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If you’re a true crime junkie Zodiac Killer Project, shown at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, might not be the film for you. Despite the enticing title it’s not technically about the infamous killer instead it’s a meta deep dive into how crime docs are made and how filmmakers use tactics to appease their audiences with visual gaslighting and audio moodscapes.
Non-fiction director Charlie Shackleton peels the protective film off the art of true crime films to reveal how they use manipulation to tell their stories. It’s not nefarious in nature; there’s no bad intent in exposing these films as frauds. Rather it’s a visual essay on how Shackleton would have made his scrapped doc about the Zodiac had he finished it.
Think of it like a DVD commentary in reverse; the narrative isn’t on a separate track under the film, it’s actually the film itself.
His movie would have been based on the conspiracy theories detailed in Lyndon E. Lafferty’s book, “The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up: The Silenced Badge.” He was the Northern California cop who believed the notorious case was filled with corruption.
But that’s beside the point. Shackleton does something brilliant, he makes his doc while concurrently exposing how he, and other filmmakers, construct true crime documentaries to suit the audience. It’s a boilerplate design that nary changes.
Think about it. When you watch true crime documentaries you’re guaranteed a few things: crime scene photos, law enforcement testimonies, stylistic chapter breaks, bumpers, and ominous droning music which dissolves into the next scene.
The idea behind Zodiac Killer Project is fascinating; pull back the curtain on the Netflix true crime formula. Expose the secret recipe of what makes them so craveable. This film will most-certainly be required watching for film school students.
But for us, the regular audience, it’s a bit bland. Perhaps that’s because it proves Shackleton’s point. We want to be a part of the investigation as armchair detectives and the tried and true recipe that hooks us, works. His narration effectively spoils our fantasy working at a snail’s pace. If we want to be told a story we’d read the book.
By not following his own assessment of how a successful true crime movie is constructed the dopamine dries up almost instantly and the only mystery is why these types of films are so uninteresting in God mode?
Zodiac Killer Project was shown at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. No details on when it will be available in theaters has been released.
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