Amber Rowe
Staff Writer 

* Note - may contain spoilers 

   David Fincher in "'Zodiac'" (March 2007) takes us not directly into the mind of a killer but rather into the mind of an individual who becomes obsessed with finding the killer - a killer of 12 people, who, over the course of 11 years, was never caught or tried.  

   If you haven’t guessed, I am referring to the infamous, Zodiac killer who went on a killing spree through the years 1967 to 1969 or possibly 1970.

   The fascinating objective to this case is a key factor in the movie "Zodiac." The killer is on a rampage and makes phone calls to police and writes letters to the San Francisco Chronicle telling them who he killed and with what weapon.

    This man, if you can call him that, basically put this information on a billboard in the sky and was never found. The closest suspect, Arthur Leigh Allen, came extremely close. However, he was never arrested for anything connected to Zodiac.

   This movie takes you on a trail of twists and turns through the eyes of one man whose main mission is to find Zodiac and who will stop at nothing.

   This man is Robert Graysmith who wrote the book "Zodiac," which the movie is based upon. Graysmith is portrayed by the talented Jake Gyllenhaal.

  If you love being on the edge of your seat and have an investigative mind, you will also become intrigued with what I hate to call “this mastermind killer.”  However, most serial killers are of some brilliance. The movie's facts are close to home and the acting is a 10 especially if you are a Robert Downey Jr. fan.

  Two memorable scenes I must point out that really made this movie are:

   1.) Graysmith, who has done the homework and is at the point where he knows deep down inside who Zodiac is, goes into a hardware store where Arthur Leigh Allen was employed. He walks right up to him, stares him down with a look as if he were about to say, “I know you are guilty; I have done my part, and that’s all I need.” Yet he just turns around and walks out. It’s the climax of the movie as well as a very intense scene.

   2.) The last scene in the movie shows Zodiac’s second pair of victims, Mike Mageau and Darlene Ferrin, July 4, 1969. Mageau survived (how I do not know). The scene fast forwards you to the year 1991.

   According to zodiackiller.com, Mike Mageau identified Arthur Leigh Allen as being the shooter. This identification resulted in Mageau being shown a photo lineup by George Bawart of the Vallejo Police Department. When Bawart asked Mageau why he had never identified Allen in the 20 years Allen had been a top suspect, Mageau said he had never been shown any pictures of suspects and had only been asked if he recognized certain names. If Mageau’s statement is true, it’s probably the biggest law-enforcement blunder of modern time. To read more, look at the Vallejo Police Department crime report.

   The main conclusion that I drew from this movie is Zodiac’s method of killing. He isolates young couples and makes them torture each other; he usually kills the female and injures the male. Sick and twisted?  Yes, but it's an interesting part of American history as well.

   After watching this movie the curious bug bit me and I looked into the Zodiac killer more. What’s fascinating is all the theories of people who actually think Zodiac’s still alive and well. A California Police Officer at the height of the Zodiac killings who followed the case, claims Zodiac is alive today and a prominent government figure living in California around the Vallejo vicinity.

    Which gives me chill bumps and leaves me asking, “Does America really have serial killers as political figures?”

    On a positive note - America may still have its weirdo’s; however, the “Serial Killer” rampage actually died down after the mid-80s. Know matter how you look at this chilling documentary, it’s worth watching and an interesting look at American history and what some people say “killed the 60s.”