectability. He lives with a nice woman who bears him a child, but his dependence on his cousin and his various scams soon undermine the relationship. This woman eventually pulls up stakes and moves back to Washington. It is while he's pursuing her that Bianchi commits the two murders that bring about his arrest.

"The Hillside Strangler" is a deeply, DEEPLY disturbing look at two sociopathic personalities. It's a movie that will stay with you long after the credits roll, mostly because of the grimly effective performances from C. Thomas Howell and Nick Turturro. Both actors really nail down their parts, especially Turturro as the hateful Angelo Buono. He steals nearly every scene he appears in. His character spouts the most barbaric, anti-female language I've ever heard in a movie. He's so over the top that I cringed during many of his scenes. In fact, if you can watch the dinner scene between Turturro's Buono and his mother Jenny (Lin Shaye) without inwardly shriveling, you're a stronger man than I. C. Thomas Howell is just as effective and, without a doubt, just as creepy as Turturro's Buono. It's tough to watch Howell's Bianchi cackle as he turns out the light on one of his victim's in Washington at the end of the film, or hear him say with deep relish, "Let's get us another girl*!" at the restaurant without feeling deeply disturbed. On a lighter note, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the luscious Aimee Brooks in a small part as one of the most unfortunate victims in the entire ordeal (She can dance, too!).

Then there are the killings, which are graphic and shown without any sense of pity for the victim. I've noticed this a lot in many Hollywood offerings these days. The viewer really has to bring his or her own sense of morality to a movie like "The Hillside Strangler" because the filmmakers and scriptwriters refuse to make moral judgments about the perversities on display. We know that Buono and Bianchi are monsters, we know they preyed on numerous women and destroyed the lives of countless people in the process, but we don't really see any of that on the screen. There aren't scenes showing the families of the victims in a state of complete devastation because of the horrific crimes, nor do we find release through lengthy courtroom sequences. In this way, I would have to say that Chuck Parello's "The Hillside Strangler" is more an exploitation film than a serious examination of the Buono and Bianchi crime spree. It's a film that exists to show murder, mayhem, and unbridled criminality--period. If you think you will have a problem with that, if you must have a denouement that shows the punishment of absolute evil, you might want to give "The Hillside Strangler" a pass.

O.k., the extras. Tartan throws us a few bones here. We get a commentary track with director Parello, a few deleted/extended scenes that don't add much to the proceedings, trailers, and a lengthy interview with C. Thomas Howell that has to be seen to be believed. Howell comes off as a complete whack job, a total space cadet whose ramblings achieve epic proportions of Keanu Reeves-like vacuousness. I'm at a loss to tell you what he actually talked about in this interview. I will say that if this is what the actor is normally like, it's no wonder he went from making A-list material like "Red Dawn" and "The Hitcher" to low budget stuff like this and "Glass Trap". What a weirdo! Anyway, there you go. The performances are good, and Aimee Brooks is hot. If "The Hillside Strangler" sounds like your cup o' tea, insert the DVD and push play.

* "Girl" wasn't the word he used. I'm not allowed to use the actual term, apparently. Sorry.

botched.......2005-11-23

Another missed opportunity.

I won't go into any of the plot.
You have a pretty good idea what it's about: two cousins who go on a killing spree in late '70s L.A.

The bummer here is that this flick could have been another classic like the first Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, had they given more thought and time to developing some of the characters.
Maybe another thirty minutes would have solved it, because the screenplay itself, as it stands, is not bad at all--BUT if your main leads are cardboard, what is there for the audiance to respond to?

When will filmmakers realize that without character development you have nothing.
The kills in this flick are mindless and stupid, just as the killers themselves.
Take a look at Hitchcock's Psycho? What saves it? They took the time to develope the Norman Bates character. Plain and simple. Without it they would have had the facade of a spooky old house--and nothing more.

Why does William Lustig/Joe Spinell's Maniac work so well?
Great acting in a developed role.
Why does Taxi Driver work so well (with the exception of the tacked-on ending)? Travis Bickle, the Jody Foster character--and even the Harvey Keitel character--are all well defined, three-dimensional.
Usually a must--if you want a solid flick on your hands.

Uncomfortable, But True To Life.......2005-10-17

The acting in this film was amazing. I was really impressed with C.Thomas Howell. HOwever, I was so uncomfortable watching this movie because it is brutally realisitc. I guess that was the point, to how how cruel those two men (if you can call them men), were. Although it was good, I would have liked to see more of the actual trial and incarceration. The film focused directly on their acts the entire time, which is hard to watch.

a mixed bag.......2005-08-08

**1/2

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.

