Awakening the Zodiac (2017)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Best movie of this year hands down!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I have a Master's degree in Forensic Science, so true crime interests me. I've read Robert Graysmith's books on the Zodiac killer, and I believe he was right on with who he thought the Zodiac was (DNA test did not match the stamps on the letters to the Chronicle, but there could be a number of reasons for that).Actually I had no idea what kind of movie (documentary or fiction) when I added it on hold from the library. They don't give you an online synopsis of the film at the library. I was hoping for documentary, but instead I watched bad acting and an implausibly scripted movie. The only thing they included that was correct, was that the Zodiac killer was in San Francisco and murdered Paul Stine, the cab driver, there. Nothing else in this movie was remotely plausible or interesting.

Over 40 years since the infamous Zodiac killer terrorised inhabitants of San Francisco and surrounds, three people stumble across homemade films of some of his murders. They then set out to track him down. Despite some solid perfomances from both Shane West and Leslie Bibb 'Awaking the Zodiac' is a waste of both time and talent. It starts kinda promising with a Zodiac murder that was indeed sinister and the 2 leading actors do try but both the script and the story lead nowhere and it feels more like a film from an amateur director rather than a good one. Check out Fincher's 'Zodiac' movie instead... (3/10)

Over 40 years since the infamous Zodiac killer terrorised inhabitants of San Francisco and surrounds, three people make an amazing discovery. They stumble across homemade films made by the Zodiac Killer, films of some of his murders. In an attempt to claim a large reward, rather than alert the police, they try to track down the killer themselves. This puts them in danger.Pretty lame B-grade (at best) thriller. When I read the film summary I figured the movie was set in the 1960s, when the Zodiac Killer was at the peak of his infamy, making the danger more tangible. Having seen the excellent David Fincher-directed 2007 movie, Zodiac, I thought this may be something along those lines.When I discovered it was actually set in 2017, my heart sank. Even if the killer is still alive, he's in their late-60s, at least, so what kind of thriller is this going to be? A dull, implausible, contrived one, I thought, and I was right.Unoriginal, filled with every thriller/horror cliché, implausible, predictable, unengaging and quite dull. The Zodiac element was just a ploy to suck viewers in. Avoid.

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.