Zodiac killer follows Jerry (Hal Reed), a mailman who seems to be a nice guy when in public, however when he is in his basement worshiping Satan we see a different side to him. Grover (Bob Jones) is a playboy wannabe truck driver who is divorce. His controlling ex- wife does not allow him to see their daughter. This angers Grover who pulls a gun oh his wife and takes his daughter hostage. This leads to Grover being shot to death by the police. After that we pretty much just follow Jerry (aka The Zodiac) around as he kills multiple people with weapons such as car hoods, a spare tire, a pistol and others. It's pretty cool, although sometimes laughable. The story behind this film is quite intriguing. Director Tom Hansen made the film in an attempt to catch the real Zodiac Killer by having the audience fill out cards with the question "why do you think the Zodiac kills?" Allegedly Hansen ran into the real killer in the theater bathroom. Don't go into this expecting Taxi Driver or Henry: portrait of a serial killer. If you choose to view it, I advise you watch it for what it is a corny exploration classic which has one thing going for it. It could be Me or You or our neighbors. Are you Zodiac???

Directed by Tom Hanson, who had previously owned a chain of Pizza Man restaurants, THE ZODIAC KILLER was made to capture the real- life Zodiac Killer. That plan didn't work. Instead, we got the most outrageous and compelling "tabloid horror" vortex in the history of planet Earth. And beyond. During theatrical screenings, Hanson constructed in- theater "traps" to lure the killer from hiding. These included the use of an ice cream freezer filled with rent-a-cops and a raffle with a motorcycle as a prize. You won't get insight like this by watching a David Fincher movie. But you will get it while watching THE ZODIAC KILLER.Read the fascinating true story behind the film here: http://zodiactruecrime.ew.com

While some viewers who sit down to watch this movie may think that they are going to see a recreation of the real Zodiac Killer rampage that happened not long before the movie was made, that is not the case. There is very little material in the movie that also happened in the true case. But that's not the real problem with the movie. The main problem is that there is very little to interest viewers. The movie is so low budget and was obviously hastily filmed that the feel of the movie is the same as if a bunch of high school students decided to make a movie over a few weekends. The narrative is also inept - there are a lot of scenes that seem to have no point except maybe to pad out the running time, and the movie seems to end where it does with a feeling that the filmmakers either ran out of money or felt they had enough footage to make a feature-length movie. If you are looking for unintended laughs, well, there are a few moments of dopey dialogue and ridiculous actions by the characters. However, the movie is really missing enough spark and hilarity to be unintentionally amusing. The only real interest the movie has at the end is to make viewers wonder what the real Zodiac Killer might have thought of this movie had he seen it.

A deranged serial killer terrorizes San Francisco and writes letters to local newspapers about his evil exploits. Tom Hanson's basic direction, the gritty urban locations, the seamy tone, several startling moments of ugly and brutal violence (the sequence with an amorous young couple being attacked and murdered by a lake packs a truly jolting punch), a mean-spirited misogynistic streak, the rough cinematography by Robert Birchall and Wilson S. Hong, the hit-or-miss acting, the psycho's freaky ranting monologues, the grim fact that the story is based on scary real-life events, and a chilling open ending all give this movie a certain super seedy quality that paradoxically enough makes it that much more creepy and unnerving rather than less so. Hal Reed really sinks his teeth into his juicy role as meek, yet unhinged mailman Jerry. Doodles Weaver has a funny bit part as dirty old man neighbor Doc. Worth a watch for true crime aficionados.