a_baron Reviews

The Toolbox Killer (2021)

The Tool Box Killers

[9/10 · 7 May 2024]

The full title of this documentary is SCREAM FOR ME: THE TOOLBOX KILLERS (all in block - without the colon if you prefer) and although it is far from the first one made about these two monsters, it is certainly the most off-beat.

It is narrated unusually through two voices, the second correcting the first. As it was made after the deaths of both men and as the intrepid Laura Brand visited Lawrence Bittaker in prison, it contains more information than any previous film, including mention of Bittaker's pastime of filing frivolous lawsuits (on the Government dime) which led to him being declared a vexatious litigant. The one definite mistake herein is a trivial one - Roy Norris was 72 when he died, not 79.

As with other documentaries in the genre, it comes with a warning to viewers of a sensitive nature; at least one person - a hardened detective - committed suicide as a direct result of working on the case. If after Ted Bundy, John Gacy, 9/11 and now October 7 you still do not know what evil is, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris will inform you.

One final point, this Laura Brand is not the wife of Russell Brand but a star in her own right.

Screams Before Silence (2024)

Screams Before Silence

[9/10 · 7 May 2024]

This is a straightforward documentary about one aspect of the horrors of the October 7, 2023 massacres in Israel. If you are impressed with it, the people behind "The Electronic Intifada" are not, and have produced a lengthy so-called rebuttal that is longer than the original.

As someone who has himself been the victim of Zionist smears due to his exposing lying propaganda, I have to say I am disgusted at this pathetic attempt to if not exculpate then empathise with the monsters behind these outrages.

This was not a case of misrepresenting the chaotic scenes at Belsen and Dachau as proof of a planned genocide - as happened after the collapse of Germany in the Second World War. It wasn't a case of delousing chambers being presented as gas chambers, or of ludicrous testimonies, like that of Sophia Litwinska being palmed off as irrefutable proof of German evil. On October 7, the murderers and rapists filmed their handiwork, including murders committed on camera. They kidnapped a large number of "hostages" who were taken to Gaza - where the crowds cheered - and where they were held prisoner for months, those who did not die by neglect or murder.

The Israelis have shown evidence of the rapes to selected journalists; video evidence was not included in "Screams Before Silence" because its makers exhibited common decency, unlike those who mock.

Yes, there were misrepresentations at the time - honest errors and lies - ON BOTH SIDES due to the fog of war, but there can be no doubt about what happened, who planned it, or what would be the inevitable reaction of the Israeli military.

48 Hours: Eric Smith: Gambling on a Killer (2022) Season 34, Episode 330

Eric Smith: Gambling On A Killer

[10/10 · 7 May 2024]

In August 1993, the thirteen year old Eric Smith choked and battered to death a young boy who was not quite five then sexually violated him. I remember this case well because although on the other side of The Pond it generated quite a bit of publicity here, because although he was thirteen, Smith looked about ten, and because the murder was committed on my birthday. Earlier the same year, an even younger boy was murdered here in even more shocking circumstances by two even younger boys, but there is really no comparison with the James Bulger case.

This documentary is remarkable because in the typical and at times insane fashion of America's open justice, we see the court proceedings and hear from the victim's parents as well as Smith's grandfather and much more.

Apart from Smith, the only person herein worthy of our contempt is the defense psychiatrist who said Smith was suffering from "intermittent explosive disorder". These ludicrous disorders should be consigned to the dustbin along with the "DSM" because they are descriptions of behaviours not mental conditions.

Smith was granted parole in October 2021 and released early the following year, relocated to New York City some two hundred miles away from the village where he grew up. He said he has a fiancée (yes, there are such women) and wants to start a family, living the American dream. Most people would settle for him disappearing into obscurity like Robert Thompson, one of the Bulger killers.

Roper and Goodie (2003)

Roper And Goodie

[4/10 · 14 December 2023]

This is meant to be a romantic comedy of sorts, leaving aside the fact that in real life, kidnapping is no laughing matter. Although it is entirely different, it has a broadly similar theme to the 1986 Bette Midler film "Ruthless People" in which a woman is kidnapped and held to ransom only for the kidnappers to realise her husband doesn't want her back.