Solid Acting..........2005-03-17

Another great flick from those who brought us Ed Gein.

I just have to correct another review here. It was Kenneth Bianchi who applied to be a police officer and was repeatedly rejected...not Angleo Buono.

I have enjoyed every film about serial killers and mass murderers that this director has ever made. A must have for collectors of serious serial killer movies.

Average customer rating:

dont miss this one
Pull your head out wimps.
REPELLENT TRUE CRIME FILM...
W T F ?
This Movie IS SO Incredibly....

Hillside Strangler (R-Rated Edition)
Starring: Aimee Brooks , C. Thomas Howell , Lin Shaye , Nicholas Turturro , and Cletus Young
Director: Chuck Parello
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0002YLCU6
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Description

Customer Reviews:

dont miss this one.......2006-07-06

I rented this movie, and it's one of the interesting films of the genre. How can you give this movie a low rating? It has good acting, plot, and even some good lookin chicks. Take it from me, it's well worth the couple of bucks it's going for.

Pull your head out wimps........2006-06-28

I am so sick of the negative reviews about this film witch in my mind should be a cult classic. I love this movie for the fact that I felt so creeped out by these scum bags, my god the two main characters were born to play there rolls. I am with the other reviewer who thought this was a 4 star movie but bumped it up to 5 to help stave off the cry babies. I am so impressed with C Thomas Howell with his role that I would want to see his next film and he is usually the kiss of death.
Look I have seen 100's of horror and thrillers in my day and I swear this film feels real and gritty to me.
By this bad boy used for a stinking $1.50 and you will not be sorry.

REPELLENT TRUE CRIME FILM..........2005-05-23

This a a true crime film that shows the killing spree engaged in by two sociopathic cousins, Kenneth Bianchi (C. Thomas Howell) and Angelo Buono (Nick Turturro), who indulged in a killing spree of young women in Los Angeles during the nineteen seventies. All I can say is that both of these actors must have been hard up for money for them to have acted in this tawdry film.

This film sheds little light on what motivated these two cousins, Kenneth and Angelo, to behave as they did, though it does provide some tantalizing glimpses. Kenneth was adopted and certainly seemed to have had an odd, clinging relationship with his adopted mother. Angelo had a totally dysfunctional relationship with his mother, Kenneth's adopted mother's younger sister, whom Angelo may have even tried to kill at one time. Both these sisters seemed to have had behavioral issues.

Interestingly enough, Kenneth was a police wanna be who, thankfully, kept having his law enforcement job applications rejected by various agencies for one reason or another. He sometimes worked as a security guard. When his rejection by a law enforcement agency for a job proved to be too much for him, his mother sent him packing from Rochester, New York, to live with his cousin, Angelo, an auto mechanic in Los Angeles.

Kenneth would thankfully also be rejected by law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. While in Los Angeles, he masqueraded as a Columbia University trained psychotherapist. Yes, our sicko killer would actively counsel others, which would provide a surprise twist in the end. He would also manage to form a relationship with a nice woman who found his disgusting cousin, Angelo, repellent, as he made her feel uncomfortable as he made me feel.

Together, Angelo and Kenneth would form go on to establish a house of prostitution, getting prospective clients from a list of names that Kenneth bought from a prostitute. When that unsavory business venture is shut down by competing pimps who object to what they see as a poaching of their clients, Angelo decides to exact revenge by killing the prostitute who sold them the list of clients. This would the first of their many kills, and the beginning of the cousins' end.

Spouting scatological references at every turn, referring to women in pejorative terms and treating them with overt contempt, physically and verbally, at every opportunity, Angelo is totally primal, without redeeming value as a human being. Killing women as a past time was not a great leap for Angelo. For Kenneth, it would provide the opportunity to impersonate a police officer for the purpose of lulling his victims into a false sense of security, before going in for the kill.

Under Angelo's tutelage, the weak and whiny Kenneth would blossom into a lustful, eager killer. Angelo, who was already a full blown sociopath, needed no prompting. The police would go on to dub the handiwork of these two fiends as being that of "The Hillside Strangler", as the police did not realize that two individuals were involved, until after Kenneth, the weaker of the two, was apprehended.

I confess that I have seldom have seen a more repellent character in a film than that of Angelo. He is so disgusting that I was embarrassed for Nick Turturro and surprised that an actor of his reputation would undertake a role that had such little redeeming value. C. Thomas Howell, looking unusually cadaverous, fares a little better, as his character, while unsavory and pathetic, is not quite as disgusting of that of Turturro's.

