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Reviews
Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck (2007)
A factual and historical disappointment.
I am very familiar with the true life case of Richard Speck and have to say that if you are at all interested in learning about him, his victims and the crime, this movie will not give you an accurate representation at all. Like the 2004 movie "Speck" with Doug Cole, this movie lacks realism and strays far from the true story it is supposed to be telling. First off, the dormitory Speck murders the nurses in, in the movie is one story and spread out like a hospital ward with several rooms. The two-story South Chicago townhouse that the real murders took place in was cramped, with three small bedrooms upstairs and a living room and kitchen downstairs. This may seem like nitpicking but it's actually a major mistake that the filmmaker commits, because much of the horror of the real life story comes from the fact that Speck was able to murder all of these women in such close, claustrophobic quarters. It would have added so much to the movie if they had gotten this right. Secondly, Speck was not vicious, violent and murderous all the time whether drunk or sober in real life as the movie portrays him. In actuality the real Speck, when sober, was a sniveling coward who was afraid to fight, lacked self-confidence, was ashamed and embarrassed of his pockmarked face and a mama's boy who, even as an adult, relied on his mother to bail him out of jail and get him out of whatever trouble he got himself into. He only had a modicum of self-confidence and mostly just became nasty, violent and obnoxious when he got drunk and/or high. In prison, the other prisoners turned him into their bitch and forced him into humiliating sexual practices at their whim. Not exactly the scary cowboy-hat wearing outlaw portrayed in the movie. I'm not minimizing the fact that Richard Speck was a dangerous and vicious killer. But it would've been nice to have seen a more accurate 3 dimensional portrayal of what he was really like. Thirdly, the actors in this movie who play the cops are lousy. Their overacting and over-reacting would do William Shatner proud. The performances are laughable and the writing is on par with a cheesy cop show from the sixties or an Ed Wood movie. Fourthly, this ceases to be a horror movie and is just downright nasty and unpleasant in it's, perhaps, too graphic depiction of the murders of the nurses. This is not cartoonish Michael Myers, Halloween horror here. It's a tragic real life story that had horrific, sad and awful consequences. This movie insults the viewer's intelligence and is patronizing in it's spoon fed violence. Richard Speck was a worthless shard of human debris who can't and shouldn't be celebrated or mythologized in any way. After watching this train wreck of a so-called movie, I can only say may no more would-be John Carpenters or George Romeros try to put his vile life to film again, unless of course they do it on a larger budget, with a better script, better director and better actors. I agree with what the other person said about Corin Nemec, his performance is good, but only his performance is good. I am in shock and awe that somebody thought this movie was better than David Fincher's "Zodiac"!
The Benny Hill Show: Show 24 (1975)
Every time I see this I'm in tears with laughter
By far one of Benny Hill's funnier sketches. I wish Tex Cymbal would have made more appearances on the show than just this one. Benny himself plays all of the 15 or so characters with speaking parts and no one can do a misfit wanna-be rock God better than Benny. With the dayglo orange afro, the silver lame platform shoes, blue tinted granny glasses and wild two tone satin costumes Benny is a hoot. And when he rips into the classic, cheesy and leacherous "Lonely Boy" it's all I can do from falling on the floor in hysterics. I also loved the interviews with Tex's family, teachers and associates. Freda Drunge his prim and proper Scottish schoolteacher who used to "belt him aroond the head" with her big book on child psychology. Classic!! And Tex's mother who extols the virtues of her beloved boy by showing off the bottle of mint julep he brought her all they way from Missippissi, USA. Then Benny as the starstruck teenage girl in a cheerleader costume who screams at the mention of Tex's name and wets herself too. See it if you can.
Speck (2002)
Richard Speck was no philosopher, movie lacks accuracy
I watched the unrated version of this movie and as a person who has studied the life and crimes of Speck closely, I must say this movie is a flawed but ambitious take on the real story. While capturing the true horror of Speck and the murders this film makes the following factual errors. 1. Speck did not inject drugs at the crime scene as depicted in the movie. In fact he was mainly an alcoholic and pill popper who rarely took drugs via syringe. 2. The Asian nurse who survived Speck's massacre did not squirm her way down stairs and under the couch in the living room as depicted in the movie. This would have been impossible. In real life she hid under a bed while Speck methodically eliminated his 8 victims. 3. The movie depicts Speck as being violent and brutal with the women as soon as he meets them. Not true. In reality Speck was at first calm and gentle, reassuring the women he wasn't going to hurt them. This is how he was able to tie each of them up. 4. The real Richard Speck was not the deep thinker the movie depicts him to be. FBI profiler Robert Ressler interviewed Speck in the 80's and said that Speck not only DID'NT know why he committed the murders but that he wasn't interested in learning why nor could he shed any light on why. Speck was known to be of below average intelligence and not the philosopher king who narrates this movie. If the story wasn't so tragic and horrifying, the voice over would be laughable. All in all, Doug Cole's performance is adequately menacing and cold-blooded even though I don't think the real Speck was so forward in his violence. No doubt he was a very violent person when under the influence but he was also known, after all, for being a fairly slick con man who was able to put people at ease before victimizing them. Beverly Ann Sotelo's performance as the surviving nurse is the finest in the film. She is a very good actress. If you are at all squeamish, do not see this film. It's very graphic and disturbing.