CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KILLER (1985)
Director's Cut Blu-ray
Label: Unearthed Classics
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 106 Minutes 32 Minutes
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Mark Blair
Cast: Robert Burns, Berkley Garrett, Actor: Dennis Hill, Sidney Brammer
Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985) was shot year as before another, better known serial killer flick modeled after real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, that being John McNaughton's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), but it has not enjoyed the infamy of that film, and had a delayed release, though it was picked-up by Roger Corman's New World Pictures it sat on the shelf a few years, not getting a home video release until The Silence of the Lambs was a box office success, and then released on VHS with some truly atrocious artwork that made it look like a The Silence of the Lambs knock-off, which is the furthest from truth.
The film stars Robert Burns, who is better known as the art director on Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), creating the unsettling eeriness of the Sawyer house, also going on to work on Re-Animator and The HIlls Have Eyes as art director, even directing a few films himself, namely Mongrel (1982) and the found-footage entry Scream Test (1988), neither of which I have seen. His acting career was was pretty much limited to small cameos in The Howling, Microwave Massacre and other stuff, but his sole leading role was in this flick, as Daniel Ray Hawkins (Robert Burns), a serial killer clearly based on the controversial serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. At the start of the film we see Hawkins driving down a rural road an encountering a woman having car troubles. He pulls over and offers to help her out, then offering her a ride to the nearest gas station, however, it becomes apparent that he has ulterior motives when he passes right by the gas station. As she starts to panic and cry she tries to get him to pull over, and eventually he does, which is when she realizes that the car door does not open from the inside. He then slashes her throat. It;s a perfectly chilling opening to the film and sets the tone for what's to come.
We then find out that this is being told as a flashback to the crime by Hawkins who is now in the custody of The Texas Rangers, being interrogated by Will Gaines (Berkley Garrett, Red Headed Stranger). Initially Hawkins is not responsive to the harsh interrogation techniques, but when Gaines offers him some burgers and a chocolate milkshake he comes around, and soon enough Hawkins is offering grim accounts of his alleged murder-spree, talking about his prostitute mother, his father who killed himself, and his friendships with accomplice Moon Lewton (Dennis Hill, Mongrel), and his own common law marriage to Moon's sister Molly (Sidney Brammer, Red Headed Stranger), who also partakes in the horrific murders.
As the interrogation continues we are treated to more flashbacks to the murders he allegedly committed while travelling the highways and byways, even detailing a few of the lucky ones who managed to get away. This is not a film that revels in the gore and sleaze of it all, unlike Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer which did wallow in n the filth of it a bit, but the telling of his first kill with Moon as accomplice is probably the most potent we get here, the murder of a woman named Karen Grimes (Eleese Lester, Lone Star) who is need of a A/C repair but instead finds herself another victim. He also tells how after murdering two people at a convenience store the pair started documenting their crimes with a polaroid camera, which show up as evidence during the interrogation of course.
Another tale includes Hawkins and Molly hitchhiking along the highway when they encounter Dr. Earl Krivics (Ollie Handley), a naive religious man who who hires Daniel and Molly to help run his electronics repair shop, offering them lodging in a guest house, and eventually Moon shows up, unknowingly putting Krivics, his teen daughter Monica (Dee Dee Norton), and secretary Doris (Demp Toney) in imminent danger.
Henry Lee Lucas was a notoriously untrustworthy sort, the Texas Rangers themselves fell who interviewed him themselves were have said to plied his ego to get the confessions, at one point he claimed to have killed over 600 people, and many of his confessions were later proved to be patently false, but make no mistake, he was a killer, and this film does good work detailing some of those heinous exploits, it does feel filthy and grimy as we wallow in his and his murder-pals kill sprees, but it does not strike the same tone as Naughton's film, but is still a dour watch. Hawkins as played by Burns is more of a charmer with a Southern tinge, he is disarmingly soft spoken and not without a certain charm, as where Rooker in Henry is a terrifying force of nature, here Burns is sort of affable and disarming, until he's not, and then you're fucked.
I found this to be a fascinating watch, it's an interesting take on the material, and while I do think that Henry - Portrait of a Serial killer is the superior film this alternate accounting of the truly chilling murders are well-executed. Burns was not a career actor, but he does fine work here as Hawkins, that was probably the biggest takeaway for me me, was how solid Burns was in the role, he carries the disturbing film quite well, his deadpan delivery adding a creepy element to the horrific actions, talking about cold-blooded murder like he was describing a salad he had eaten at some point. I also liked how the film plays into the angle of how the Texas Rangers played nice with the killer and sort fo fed him information about unsolved murders he had nothing to do with to perhaps help clear up their cold case files, the very end of the film feeds into that with Hawkins asking if he could get another chocolate milkshake.
Audio/Video: Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985) arrives on Blu-ray from Unearthed Classics in 1080p HD framed in the original 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio. The film was shot on 16mm and the Blu-ray has an authentically grainy appearance with good detail and texture to it. The grimy film looks excellent in HD with solid black levels and contrast. Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with optional English subtitles, the track is clean and well-balanced, dialogue is never a chore to discern and the atmospherics are nicely prioritized.
We get a great set of extras from Unearthed for this release, staring with a brand new Audio Commentary with director John 'Mark Blair' Dwyer, director of photography Layton Blaylock and actor Sidney Brammer. The credited director Mark Blair is actually John Dwyer, who went onto co-write the screenplay for the Kurt Russell flick Captain Ron (1992).
There's also the 6-min The Henry Lee Lucas Story by author and TV New Correspond James Moore who talks about interviewing Henry Lee Lucas and how chilling and remorseless he was, and how he still has nightmares about him to this day.
My favorite extras is the 100-min "Rondo and Bob" a feature-length documentary about Robert A. Burns and Rondo Hatton (House of Horrors), Hatton was a 1940's Universal actor best known for the character The Creeper, and Burn considered himself an authority on him. This documentary which contains dramatic reenactments from both Burns and Hatton's lives is quite fascinating. We also get a 3-min Polaroid Gallery; a 1-min Promotional Gallery, and a pair of Trailers.
The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, with a numbered spine, featuring the awful New Horizons artwork that makes it look like a cheap Silence of the Lambs knock-off with an actor not connected to the film wearing one those mouth-guard masks Hannibal Lecter wore in Silence of the Lambs, but literally has nothing to do with this film, which is probably why this one languished in obscurity so long. We also get a Limited Edition Slipcover (First-Pressing Only) with the same artwork and numbered spine.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with director John 'Mark Blair' Dwyer, director of photography Layton Blaylock and actor Sidney Brammer
- The Henry Lee Lucas Story by author and TV New Correspond James Moore (6:12)
- "Rondo and Bob" Feature-Length Documentary Robert A. Burns and Rondo Hatton (01:40:18)
- Polaroid Gallery (2:53)
- Promotional Gallery (1:13)
- Trailer #1 (1:34)
- Trailer #2 (1:45)
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First-Pressing Only)