Here, there is only the one kidnapper, and ruthless is not in his lexicon. He is three months behind with his rent and...desperate people do desperate things.

Leaving that aside, there isn't much of a plot but the film is rescued from total mediocrity by a half-decent soundtrack.

The Brave One (2007)

The Brave One

[6/10 · 26 May 2023]

Those of a certain vintage will recognise this film as more or less a remake of Michael Winner's 1974 offering "Death Wish", albeit with a female lead. It is even set in New York. Ten years after the first film, architect Bernard Goetz shot and seriously injured four youths on the New York subway. Although initially proclaimed a hero, it would shortly emerge that he had over-reacted to a perceived threat, to put it mildly.

This is what we see here, when ordinary citizens or anyone go around rubbing out bad guys on whatever pretext, it seldom ends well because the definition of bad guys becomes broader and broader until people are targetted for trivial crimes or even no crimes at all, and that is before we mention mistaken identity and an eye for an eye leaving us all blind. Don't expect that to happen here, but don't forget, this is fiction, not real life.

Penance Lane (2020)

Penance Lane

[8/10 · 26 May 2023]

This film starts off with a group of heavily armed dudes invading a deserted house to steal a trove of three million dollars. They soon wish they hadn't, at least the survivor does. The implication here is that something supernatural is afoot; we are disavowed of that notion in due course, but the terrestrial truth is even worse.

Another dude arrives in town, having been discharged from prison; he is the cellmate of the survivor and is on a mission. What more need be said? This is a slightly off-beat film, not entirely realistic, of course, but neither are many even more horrible stories that turn out to be genuine.

Model Hunger (2016)

Model Hunger

[2/10 · 26 May 2023]

A former model who has spent decades musing on what might have been loses the plot and becomes a serial killer in her old age. Although she rails at men, she directs her anger at women too, murdering both with impunity. True, this is a fairly original idea, but so is gravy mixed with ice cream; you wouldn't want to consume that either. "Model Hunger" is overacted, certainly by the lead, and somewhat underacted by other characters.

These low budget horror films were once a novelty, but that novelty has long since worn off. It's difficult to believe this was even nominated for a prize except perhaps in jest, much less that it won any.

The Mangler Reborn (2005 Video)

The Mangler Reborn

[3/10 · 31 October 2022]

Even though all or almost all the action takes place inside one admittedly large detached house, this had the makings of an excellent horror film. Unfortunately, it falls far short.

From the title, this is an obvious sequel, albeit a belated one, it would lose nothing if there were some sort of tenuous explanation. Instead, all we see is the bad guy hardly uttering a word and walking around almost in a trance. There is a lot of blood and a lot of pain, but hardly anything else. Terribly disappointing.

The original film is based on a 1972 short story by Stephen King, a novelist who has a well-deserved reputation for horror. Alas, not every horror classic translates from the written word to celloloid, or whatever films are made of in the cyber-age.

There's Something in the Pilliga (2014)

There's Something In The Pilliga

[2/10 · 31 October 2022]

This Australian offering is half found footage and all turkey. A couple of Outback larrikins pick up a couple of gals no self-respecting young man would take home to meet mother, then weird things happen, like starting with a murder.

One reviewer likened it to "The Blair Witch Project". Be serious! If you're wondering what the Pilliga is, it's technically a national park, although not the kind of national park most people would want to visit, especially with a couple of kids in tow.

That being said, even a horror film has to be set somewhere, but if you can figure this one out, please inform the world. The only reason it doesn't get 1 point is because it is an obviously amateur, ultra-low budget effort.

Laid to Rest (2009)

Laid To Rest

[6/10 · 31 October 2022]

Films about all manner of serial killers are nothing new, nor is the character of the anonymous or for the most part anonymous fiend who is murdering young women, teens of both sexes, or all and sundry as here.

The biggest problem is that there is no real plot, and even the female lead doesn't know who she is. All the action takes place at night out in the boondocks where there is little prospect of the potential victims summoning the cavalry. Not only that, this guy is ultra-high tech and, it would seem, impervious to bullets. Where have we seen that before?

With a bit of effort this could have been a much better film.

