Awakening the Zodiac (2017) Reviews

• A solid premise but a very mediocre product.

  Fella_shibby2017-08-06

  Saw this recently on a DVD. Having background information about the Zodiac n having seen Fincher's excellent Zodiac multiple times, i decided to watch this. Obsession apart, honestly, the trailer was very enticing but the movie wasn't. This film is about a couple who gets hold of some snuff footage linking it to the Zodiac. They along with the help of a friend, decide to track down the true identity of the Zodiac and claim the long offered reward money that could change all their lives. The movie opens with a re-creation of one of the Zodiac's murder—an attack on a couple parked in a car on the side of a road in San Francisco a la David Fincher's Zodiac. This movie relied more on the silly investigation as opposed to the actual murders committed by the Zodiac Killer. Even the investigation was kinda meh. The connection between the snuff footage and the Zodiac killer is concluded very easily by the trio. The premise of the film was very good. The film reels are discovered in a small town in Virginia where the couple reside in a trailer. The Zodiac killings happened in San Francisco. How did those reels get there all the way from San Francisco? The Zodiac going into hibernation? The film also has some decent cinematography, likable characters n acting. But the suspense n tension was lacking leading it to a dull n meh kinda ending.

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• Trailer sleuths.

  js-661302017-06-09

  The real life, unsolved Bay Area Zodiac killer case gets a fictional exhumation four decades after the murderous spree, when a trio of junk collectors stumble upon canisters of incriminating film. This clever retro take on the YouTube crime clip phenomena presents our innocents with a chance at a $100,000 reward. And we're off. For the most part, this is a terrifyingly terrific movie, full of creepy, shadowy scenes, hair- raising tension and clever comedic quips. Our trio of trailer trash Sherlocks are very engaging as they stagger into a complicated and dangerous world, not so much for possible riches, but also for adventure. Taunting cryptogram clues, a sinister hood, and creepy voice messages; the Zodiac put the "K" in killer. Great stuff, but it is almost ruined with a messy, straight forward, by the numbers, uninspiring climax. Which in turn is then inexplicably thrown under the bus with an attempt at an open ended, confusing conclusion. It really does suffer from a proper wrap. "Awakening The Zodiac" needs a rewrite tweak focusing more on mystery than monster. Still a pretty good thrill ride.

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• Some style, no substance

  thebucketrider2017-09-14

  Quite a vacuous film about a trio of scavengers who chance upon footage of the Zodiac killer's crimes decades later and attempt to track him down to claim a reward. It manages to hold the viewer's interest for a while by generating the expectation that something will happen but very little does for most of the film and when the killer finally appears and interacts with the protagonists, this has little logical connection with what has gone on before. Usually, when mysteries introduce only one suspect, it's a cinch that that suspect is the killer, but this film bucks that trend: the killer is some random person who we know nothing about even after the film ends. There are any number of loose ends the narrative doesn't even attempt to tie.

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• Now this I like

  jtindahouse2017-06-15

  At one point while watching 'Awakening the Zodiac' I thought to myself, this is such a good idea, how has nobody done this before now? Then I realised that that is how unoriginal and unimaginative Hollywood has become. Any idea that is remotely fresh is utterly bizarre and unfounded to us. The fact that I had that thought about this movie indicates just how clever of an idea it is. Anyone can have a serial killer in their movie, but to base it around one that actually existed in real life and was never caught is downright smart. And it works. The hunt for this killer is genuinely intriguing and it all adds up to a very enjoyable film. The only faults I could see in the movie were the odd character decision being a little out of place, and a scene or two missing (assumably to cut down the run time). Other than that it's a very tightly put together little production. The acting is impressive, the story moves along nicely with decent pacing and the concept is more than interesting enough to keep the audience captivated. I was very impressed with 'Awakening the Zodiac'.

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• Rooting for the Zodiac Killer

  suzy-632017-06-16

  I went out of my way to go to a late night showing of this film. I've been fascinated with the mystery behind the Zodiac killer. There were inaccuracies on some of the facts about the real Zodiac killer, but I wasn't really expecting it to be 100% true to facts anyway. I knew it was fictionalized story and though it would be interesting. Now my review: Great combination of poor writing and acting. Save your money on this one folks. The film was so bad that half way through the movie I was rooting for the Zodiac to kill off the idiot lead actor and actress. Very disappointing.

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