The Zodiac (film)

Infobox Film
name = The Zodiac


caption = Promotional movie poster
director = Alexander Bulkley
producer = Corey Campodonico
writer = Kelley Bulkley
Alexander Bulkley
narrator =
starring = Justin Chambers
Rory Culkin
Philip Baker Hall
Brad Henke
Marty Lindsey
Rex Linn
William Mapother
Robin Tunney
music = Michael Suby
cinematography = Denis Maloney
editing = Greg Tillman
distributor = ThinkFilm
released = March 17, 2006 (Limited)
runtime = 158 min
country = USA
language = English
budget = Low-budget [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1175629,00.html Low Budget - unknown amount] ]
gross = $86,872 (Worldwide to Date - August 12, 2007) [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=zodiac.htm Box Office: Facts and Figures] ]
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://thezodiacfilm.com
amg_id = 1:342060
imdb_id = 0371739

"The Zodiac" is a 2006 mystery/psychological thriller, Horror film based on the true events associated with the Zodiac: a serial killer who was active in and around northern California in the 1960s and who has never been captured. "The Zodiac" was directed by Alexander Bulkley and written by him and his brother, Kelley Bulkley.

The film was released on March 17, 2006 into just 10 theaters on limited release (with an R-rating by the MPAA) [ [http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/37/3937/summary.php R-Rated] ] and later released on DVD in North America on August 29, 2006. [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJGR7G US Release Date] ] The DVD hit the UK market on September 18. [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000FOPOBQ UK Release Date] ]

Plot

When two teenagers are gunned down on Lake Helena Road [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371739/trivia IMDB Trivia] ] on December 20th 1968, the small town is thrown into a state of terror. Assigned to the case is Police Detective Matt Parish (Justin Chambers) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371739/fullcredits#cast IMDB Cast and Crew] ] of the Vallejo Police Department. With very few leads, the case goes unsolved and the emotional attachment to the case causes heartache for the Parish's family; wife Laura (Robin Tunney) and twelve year old son (Rory Culkin). The unresolved case takes strain on his loving family, and his failure doesn't go unnoticed.

Six months later on July 4th, - as Det. Parish begins to lose hope - the killer strikes again. This time he's gunned down a couple in a deserted parking lot. He's just inches away from them as he pulls the trigger, but he never reveals his true identity. Just an hour after the shooting, the Vallejo Police Department receive an anonymous call; confessing to the murders that have just taken place the previous hour. Just days after the second murder a letter is sent to Bay Area newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner, threatening that 12 more people will die unless they print the encoded letter they've just received. The killer reveals that if they can decipher the note, his true identity will be revealed.It soon becomes an obsession for Det. Parish to solve the mysterious case. He spends all his time with the coded sheet, sketches composed of the killer and various psychological reports, proving to be more strain on his family. This new obsession begins with the ever increasing media publicity and his family are pushed to the edge. When Matt Parish receives more anonymous calls, and ciphered letters (some suggesting the threatening chance that his next victim could be one of Parish's family) he believes he's done it - he thinks he's got his suspect. Disobeying orders by Chief Frank Perkins (Philip Baker Hall) he goes in search for the killer. When he storms into the 'suspects' house, his allegations are shattered when the man he thought was connected has no relation to the murders.

The Police later hear of more killings, but the case doesn't get anywhere close to being resolved. On April 24th 1978, ten years after the first reported killing, the San Francisco Chronicle receive another letter asking the viewer;

The film ends with the statement that he has never been captured.