I Want What I Want (1972)

I Want What I Want

[4/10 · 28 September 2022]

Based on the 1966 novel of the same name, the lead is played unconvincingly by Anne Heywood, unconvincingly because she starts out as Roy, a young dude who wants to become a woman.

Roy was said to be in his early twenties; Heywood was over forty when this film was released, although you wouldn't think so. (Some women really do age like fine wine).

This was a controversial subject and is even more controversial today, albeit that the current controversy is of the entirely manufactured kind. Far more taboo today than then would be a doctor offering a patient a cigarette. Best not to mention the children's golliwog toy.

Girl in the Bunker (2018 TV Movie)

Girl In The Bunker

[8/10 · 28 September 2022]

On September 6, 2006, the 14 year old Elizabeth Shoaf was kidnapped by artifice while walking home from school in southern California. Vinson Filyaw led her to a bunker he had constructed in the woods. Over the next ten days, Elizabeth was held captive and raped repeatedly.

Unlike some such dramatisations, this one wasn't made in indecent haste, and as usual it doesn't stray far if at all from what actually happened. There are no graphic scenes even though lead actress Julia Lalonde was over the age of consent at the time.

Vinson Filyaw died in May 2021 aged just 51. It is doubly sad that a man of his obvious talents - how many people could have single-handedly constructed an underground bunker the way he did? - could not have put them to good rather than depraved use.

All Good Things (2010)

All Good Things

[4/10 · 28 September 2022]

This had the makings of a decent film but it soon becomes a quite boring one. It is based on the case of Robert Durst, although the names have been changed. There also appears to be an anachronism or two but nothing important; Durst's father died in 1995 although the viewer is given the impression he lived somewhat longer.

Although the film includes two murders in addition to the disappearance of his wife, neither can really be called graphic. Durst was a free man when it was made but five years later he was arrested for murder. To cut a long story short, he died in prison on January 10, 2022. Although his life was nothing like that of Hunter Biden, the word affluenza springs to mind. Great wealth, be it inherited or otherwise, seems to bring some people nothing but trouble.

Mystery Diagnosis: The Girl with Half a Face (2009) Season 7, Episode 7

The Girl With Half A Face

[8/10 · 25 August 2022]

This isn't one documentary but two: the first part is devoted to a girl who suffers from an extremely rare medical condition; the second part to a man who appears to have picked up an infection from undercooked meat, one that nearly killed him. That too went undiagnosed for a considerable time. Nicole Beavers appears alongside her mother, who raised her alone, and was clearly as perplexed as she was alarmed at her daughter's condition.

Parry-Romberg Syndrome - with or without the hyphen - was first described in the medical literature nearly two hundred years ago, is congenital, and appears in the young. It has been estimated that as many as one person in a quarter of a million may be affected to some degree, which is incredibly rare, but far from the rarest of all diseases.

The F.B.I. Files: The Predator (2000) Season 3, Episode 6

The Predator

[5/10 · 25 August 2022]

On September 17, 1984, convicted child sex predator Frank Atwood kidnapped an eight year old girl from a Tucson street. Atwood's previous victim was an eight year old boy, but he quickly became a suspect here thanks to some smart detective work.

Unfortunately, there is nothing smart about this documentary which focuses unnecessarily on the red herrings that often accompany such cases. Here there was one big red herring, a woman wearing a big hat accompanied by a young child in a store. There was actually a witness to the kidnapping, but this child was too young to give the police the best quality information.

The victim's mother appears in this documentary, which was made 16 years after the abduction and murder. As for Atwood, he wasn't executed until June 2022 by which time he was 66 years old, having been sentenced to death in May 1987. Sadly, this kind of ludicrous delay is far from exceptional; many convicted kilers actually die on death row from old age.

Born to Kill?: The Briley Brothers (2013) Season 5, Episode 11

The Briley Brothers

[7/10 · 25 August 2022]

This is a documentary about the most dangerous and odious gang of serial killers you never heard of. When he was a teenager, Linwood Briley murdered a neighbour, shooting her in the back of the neck. Incredibly, he escaped with a one year sentence as a juvenile when his legal team was somehow about to convince the court it was an accident. Things went downhill from there.