This film pulls out all the stops in reaching for the lowest common denominator. With profanity, vulgarity, and nude, large breasted women getting killed at every turn, this unrated film does its best to totally disgust the viewer. In this it succeeds, verging on the pornographic, at times. The problem is that it does little else. The film provides too little insight or background to show how such horrible human beings came to be. In the end, the film results in being merely repellent, making the viewer feel unclean for having seen it.

W T F ?.......2005-04-11

I WAS going to give this FOUR stars, but I will now give it FIVE stars to offset these idiots. All I can say is I'm shocked at these reviews. Let me quote, someone says it had too much "Gratuitous sex and violence" another reviewer says "really horrific and in bad taste" yet admits to liking serial killer movies. I want to smack the dumb out of all of you. This is what serial killers are people! They hurt people, they torture people, they bring their victims into the darkest corner of their minds. If you did not like this movie, than you just do not like serial killer movies, because contrary to what the other reviewers say, THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT 85% ACCURATE to what really happened, as appose to all the other serial killer movies that reviewer "rhmoviemogal "russ" mentioned. For example, the Dahmer movie that he mentions being the best was the most inaccurate of them all. The movie told about how much Jeffrey loved one guy, and the whole movie was a love story. Jeff was nothing like that. He picked up new men every week and slaughtered them, he was not attached to them, he just wanted them for lust, not love. The movie also didn't capture dahmers violence, which was some of the worst in history. (not that the movie board would let that movie be released)
ANYWAY, back to this movie: I thought this movie was a 4 star movie, because it could have had more action, with that aside, the movie pays close attention to details that actually happened. Feel free to research these: For example, they really did receive a list with escort's names on it from a girl. That girl's list DID cause them to get a shake down, which led them to killing her. He DID give his wife/girlfriend a ring of one of the victims he killed. They DID pull over people with sirens and badges. Every victim in this movie was portrayed as the real victims they represented. The girl the gets nabbed and tries to run because she knows they are fake cops was real, in reality an elder neighbor witnesses this and was too scared to call the cops. They DID leave bodies out in the open and liked the media publicity. I could go on and on, just compare some of the most minor scenes in this movie to reality and you will see. Look up the case. Which leads me to the 15% that is inaccurate. These guys dressed up in full uniform when they where impersonating officers, in the movie, they were in street cloths. AND ARE YOU READY FOR THIS ALL YOU "TOO MUCH VIOLENCE" CRY BABIES? Most of the horrifying violence was left out!!!! (just like most of these movies) These guys burned the women with cigarettes, and did horrible things to them that I cannot even put in this review. Plus, the movie does not mention that MOST of their victims where underage and not all of them were street trash. One victim was a high school honor roll student. Most of their victims ranged from 12-18. The movie also doesn't not touch base on the court trial where one of the killers tries to convince the judge he has a split personality.
MY point is, stop looking for drama in a serial killer movies. As the name "serial killer" applies. They are killers. There is nothing glamorous about them. So go home to your moms and cry! You big baby! Stop trying to candy coat killers

This Movie IS SO Incredibly...........2004-12-12

Dull,
Stupid,
Boring,
But the casting was really bad. Direct to vid star C. Thomas Howell still can't act his way out of a paperbag. Nicolas Turturro (NYPD Blue) is equally unapealling as Angelo. Both are losers who take out their aggression on females. Not much character development. But not much fear or menace either. I know less about the infamous case than I did when I saw this movie. I enjoyed the bio-pics "Gacy," "ED Gein," and "Ted Bundy." This is not in that league. Skip this one folks and buy the three mentioned above, or the director's earlier work "Dahmer." Those movies capture the real menace and horror of their crimes. This movie is just criminal.

Average customer rating:

dont miss this one
Pull your head out wimps.
REPELLENT TRUE CRIME FILM...
W T F ?
This Movie IS SO Incredibly....

The Hillside Strangler
Starring: Aimee Brooks , C. Thomas Howell , Lin Shaye , Nicholas Turturro , and Cletus Young
Director: Chuck Parello
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000FZEQBY
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

dont miss this one.......2006-07-06

Pull your head out wimps........2006-06-28

REPELLENT TRUE CRIME FILM..........2005-05-23

W T F ?.......2005-04-11

This Movie IS SO Incredibly...........2004-12-12

Average customer rating:

Grim, downbeat...you get the idea
botched
Uncomfortable, But True To Life
a mixed bag
Solid Acting...

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000FZEQC8
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

Grim, downbeat...you get the idea.......2007-02-02

botched.......2005-11-23

Uncomfortable, But True To Life.......2005-10-17

a mixed bag.......2005-08-08

Solid Acting..........2005-03-17

DVD:

DVD

DVD