Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)

People are voting emotionally.

Great Film overall

Excellent but underrated film

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The life story of Jason Moss is at least as intriguing – and slightly disturbing - as that of the people he dedicated his life researching… Imagining the depressing and harsh subject matter he dealt with continuously, I can more or less comprehend why he committed suicide at the age of 31, even though there isn't any actual indication that his work directly or indirectly led him to end his own life. Well before reaching the age of 20, Moss corresponded with several notorious serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Henry Lee Lucas and John Wayne Gacy. It was the latter with whom he corresponded the most intimately and published a book about his experiences, entitled "The Last Victim". "Dear Mr. Gacy" is the – reputedly very faithful – adaptation of this book and atmospherically unfolds how the ambitious 18-year-old Moss seeks contact with Gacy, only a couple of months prior to his execution, in order to deliver an accurate school thesis on the subject of "inside a serial killer's mind". Gacy was a homosexual and pedophile, convicted for the murder of 33 adolescent males, and thus Jason Moss' profile immediately raised his interest. They began to communicate through letters, later telephone calls and the two even met face to face shortly before John Wayne Gacy got executed through lethal injection. The film contains a handful of strong moments and a truly powerful performance by William Forsythe as Gacy, but overall seen, this isn't a hidden gem or even highly memorable thriller. Perhaps this is because you unintentionally compare it to the vastly superior "Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven", due to the element of interaction with a serial killer, but mainly it's because the screenplay is so ordinary and doesn't contain anything surprising or even remotely unusual. The bond between Moss and Gacy develops so damn predictable! Of course you know that the young criminology student gets way more than he bargained for when trying to provoke one of the most diabolical individuals of the planet. Of course you can predict that someone like Gacy, in spite of being behind bars and knowing his execution nears, can still easily manipulate and terrorize his newly found pen pal. And of course you can guess that Gacy's influence over Jason Moss becomes so strong and dangerous that his own private life narrowly gets ruined. Some of the sub plots are rather irrelevant, like Moss seeking contact with a victim that survived his encounter with Gacy several years ago, supposedly to ask for "advise" on how to confront him?!? Is it me or is this just totally inappropriate? Svetozar Ristovski's direction skills can only be referred to as neutral and the only true standout of this film is – naturally – Forsythe's stellar performance as John Wayne Gacy. William Forsythe is one of those rare character actors who has the ability to petrify you simply through his charisma and voice. Also given his resemblance to the real Gacy, especially at later age, I couldn't have imagined anyone else suitable for the role.

This is a stupid, stupid, stupid, movie. The horrible story of the murders of at least 33 young boys at the hands of the monster John Wayne Gacy deserves better treatment than this. In a nutshell, you have the one of the most notorious serial killers on record, Gacy, juxtaposed against inappropriate, "teen" male, beefcake in the form of Jesse Moss, who is a stagy, unnatural actor. He's no worse than the rest of this movie, but he is the "star" so he is, justifiable or not, the face of this failure. I can not overstate the grotesque titillation being engaged in here. The protagonist, played by Moss, flexes shirtlessly through about half of this movie. There's even a quasi "Robert-Dinero-you-lookin'-at-me" scene where he flails and flexes ridiculously in front of the camera with a loaded gun. Why? What does his chest have to do with the true story of a disturbed teenager, Jason Moss, who had a fascination with serial killers and the details of their brutality? This is a true story. But this movie doesn't tell it. The true story is not that of a normal teen working on a college term paper about John Wayne Gacy, who is drawn into the killers dark web, but at the end calls checkmate and triumphs over the evil Gacy. That's what the filmmakers would have you believe. In fact, the REAL story is one of a disturbed college student who had an unhealthy obsession with the brutality of serial killers, Gacy in particular, and who's personal demons eventually drove him to suicide. So, when you understand THAT truth, and you see THIS movie, with it's inappropriate and graphic homo-erotic titillation, horrific rape, torture, and murder scenes, you just want to vomit. There were at least 33 Gacy victims who's last hours, God forbid, days, on this earth were an unimaginable hell. Out of respect for them, their suffering, the suffering of their families to this day, burn this garbage and apologize. So disgusting. I wanted to barf.

