Review of Dear Mr. Gacy (2010) by Jen M — 06 Jul 2011

An incredibly disturbing true story. Sort of a real life 'Silence of the Lambs'. As far as made for TV movies, this has te be among the best I've ever seen. The script is very good and the acting is tight.

The always underrated Forsythe in particular is simply chilling as Gacy. He really captures the dual personalities of Gacy; both his controlling cerebral side, as well as his unhinged and deranged side.

Forsythe also manages to create a physically imposing figure, much as Gacy was in real life. The rest of the acting is also quite good, although I found Moss a little over the top in places. He does do a good job at conveying how his relationship with Gacy really facilitated Jason Moss's own decent to madness and eventual suicide.

In addition to the script, story and acting, it is handled excellently from the directors chair. Its film methods serve the story and its tense psychological nature perfectly. It does a great job of telling the story faithfully and keeping its edge of your seat value.

This is a seriously dark and twisted film with very little in the way of pulling punches, relief of any sort, or feel good moments. It is about as gritty a drama as there can be. The only couple negatives I can really mention are a few issues with pacing, as it definetly goes off on a couple of tangets that don't really end up going anywhere, and a couple of flawed performances by some secondary actors.

In conclusion, this is a terrific and scary thriller. Gacy was without a doubt one of the most twisted and terrifying figures in American history, and this film does his character justice.