Review of Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) by Matthew L — 16 Jul 2014

It is a film that is quite literally nightmarish -- a presentation of terror that will haunt you for days, if not weeks, months, or years. Dear Zachary reminds us of the very truth of nightmares, where throughout the film you beg to somehow wake up from this film in hopes to declare this story a mere horrific dream which exists only in the darkest recesses of your mind.

But this is a nightmare you never wake up from; reality never comforts you -- it only presents its ugly, devilish grin: a grin that never quivers, eyes which never blink, and an unwavering exhibition of evil that is ubiquitous in its gaze; an image that does not leave you even as you close your eyes.

Dear Zachary shows the grizzly images; it disturbs you, it horrifies you, it shakes your very understandings of humanity and exposes the macabre that exists within it. But all the while, it manages to give no power to evil.

Instead, Dear Zachary shows the genuine fortitude of humanity; humanity in its most original and perfect state -- goodness, kindness, and love. Love, while blighted by the most disturbing acts of pure evil, remains forever victorious in Dear Zachary.

Through some beautiful design, Dear Zachary manages to pull one of America's most terrifying horror stories in its history from the brinks of evil and establish genuine humanity -- the goodness, the kindness, and that most purest expression of love that our species is so miraculously and wonderfully aligned with.

It is a film that you will never forget, and I may only hope we all find "love" to be the most important lesson to learn from this truly tragic tale.