Just remember who I am. William Forsythe goes into a really dark place and accomplishes in his characterization of notorious psychopath John Wayne Gacy to make your skin crawl, in this rather unsettling depiction of a young college student doing his thesis on the inner working of the sick, perverted mind of the infamous serial killer.Jason Moss believed he could manipulate Gacy into giving up information, even a confession, in regards to the murder of those boys covered with Lyme and buried in his house's basement crawlspace. What happens instead is that Gacy begins to manipulate the kid, interested in private sexual conversations with Moss on topics of homosexuality, control and power. Moss tries to break free from the grip of Gacy (who has attained a small measure of power within the correctional facility holding him for future lethal injection execution, having befriended security officers on the inside, getting perks like art tools and other luxuries, somehow moving cash in and out and given permission to phone call Moss at his own leisure), finding it especially hard to do so, understanding that he had bitten off more than he could chew. Moss was just a cocksure kid with plenty of knowledge on criminal psychology and criminalistics, yet dealing with a real human monster, to chat it up and get personal with such a man, to stare into that abyss and eventually confront him face to face, he isn't prepared for that kind of experience (Gacy threatens him and his family, claiming to have connections on the outside). A particularly chilling scene has Gacy trying to convince Moss to molest his younger brother (Moss does attempt to get his brother to either talk or write to Gacy!), getting turned on by the sheer thought of the incestuous fantasy. We see the psychological toll on Jason, how his "involvement" with Gacy is ruining everyday life, his relationships with mother and girlfriend. Forsythe certainly provokes a response with his performance, it's so authentic and menacing, unnerving and unpleasant, and he works his spell over you with mostly his voice, demeanor, and presence, from inside his cell, cut off from the outside world, the camera often right in his face, a bit uncomfortably close which almost has you moving backward because of the repulsion for his personality and twisted state of mind. This is the kind of performance I imagine many viewers will not soon forget. Sweat-inducing meeting between the two(not sure how accurate this is but it is sure hair raising) with the guards outside allowing Gacy the privilege of confronting Moss without a glass partition often used to separate inmate from visitor. You kind of build up a dread because there's an expected physical confrontation, it is horrifyingly inevitable. During this meeting Forsythe is awfully intimidating..it's quite a performance. Young actor, Jesse Moss, does a fine job of relating to us the torment and turmoil his Jason Moss suffers—the devastating consequences of the real-life person he portrays is truly haunting because perhaps it shows just what kind of indelible mark Gacy had on the kid, knowing the true tragedy which accompanies the conclusion of the film.

"Dear Mr. Gacy" a film by Svetozar Ristovski based on a true story on the surface seems like a vapor of an ideal turned real. Jason Moss, a college student,t idealistically believes he can befriend notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy in order to write a term paper for his criminology class. The cliché "be careful what you wish for" immediately comes to mind. From story to execution this celluloid reflection of Moss's relationship with Gacy wildly succeeds in creating true ominous menace. William Forsythe is especially effective as John Wayne Gacy.Jason Moss, the real student, begins a written relationship with John Wayne Gacy in hopes he can get information that all levels of law enforcement haven't been able to extract. He does this by "baiting" Mr. Gacy with his youth and inexperience in sexual orientation. Surprisingly it works too well and in short order Moss is deep into situations in which he is clearly outmaneuvered. Instead of extracting himself he seems to lose his own identity being sucked into thinking he can manipulate a cunning murderer. The darkness permeates in short order and he finds himself in situations he clearly is not up to. Instead of retreating, however, he pushes forward. Is it something inside of Moss or is is simply society's overall attraction , albeit curiosity, with morbidity? This is a question that may never be answered in sum total as we learn a very unsettling fact just prior to end credits."Dear Mr. Gacy" is a harrowing journey for the viewer. A film in which you keep watching though you know it only will layer more layers of darkness. In this posture it is simple and brilliant. A "tour 'de force" of a last testament of a master serial killer and manipulator. In the end we learn that the title of Moss's best seller was anything but a marketing slant. A must see.