Linwood, his two brothers and an unrelated gang member are believed to have murdered as many as 21 people of both sexes, including a pregnant woman. He and his brother James were the only two sentenced to death, then, unbelievably, they organised a mass breakout from death row, surely the only time in American history this has happened. Fortunately, they were recaptured and sent to the electric chair.

Ignore the commentary and simply marvel at the facts. Not mentioned here is that some sick woman actually married James Briley shortly before he was executed. She is said to have thought he was innocent. Sure he was.

Autopsy: The Last Hours of: Liberace (2015) Season 4, Episode 3

The Last Hours Of Liberace

[4/10 · 14 June 2022]

Liberace died of AIDS. That is the short answer to this prolix examination. As documented here, in 1956, a columnist for the London "Daily Mirror" implied he was homosexual; Liberace sued for libel and won. At that time, male homosexuality was a criminal offence on both sides of the Atlantic. Later revelations about Liberace's private life have been used to imply that he perjured himself during the June 1959 trial. But was this the case? An even more famous pianist of a later generation was admittedly bisexual and rumoured to be homosexual. Then, on Valentine's Day, 1984, Elton John married Renate Blauel in Sydney, Australia.

The marriage didn't last, and eventually Elton went completely to the other side. It is not unlikely that Liberace also struggled with his sexuality when he was younger, especially as he was a Catholic. There was certainly no shortage of tabloid hacks looking for dirt on him, but no credible accusation was made against him until the early 1980s, and the man who made that allegation is currently in prison.

Liberace is best remembered as one of the great showmen of the Twentieth Century rather than for the manner in which he died.

Mind of a Monster: Ted Bundy (2019) Season 1, Episode 1

Mind Of A Monster series Ted Bundy

[9/10 · 14 June 2022]

Yes, yet another documentary about Ted Bundy, but this one is worth watching, certainly for neophytes. There is plenty of archive footage, interviews with the people who worked the case, Carol DaRonch, a journalist, and archive footage of the monster himself. Many of the participants were of course very old. Although she died in 2015, Ann Rule might have been included but there was no archive footage of her. Another curious desideratum was his second murder trial, but there is only so much that can be fitted into an hour and a half. The morning of his execution is also covered. If there is one lasting impression made here, it is of the utter arrogance and narcism of the man himself. Burn in Hell, Ted.

The Killer in My Family: Robert Maudsley (2020) Season 2, Episode 2

Robert Maudsley

[5/10 · 14 June 2022]

Robert Maudsley is universally recognised as Britain's most dangerous prisoner. He murdered a man in 1974, and four years later, murdered two other prisoners at Wakefield Prison on the same day. Between those two, he and another psychopath tortured a man for nine hours before murdering him at Broadmoor.

These men were all bad to the bone, and some, including one person interviewed here - his nephew - have rationalised these murders as some perverted kind of justice. Fortunately, the law doesn't see it that way. Maudsley is kept locked in the basement of Wakefield Prison, in a bare room. The only people he sees regularly are the six prison officers who escort him to the exercise yard. He is now also Britain's longest serving prisoner, and arguably the loneliest, but whose fault is that?

Actually, there is one person who doesn't think he is quite so dangerous, the idiot psychiatrist who thought he could be talked out of his psychopathy. He too is interviewed here.

Maudsley isn't entirely alone; his family has not deserted him, and visit regularly - his nephew and two other male relatives.

This quaint relationship is summed up poetically by the journalist Graeme Culliford: "He is er, a loving family member, just one that happens to be a serial killer..."

Reputations: Liberace: Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful (2000) Season 7, Episode 2

Liberace TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING IS WONDERFUL

[5/10 · 14 June 2022]

Liberace was one of the great American showmen of the Twentieth Century. Sadly, this documentary focuses primarily on his sexuality. Liberace was a homosexual, surely, or was he? There is little doubt that in later life he was, after all, he died from AIDS, but it is possible indeed likely that when in 1959 he was asked under oath if he had ever engaged in homosexual practices and replied "...Never in my life"...he was telling the truth. Neither the "Daily Mirror" nor anyone else brought forward any witness or evidence to the contrary. It wasn't until 1982 when the much younger disgruntled former employee Scott Thorson sued him for $113 million that any mainstream publication dared to raise this suggestion again.

