The Green River Killer was a serial murderer who terrorized the Pacific Northwest of the USA in the early 80's. In 2003, a computer company employee named Gary Ridgway was apprehended and admitted to killing 48 women. Ridgway's victims were mainly teenage prostitutes whom he murdered in his truck with strangulation being the preferred method of killing. Although a number of victims were actually found in the Green River in Washington, this was not the exclusive dumpsite that Ridgway utilized but the name stuck and elicited fear in many young women during this time period. Ridgway was also known to have performed necrophilia on a number of the bodies. The case had the usual series of police blunders and eventually began to have the reputation of being the country's longest unsolved murder case until Ridgway's arrest. You would think that such a terrifying story with such a lengthy history could have translated into an interesting movie. It probably could have if it was in someone else's hands.

Ulli Lommel is a German director who was known to collaborate often with noted loose cannon Rainer Werner Fassbinder in the early 70's. Lommel eventually became a director in his own right and made a few notable films in the 70's such as The Tenderness Of Wolves, Cocaine Cowboys, and Blank Generation (with Richard Hell and Carole Bouquet). Lately, Lommel has formed a production company called The Shadow Factory that has been creating films based on serial killers such as Zodiac Killer, B.T.K. Killer, the very controversial Killer Pickton, and Green River Killer. Unfortunately for the viewer, Lommel's directing style seems to be getting more amateurish as time goes on and he has also taken it upon himself to alter facts as he sees fit. Furthermore, the film has an editing style that bounces all over the place and contains cuts of a bald guy masturbating as well as an unnecessary amount of disgusting autopsy footage that seemingly exists for no reason other than to try to gross out the viewer.

One thing that I hate is when I watch a movie based on true events where the filmmakers have decided to take liberties with the facts. Part of the reason many of us watch films like this is that we are interested in the stories of these criminals as well as the investigation that led to their capture. This is why films like Helter Skelter, The Deliberate Stranger, and Citizen X are so engaging. The fact that Lommel has openly altered the facts of this film is frustrating and irresponsible. Why bother calling the film Green River Killer when it is not really about said killer? If it is loosely based on these killings, Lommel should have just created his own story similar to what Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel did with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or what Thomas Harris did with The Silence Of The Lambs. I suppose that it is all about marketing and I was sucked in just like the next guy. Still, the real story is a fascinating one especially when you consider the fact that Ted Bundy was involved in helping the police come up with a profile for the killer. Why Lommel felt the need to make up his own facts is unknown to me.

In addition to being an irresponsible and unfocused writer, Lommel's directorial style is all over the place. He acts like a channel flipper with A.D.D. as he bounces between the autopsy footage, the narrative, a terrible voiceover, real footage of Gary Ridgway's interrogation, and other nonsense. I especially liked the cheap looking sign that was featured every time the river location was used letting us all know that this was, in fact, the Green River. There were three main murder set pieces that were very slow and although two of them contained ample topless nudity, it was unnecessary and you got the feeling that the actresses were not into it. This was especially evident when one of the girls, post shower, announced that she needed to 'take a shit' and we got to watch as she sat on the toilet and asked the main character if he would like to wipe her ass. Nice.

Ulli Lommel is not a director I will return to anytime soon on my own accord. This movie was cinematic trash and Lommel has the distinction of being the only horror film director who makes fellow German train wreck Uwe Boll (House Of The Dead) look like Steven Spielberg. Believe me, this is a feat unto itself. I urge you to avoid Lommel's films if you want to have info on the real murderer and try to track down a documentary on Ridgway instead. In addition to twisting the facts, Lommel was also not true to the time period as we could clearly see a "House of the Dead" arcade game in the background of some of the shots and there were a few nu-metal sounding songs on the soundtrack. It couldn't have been more ironic. Look for Lommel in a cameo as the detective with the cowboy hat. (Josh Pasnak, 10/23/06)

Directed By: Ulli Lommel.
Written By: Ulli Lommel.

Starring: George Kiseleff, Jacquelyn Horrell, Georgina Donovan, Naidra Dawn Thomson.