"20 Years. 48 Victims. No Remorse."

First were the crimes, then came the books. Inevitably, on January 3, comes the movie. Sure, it was just a matter of time, but there's also a matter of taste.

The notorious Green River Killer confessed to murdering 48 Seattle-area prostitutes between 1982 and his capture in 2001. As if the real-life terror he brought on the region wasn't enough, an ad for the film in a recent trade magazine pitches the direct-to-video release not as a drama, or even a thriller, but as a straight-up horror flick: "Go inside the mind of one of history's most demented serial killers with horror maestro Ulli Lommel as he tells the story in his own words." (Presumably "his own words" are the killer's, not Lommel's.) Unsurprisingly, the movie earned an R rating for "strong violence, grisly images, sexuality/nudity and language."

The studio's website has nothing about the film; Imdb.com reveals little: the cast is essentially unknown, and writer/director Lommel, best known for 1980's The Boogeyman, is also responsible for the upcoming, equally dubious BTK Killer.

While we're fairy appalled, we must admit we're also fairly curious. When -- if -- Seattlest dares viewing this potential travesty, expect an immediate, Grey's Anatomy-style dissection.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Steve in Arts & Events on October 31, 2005 11:06 AM

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Steve

I finally saw this film, and though my above article promised a review, this stinker’s worth little more than a few cautionary words. It looks like a student film, thickly padded to stretch its running length to 88 minutes. The script, acting and production values are all ninth-rate. There’s plenty of nudity provided by victimized women (intended more for titillation than shock), and the spliced-in bits of gore have nothing to do with the story. Along the way we see and hear Gary Ridgway’s actual 2003 confession tapes, as well as hear the suitably creepy actor playing him narrate his psychotic thoughts. None of it was shot on location, at least not here -- the “Green River” is just some shallow creek trickling through the woods. Ultimately this thing’s a waste of time -- it fails both as a horror film and as an even remotely accurate dramatization of the actual Green River Killer case. Fortunately, it’s not as offensive as we feared -- it’s just plain lame.