[ad_1]
None of us talk about the inherent predatory nature of true crime documentaries. They pick over the bones of cold cases and unspeakable crimes, retraumatize survivors, dramatize crimes to the point of sensationalism, and directly profit, as a result, off of the success of the project. In the last decade, true crime has become a booming subgenre in entertainment, which feels, upon closer inspection, somewhat mercenary. As a person with an interest in true crime, I understand the fascination that comes with the genre. As a woman, there’s a morbid curiosity that comes with true crime stories and it isn’t difficult at all to put myself into the shoes of the victims and survivors — the majority typically young women. Sure, each story acts as a warning and a lesson, and it’s exciting to learn when a criminal is caught but the essence of what is so attractive about these stories is the cautionary tale.
It is not, as director Charlie Shackleton seems to view it, a story to feast over. In fact, Shackleton’s not-really documentary about the Zodiac Killer, Zodiac Killer Project, feels like it highlights the exact type of cold-bloodedness that is polluting the genre. Unable to make his ideal documentary about the Zodiac Killer due to a rights issue, Shackleton breaks down the movie he might have made in painful detail that reveals a shocking lack of self-awareness, systematically dismantling the genre without an ounce of introspection.
The ‘Zodiac Killer Project’ Is About a Failed Documentary
The idea behind Zodiac Killer Project is this: a director tries to make a documentary about the infamous serial killer based on the book The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up: The Silenced Badge written by Lyndon E. Lafferty, a retired law enforcement officer who was obsessed with the case. However, after doing his work planning out the documentary, Lafferty’s family refused to release the rights to the book for the documentary (though a reason is not specified), which meant that Charlie Shackleton was left at an impasse. With so much research done and entranced by Lafferty’s tale, Zodiac Killer Project then becomes a monologue by Shackleton on true crime and a fruitless pitch for what his film might have been. For legal reasons, he has to tiptoe around any real details about Lafferty’s book, putting Shackleton at the center of the documentary rather than the case as a result.
On the surface, Shackleton offers a very basic breakdown of how he might have filmed the documentary, which could be of anecdotal interest to filmmakers. But digging deeper, Shackleton offers a methodical analysis of the true crime genre. He is clearly well-versed in the media of the genre, having seen everything from the famed docuseries Making a Murderer to the Ryan Murphy project Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story starring Evan Peters as the titular character. But there’s a distinct sense that Shackleton has taken every wrong message from true crime. Rather than seeing these stories as the tragedies they are and demonstrating any empathy toward the subject of these documentaries, he’s looking at them from a filmmaker’s point of view. That’s fair because that’s what he is, but when it comes to stories about murder victims, there’s such thing as being too methodical.
‘Zodiac Killer Project’ Scavenges Over the Body of a Reknown Unsolved Case
If Shackleton was discussing any other type of documentary — hell, even if it was a crime less devastating than the Zodiac Killer — maybe this film wouldn’t have left such a sour taste in my mouth. But the fact is that Shackleton’s critical eye and understanding of true crime works against him. He cracks jokes about shots of sunsets being too beautiful for his film, he makes little wry comments about how he might have filmed a dramatization, and he talks about the “climax” of the film as if it’s a narrative feature.
Throughout the entire film, all I could think was, “Yeah, I get why Lafferty’s family did not want to give the rights of his book away.” Perhaps Shackleton’s film would have been a runaway success, but hearing his approach to the film, it feels painfully obvious that he was not the right person to make it. At the end of the day, stripped of the story of his failed venture, Zodiac Killer Project is not about the Zodiac Killer at all. Had Shackleton acknowledged and pointed out the issues with filmmakers in the genre, it would have given this film some heft, but he never digs deep enough to come to a revelation. In fact, he hovers over this point several times in the film, but he is never self-aware enough to point out these are systemic issues in his own industry.
Related
David Osit explores the many complexities of a sensitive issue that has long gone ignored.
At one point, he talks about the ethical dilemma that filmmakers go through when pointing out potential suspects in their documentaries. If the person is the killer, then it’s worth it, right? But what if they aren’t? Did you just expose this innocent person to the scrutiny of the world for your own benefit? “If you’re convinced it’s for the greater good, there are very few ethical lines, as far as HBO is concerned,” Shackleton says, and these are the moments when the documentary feels like it’s actually going somewhere. In another moment, he talks about how the directors of The Jinx seemingly held back their shocking evidence regarding Robert Durst‘s hot mic moment in Season 1 until the episode premiered. But rather than chastizing this, he almost seems jealous of their genius. “It’s not the quality of the evidence; it’s the exclusivity,” and that’s all you really need to know about Shackleton’s approach.
‘Zodiac Killer Project’ Forces You To Reckon With Your True Crime Obsession
In some ways, Charlie Shackleton’s oddly pathetic presentation of his failed project acts as an accusatory finger point at all true crime enthusiasts. There is something very amateurish about Shackleton’s film that makes it feel barebones. There aren’t any dramatizations to heighten the story; there’s no stirring title sequence to set the mood — it’s a very straightforward film. Ironically, it’s the exact style that would have been perfect for a respectful, non-exploitative true crime documentary. Unfortunately, the fact is that Shackleton views this project as entertainment.
It is not about the seven victims of the Zodiac Killer, it’s not about the reign of terror this man incurred. This is entertainment to him. The ideal film he should have made, that would have treated the subject matter with respect, would never have existed if he got the rights to this book. Though the question remains, would it be as successful as something like Making a Murderer if he approached it in that barebones way? I don’t know. And as he charts out the standard formula for a true crime documentary that any true crime junkie will recognize, it’s a startling thing to realize that sometimes we, too, view all of this as entertainment.
It’s all too easy to get swept up in the glamour of filmmaking and completely forget about the real-life horrors that these projects are based on. As Shackleton cracks jokes, laughs about aspects of the story that he might have improved or dramatized, and chats casually with the voice behind the camera, it feels painfully self-absorbed. The film acts more like an embittered therapy session. If anything, Zodiac Killer Project is a cautionary tale for filmmakers not to fall into the same trap that Shackleton has and not to lose sight of the purpose of these stories. The victims and survivors of the Zodiac Killer deserve to be more than just a speed bump in a director’s career.
Zodiac Killer Project premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Zodiac Killer Project
A rant about a failed project unveils a self-absorbed and problematic look at the true crime entertainment industry.
- Release Date
-
January 27, 2025
- Runtime
-
92 minutes
- Director
-
Charlie Shackleton
- Producers
-
Catherine Bray
Stream
- Shackleton’s approach to true crime spotlights a serious issue within the entertainment industry when it comes to stories like this.
- The film does not center around the Zodiac Killer and it feels more like a rant about failure than anything else.
- The documentary’s true subject is the director, which ends up making the story feel centered around him rather than the cold case.
[ad_2]
Source link
