SYNOPSIS:
The story follows a down-on-their-luck couple who discovers a serial killer’s film reels. They decide to take the law into their own hands, risking everything for the chance at a $100,000 reward. It isn’t long until they find themselves in the killer’s lethal cross-hairs.
REVIEW:
Director: Jonathan Wright
Writers: Jennifer Archer, Mike Horrigan, Jonathan Wright
Starring: Shane West, Leslie Bibb, Matt Craven, Stephen McHattie, and Nicholas Campbell
Awakening the Zodiac is the most recent filmic attempt to exploit the real-life serial killer known as Zodiac for a good thrill. The film has a clever setup—trailer park couple Mick (Shane West, ER) and Zoe Branson (Leslie Bibb, Trick ‘r Treat), along with pawn broker Harvey (Matt Craven, X-Men: First Class), uncover the snuff films of the never-caught Zodiac Killer in an auctioned storage locker. Eager to get the $100,000 dollar reward for the killer’s arrest, the trio begins hunting the madman who just so happens to have retired to rural Texas. Their prodding into the past does not go unnoticed, and none-other than the Zodiac Killer himself is soon on their tail.
The hunter-hunted back and forth promise of the plot is unfortunately not born out in Awakening the Zodiac, as the killer—wonderfully played by seventy-year-old Stephen McHattie (Orphan Black, The Strain)—doesn’t have a role until the final quarter of the film. Rather, viewers are treated to a somewhat pedestrian detective story depicting West and Bibb digging through files and overreacting.
Get the skinny on the film with my full review at HorrorNews.Net!
CINEMA de CULTUS 