Cast and characters

* Justin Chambers - Det. Matt Parish
"Matt Parish is the main character of the story, and his emotions play a large role in the development of the story and his character. He's well respected, confident, and has a good mind when it comes to 'catching the criminal'. He tends to do things how he wants, and doesn't take much notice of his Chief."
* Robin Tunney - Laura Parish
"Laura Parish (wife to Matt Parish) is seen throughout the film comforting her husband. It is in these situations that we see the affects of the case on the family, and Matt's true emotions are revealed. She makes every attempt to stop her son reading into the case."
* Rory Culkin - Johnny Parish
"Johnny Parish (son of Matt and Laura Parish) has a marginally small role to play in the film, but he's very interested in the case, and at many times, hassles his dad for an insight into how the case is progressing."
* Philip Baker Hall - Chief Frank Perkins
"Frank Perkins is the Police Department's chief and is the head of the operations, at times he tries to stop Matt doing certain things, but evidently, Matt does what he wants."
* Brian Bloom - Zodiac Killer "(voice)"
"We hear his voice many times throughout the film in phone calls and letters."
* Brad Henke - Bill Gregory
* Marty Lindsey - Zodiac Killer
"The Zodiac Killer is a very mysterious character. Throughout the whole movie, the viewer will never catch a glimpse of his face, but his sense and presences is always there. He kills just over four people in the film, and threatens to kill a further twelve."
* Rex Linn - Jim Martinez
* William Mapother - Dale Coverling
"Dale Coverling is the news reporter who is seen throughout the film with Matt Parish when he makes statements on the cases progress. (He can be seen in the above picture: "The media publicity grows...receive the ciphered letter.")"

Production

Research

The two Bulkley brothers, and producer Corey Campodonico all grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. When they wanted to make their debut onto the filmmakers scene, and all figured it was a great story to adapt due to their history and knowledge of the location. [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10003284-the_zodiac/about.php Bulkley brothers and Campodonico grew up in Bay Area] ]

In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes Alexander Bulkley said: cquote|"I lived in the Bay Area where he was somewhat of a local legend. Every town has a 'boogie man' and he was ours. The stories of the murders kept us kids awake at night."

With their idea in mind, Alexander and Kelly set about researching reports and documents related to the Zodiac story. They managed to find their main source of information from newspapers and media articles from around the time to fuel the project. They finally decided upon telling the story of the Detective involved on the case, and how it affected himself and family. They felt that it would be more emotional to the viewers, helping with their interaction in the story, than following the psychological path of the Killer. [http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=1792 Story decision] ]

They chose very distinct routes in the film, avoiding areas like the impact of the killings on the family. They say it was due to the killer's interest in the murders he committed, because he was never really interested in who his victims were.

The filmmakers main challenge was to keep the originality of the film, and to keep it authentic to the story. When questioned about this by Emanuel Levy (an online movie review site) they responded with: cquote|"For many people making films based on true stories, it is always tempting to veer off into the fictional world to satisfy story elements. It was very challenging to maintain the integrity of the true story. We had a certain amount of events that we knew had occurred to create the composite characters for the law enforcement officers. In the end I think we were able to achieve our goal and a lot of true crime fanatics will really appreciate the film."

Once the screenplay was written by the Bulkley brothers, and Corey Campodonico, they gathered investors to finance the project and made it ShadowMachine Films first ever film production, which the three of them founded.

Filming

The filming began and lasted just 23 days. The Zodiac was filmed on location in Vallejo, San Francisco, where a large majority of the murders were committed. The film was finally released on March 17, 2006 in just 10 movie cinemas.

Problems

With the low-budget they had, the film crew found it increasingly hard to make what they had written. Set in the 60's caused a great deal of problems due to fancy cars and street settings. The problem was ultimately solved by their production designer and costume designer who helped to recreate the sets.

Soundtrack

The film contained various different musical compositions that accompanied different scenes from the movie. Some of the music had already been used in films such as; .

The soundtrack contains some of the following pieces by Andy Williams, The Chambers Brothers, William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan:

Critical Reaction

The film was widely panned by critics. The Rotten Tomatoes website, which compiles mostly North American reviews, showed that just seven out of 28 reviews were positive, with the average critic's grade being four out of ten. [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/10003284-the_zodiac/ The Zodiac] at [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com Rotten Tomatoes] ]

The website classed the film as just 25% fresh, with users giving it a fresher rating of 48%. [ [http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/10003284-the_zodiac/reviews_users.php User Reviews at RT] ]

References

External links

*
* [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809265002/info The Zodiac] at Yahoo! Movies