Film fans certainly seem to be enjoying The Batman as its box office ride hasn’t yet seemed to come to a halt. It’s obvious though that some of it was clearly influenced by real life events. The easiest parallel to make would be to that of the Zodiac killer, and particularly to that of the movie Zodiac. The Zodiac serial killer is unlikely to be well known amongst this newer generation, but it’s very clear to see that Matt Reeves took some plays out of the film’s blueprint. Zodiac is the film of which the actual killer is based on.
The Zodiac serial killer is unlikely to be well known amongst this newer generation, but it’s very clear to see that Matt Reeves took some plays out of the film’s blueprint.
Long story short for those who may not know, the Zodiac killer was most prominent during the 1960s up to the early 80s. Though there is great speculation as to who the killer was, the mystery was never actually solved and the killer’s identity is still highly debated amongst criminal experts. Like the ‘Riddler’, the Zodiac was a killer who wrote letters and taunted the authorities who were after him. He made the entire investigation into a puzzle, a sick and twisted game of which he remained in complete control. Zodiac tells the story of the murderer and the story of those who worked tirelessly to bring him to justice.
Zodiac came out during the early 2000s, and was directed by David Fincher. This would make sense as Fincher did Seven the decade before, and he was able to bring the same chilling atmosphere to Zodiac yet in a much more realistic application. The cast was not lacking with having Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo occupying the most screen time. Though the actors play their parts well, the compelling nature of Zodiac is reliant upon Fincher’s ability to structure the world of the Zodiac’s investigation. So many people were involved in this case, be them detectives, average citizens, and especially journalists. Fincher is stellar in his approach, cutting multiple timelines together to show the progress of the Zodiac case. Given every opportunity to embellish or grossly over exaggerate the facts, Fincher sticks mostly to what is true and otherwise verifiable. His true strength is in how he was able to take the real events of the case and those were part of it, and show the obsessive nature of all involved and how their compulsivity drove the development of the investigation. Zodiac, was truly quite an ordeal.
The only negative aspect about a film like this, is its accuracy. There are terrible things that have happened throughout the history of crime in the states, and this one couldn’t have been easy to execute properly. As this actually happened, it had to have been difficult for those who were involved that were still alive when this movie came out. The lack of closure is probably hard to swallow, even when part of the film’s allure is the lack of answers that come with it. Zodiac is just a movie, but keep in mind, the case is still open.
