Search - The Hillside Strangler (UNRATED) on DVD

Did it's Job

Casey C. Corpier | 02/09/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

". I hate to say it but this film did it's job. I was first turned to it by Libby who told me that it was too much for her...So naturally It was my next rental from Blockbuster. I have to say this was one messed up flick. It was brutally honest and it didn't hold back on the real story of the Hillside Stranglers. The only facts that it changes were the names and identities of some of the victims and a few other small facts like the Lawyer that had a friend of his rough up the stranglers for holding two women a prisoners in a white slave racket that they were running.

This flick was even more disturbing in the fact of the ways that the victims were portrayed. There are some scenes that director Chuck Parello goes to the Alfred Hitchcock technique used in Frenzy where he showed the first couple of Victims in their brutal deaths and eventually wined down and gave the audience fleeting glimpses of the murder. I can see where some people are disgusted by this film and even in the audio commentary on the DVD the director himself talks about how he was shaking on the day they were filming some of the scenes. He even remarked that one of the locations was too close to one of the real sites where one of the abductions took place There is a scene with Natasha Melnick that is burned in my mind and I had to call on an old friend of mine named Hunter to deal with the film and the images that were not seen but you knew that they were there because you know that yes the actress that was in the scene finished the scene was wrapped then received a loud applause by the crew and went off to (in the case of Aimee Brooks in Monster man) Get killed in another flick. However you are also faced with the reality that the character that she was playing did not get up and go home. That is the part that haunts me the most about this film. The fact that you can't say to yourself that it's only a movie.

The unfortunate truth is that I felt that this film was very nicely done. the cast was outstanding in their performances including C Thomas Howell and Nick Turturro
as the killers. as well as great performances by the earlier mentioned Natasha Melnick, Brandin Rackley, Kent Masters King, and Allison Lang. and Bob Shay's wife Lynn was also in the film. Also the film was well shot and I liked the cinematography. the Truth is that these guys from Tartan pictures know how to make a movie. except of coarse for the SUVS that were not around in 1977

Now for my loyal followers I Don't feel like giving the Totals of this one. I found it in poor taste
"

Very disturbing with explicit strangling scenes. Don't know

Cestmoi | 09/20/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It's very disturbing with explicit strangling and choking scenes. It scared the wits out of me seeing these two men killing one woman after another. I don't know don't know how truthful this film is. According to documents, they killed at least 10 people before being arrested.

Nicholas Turturro is frightening as one of the killers. He looks and acts like a crazy person.

This film is more curiosity-provoking than interesting. I give it two and half a stars out of five."