You've gone with me to some curious places; we've tracked werewolves across Scotland, vampires through Spain, demons through Louisiana...tonight, I ask you to walk with me down the darkest and most twisted footpath of all...the very mind of a monster.
"Dear Mr. Gacy" is a tale of a descent into madness; based on the book by Jason Moss, it chronicles the efforts of a young criminology student to outwit the master manipulator, John Wayne Gacy, by posing himself as an idolizing young, naive man.
Not wanting to spoil anything, I won't get into any details, save that the young man's path moves from letters to surprise phone calls, and eventually spirals completely out of his control. He finds his own life becomes one of nightmares and alien behavior, and the line between hunter and prey becomes more and more blurred.
I have to say, to have very little blood or gore, the movie has some very effective and frightening scenes. William Forsythe would never have been my choice for the role of Gacy, but he turns out an outstanding performance, his demeanor chilling and his presence powerful. The use of flashbacks at strategic points was integrated well and was a perfect means of pulling the film together, and the situations and slowly degrading sanity of the protagonist was well-illustrated and convincing.
While it may be dismissed by some as "NOT" a true horror film, my old bones have to disagree; this likely sensationalized yet nonetheless compelling account of this young man to attempt to tempt the devil proves Nietzsche's point that when you look into the Abyss, the Abyss also looks into you.
For a personal and nerve-wracking look into that same Abyss, children, you can do MUCH worse than this one.
Greetings, Kiddies!
