An Ordinary Killer (2003) Reviews

• An underrated forensic thriller that is authentic in its approach

  DigitalRevenantX72016-05-05

  The 27th of January, 1973 in the small town of Ottawa, Michigan. Dee McGuire, a young mother, is abducted by a stranger during a shopping trip into town. Despite searching extensively, the police & the public fail to find any trace of her. Six weeks after, her body is found near a farm. She had been raped & shot three times in the back. Despite an exhaustive investigation, where Detectives Lynn Kendall, Ben Bannister & David Sheridan chase down every possible angle & every lead, they come up frustratingly short. The suspects all have solid alibis & their limited forensic skills at the time fail to produce conclusive proof. The murder weapon is found but is too rusted to be test-fired. And to top that, the main suspect is killed in a motorcycle accident. The case goes cold for nearly twenty-four years before DNA testing & a chance lead on the rusted murder weapon lead the detectives in charge of the case onto whom they believe is the killer. An Ordinary Killer is an attempt to showcase, in an era of police television procedurals that place an emphasis on scientific forensic techniques that look flashy but disregard human investigative skills as antique, what things were like back in the days when DNA testing was unknown & the most advanced forensic testing that was available at the time was basic blood grouping & fingerprints. The film's title might put a lot of people off because of its inherent dullness but it actually is an interesting effort that, despite the slow pace, manages to put a more human dimension on the detectives who worked hard on this & other cases (the film was based on a true story), the killer only being caught due to a chance lead. While the film's concept might be well, ordinary, & the pace is a little on the slow side, the cast all give good performances. DJ Perry's lead might have the habit of talking to himself at times, but everyone manages to deliver the right kind of performance for the production at hand & you'll know they have the right man for the crime when the killer uses a familiar line that is used in a flashback.

• very well done

  dirtfarm2003-11-30

  with this day and age of billion dollar budgets for film making i thought that with the budget AOK had it couldn't have been done any better in hollyweird. stayed true to the story, and it wasn't glamored up. i think it actually gives hope to the wrongly accused, victims and family's hope, and an example of how far technology has come. good job CDI ck

• An Interesting True Tale

  candela2003-11-12

  This is a plot driven tale of midwestern values applied to a horrible set of real crimes. I for one tire of not only the same bare Los Angeles topography in most films but of the big city f*** you attitudes that are increasingly taken as a societal norm. Well thank god most of the world isn't as messed up (yet) and communities of people often work together for a better good than getting the next Benz or getting into some dope club. Ordinary Killer is like the good part of a funeral; acknowledging the tragic, but recognizing the love and caring that can arise from that same tragedy.

• A veteran detective searches for a serial killer in Michigan over many years and comes to a deeper understanding of human nature and himself.

  russwilliams-22011-08-01

  I was enthralled by "An Ordinary Killer," the story of a search for a serial murderer, and frankly, I'm usually I'm much put off by all the "serial killer" movies we get flooded with all the time. This one, though, was different (and based on a true story). It was more than just a whodunit or a "sympathy for the victims' friends and family" type film, though those elements were there. DJ Perry does an excellent job playing a detective, Lynn Kendall, who doggedly looks for a criminal that knows no bounds of "ordinary" human decency. However, the murderer does not seem like an evil monster either but just a plain somebody like you and me. Kendall ultimately comes to realize the potential monster lurks in all of us, though cloaked in everyday garb. His slow realization of this truth forms his arc as a character. Kendall, instead of becoming cynical, ends with hope, knowing that although the beast lurks within humanity, there is also heroism and sacrifice in us all, which triumphs over this evil. "An Ordinary Killer," though not a "big story" or complex drama, is not just an "ordinary" murder mystery either. At it heart, it's a morality tale, a voyage of discovery that urges us onward to see the good, as well as evil, residing in every human soul.

• A well done and well thought out movie.

  pepperphantom2003-11-21

  I live in Texas and I went to Owosso to review the movie because I am a fan of one of the actors who appeared in it. "An Oridnary Killer" was all that I had expected it to be and then some. The storyline was a sad one but, was ever so well done. There are a few veteran actors as well as a few newcomers. They all gave fantasitc performances. It could not have been an easy script for the writer to have written at all but was well done. I do recommend the movie for those who like details... and mystery...