Gacy (2003) (V)

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:

Evil Clown | Video | Killer Clown | True Crime | 1970s

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

Color:

Color

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (video rating) | Iceland:16 | 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 first bodies were discovered from Gacy's property in the heart of winter, December 1978. In the movie, it is always a summer-like weather.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Everything Big In Texas

Worst movie since Plan 9

So, possibly not the worst, but damned near to it. Here's the thing; I'm a psychology major with a specialization in criminal psychology. I've been working in a prison with small-time serial murderers for the past 3 years north of Atlanta, Georgia for my internship and occupation. I've extensively studied all the famous ones, Fish, Sutcliffe, Gacy, Dahmer, Gein, etc. so that I could make headway on treatment and understanding in the prison I've been working in. For all of you out there interested in the subject, the best book on the subject for those not doing, well, graduate study or anything, is My Life Among the Serial Killers by Dr. Helen Morrison. Excellent book with a large section on Gacy, her studies with him, and even his trial and execution. Not even talking from a standpoint of how it incorrectly portrays Gacy the man, but plainly from the standpoint of movies, it's terrible. It's an absolute bore; the whole movie drags and chops its way through a largely fabricated story with terrible editing, directing, and acting. Much worse, Gacy is portrayed as if his murders are driven by revenge at points, unconscious drives at others (closer to, but still not getting to the most likely causes). There is one thing that the movie did decently, and still it was nothing more than hinting at the truth. Jeff Rignall, one of his few surviving victims, was depicted as that male prostitute. He suffered severely from Gacy's treatment, including permanent and nearly fatal liver damage from the chloroform, brain damage from the near-death suffocation, and several other major medical issues along with severe developmental and psychological issues. The other victim that survived and came forward, Robert Donnelly reported almost identical occurrences as far as abduction and torture. Even then, his life did not need extra, fictitious events to dramatize it. He was an interesting enough person even when the truth is told. Come to think of it, some of the most interesting things he did were during his imprisonment up until his sentence was carried out in March of '94. Either way, if you think this movie gave you any insight into the veiled monster that Gacy really was, you're deeply mistaken. The biggest thing this movie was lacking was recognition of his inability to view other people as separate sentient human beings. That is what makes a serial killer. This movie did not portray that in any reasonable way, and it did not bring to the public any sort of idea of what Gacy was.