At this point it is safe to say that we will almost definitely never know the true identity of the Zodiac Killer. Sure, everyone has a pet suspect, but even the the most compelling among them is still not a very good suspect in terms of evidence. In Zodiac circles (yes, these exist, and I am part of them), it’s generally agreed upon that the most likely culprit is who we’ve never even heard of. And really, if the killer were ever identified beyond the shadow of a doubt, his identity wouldn’t carry much weight beyond general closure for the victims and their families and friends. It’s not like it would be a recognizable name.
Unless it’s Wayne Newton. My money is on that fucker Wayne Newton!
I don’t like his face.
As such, there are near endless books written about the topic, each by an author who swears they’ve cracked the case (they haven’t). It’s one of these true crime novels that first caught the attention of Charlie Shackleton. The filmmaker’s initial intent was to adapt the novel, in which a renegade cop fights tooth and nail against bureaucracy to prove the guilt of his pet suspect, into a documentary. Per Shackleton, the story on the page is inherently cinematic.
But then, long after pre-production was underway, Shackleton lost the rights to the novel. Instead of trashing the work he’d done, the resourceful filmmaker pivoted into a new project. One that would likely drive his lawyers insane: a documentary about the documentary he would have made. It’s a fine line to walk, but in avoiding the specifics, and instead focusing on the tropes of true crime documentaries, Zodiac Killer Project goes from being one of countless docs about the mysterious killer, to being a one-of-a-kind deconstruction of the entire form. And at a time when streamers are pumping these things out factory style, it’s a much needed deflation for what has become an increasingly sensational (and stale) genre.
The film is rather simple in execution, featuring mostly static shots of would-be locations for the film that never was, with Shackleton describing in voiceover how he would’ve zhuzhed up every beat using tried and true techniques (see: tropes). He speaks of “evocative B-roll” such as footage of bullet casings hitting the ground in slow motion and flashbulbs punctuating images of pooling blood, despite the fact that no one uses flashbulbs anymore. He tells of “backtors,” the faceless performers who fill the screen with their backs to the camera, mere suggestions of performances as opposed to a full-on reenactments of crimes (cheaper to produce!). Occasionally, clips from popular true crime films and series are displayed to drive home the point that, despite the wide swath of crimes covered, there’s a formula that links all of them.
And really, why does every cop/lawyer/judge have the nickname “Bulldog?”
To borrow a popular term from the zeitgeist, Zodiac Killer Project is a sort of “liminal” documentary, meaning that the shell of the medium exists, but there’s nothing to fill it. The shell itself becomes the topic, which allows Shackleton to simultaneously mock the sensationalism of something like Making a Murderer, while also admitting that the sensationalism is, unfortunately for many of us, a guilty pleasure.
In the film’s final reel the framing shifts, and we see Shackleton in the recording booth, often conversing with his off-screen producer. While this shift in the overall visual aesthetic successfully shakes things up, it also serves as the sole demerit against one of the finest true crime docs I’ve ever seen, and it does so in the form of a missed opportunity: it’s almost universally true that the moment the documentarian becomes a character, the film falls apart (Werner Herzog innocent). Shackleton almost definitely knows this, and should’ve used his own entrance into the film to satirize those filmmakers who cannot help but to make it about themselves for a few minutes. Still, Shackleton is such a charming presence and thoughtful commentator that it doesn’t derail the film.
Seeing Zodiac Killer Project has inspired me to finally make my own true crime film. It’s called No Danke, Schoen: One Man’s Journey to Prove That Wayne Newton is the Zodiac.
Directed by Charlie Shackleton
Written by Charlie Shackleton
Starring Charlie Shackleton, Guy Robbins, Lee Nicholas Harris
Not Rated, 91 minutes