Be that as it may, Liberace was a flawed human being as are we all, and if there is one thing that comes over from this documentary it is that the adulation of his fans was well deserved.

Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan: Mark Martin (2021) Season 3, Episode 1

Mark Martin

[8/10 · 1 April 2022]

This is a documntary about one of Britain's lesser known serial kiilers. Although he committed only three murders, Mark Martin is a particularly nasty piece of work. His lifetime's ambition was to become Nottingham's first serial killer, if you can believe that. As Harold Shipman beat him to it, he will have to be satisfied with spilling innocent blood, in particular of three women down on their luck. He also managed to rope in two other men for two of his crimes, one for both of them. This documentary is basically narrative, containing no reconstructions worthy of the name; ignore the psychobabblers and listen in horror.

I Survived...: Kristen/Kimball/Thadius (2013) Season 5, Episode 18

Kristen/Kimball/Thadius

[9/10 · 1 April 2022]

This episode consists of three people talking freely without being questioned about their escapes from situations of extreme adversity, two of them from certain death.

Kristen Baumer was the lucky one; she was kidnapped by Ernie Carletti, raped, then released. When he was brought to book, that act of depravity earned him a 33 year sentence. Kristen has told her story in two similar documentaries. The only flaw in her story is that 95% of campus rapes go unreported. This is certainly not the case, although more than a few imaginary rapes don't.

Kimball Roundy went fishing in a small group on a Utah reservoir and survived drowning when the weather turned suddenly; he was one of the lucky ones.

The third story is related by a man who at the age of 12 was kidnapped by an aspiring teenage serial killer and subjected to such horrific treatment it beggars belief. Even more unbelievably, in spite of injuries that a doctor said left him two hours from death, he managed to free himself and summon law enforcement. Joseph Clark had already murdered one boy, and was given a well deserved life sentence.

Don't listen to the testimony of Thad Phillips unless you have a strong stomach.

How Police Missed the Grindr Killer (2017 TV Movie)

How Police Missed The Grindr Killer

[7/10 · 1 April 2022]

Over a fifteen month period in 2014-5, Stephen Port committed four murders and nearly got away with them. Like him, all his victims were homosexuals, and all were poisoned in his East London apartment; their bodies were then dumped in the street and in a nearby churchyard. Port came under suspicion for the first murder but was charged only with false reporting. All the deaths were reported initially as not suspicious, which led to the police coming in for massive criticism from friends and relatives of the victims - some of whom appear herein - but wisdom in hindsight is always a wonderful thing.

In the first place, the homosexual lifestyle is inherently dangerous, even if it is today considered impolite to point this out. Many young homosexuals use recreational drugs which can be dangerous if not handled carefully. Also, after the near catastrophe of the first murder, Port went to extraordinary lengths to cover his tracks including forging a suicide note and placing it on one of the victims.

Nevertheless, the police would probably not have caught him when they did without being pressured. He was convicted in November 2016 and will thankfully never see daylight again. Hopefully too the qualified chef will not be selected for working in the prison kitchen!

Witnesses of Jehovah (1986)

Witnesses Of Jehovah

[10/10 · 29 March 2022]

If your knowledge of the Jehovah's Witness cult is limited to its members' use of Kingdom Halls, their aversion to blood transfusions, and their ringing your doorbell at 9.30 on a Saturday morning, this documentary is all you need watch to deter you from ever inviting them in. Although made in 1986, it destroys the cult's weird theology, exposing both its nonsense and the attempts of its Governing Body to constantly rewrite its history to cover its failed prophecies.

The people behind this film are husband and wife Leonard and Marjorie Chretien; he was a member of the cult for 22 years before the penny dropped.

The cult's problems have grown exponentially in recent years due in large part to its treating child sexual abuse as a sin rather than a crime, and now there is yet another new scandal, its selling off of Kingdom Halls during the worldwide coronavirus lockdown, and that's before we mention Malawi and Mexico or the United Nations.

If you want more information, there are several YouTube channels dedicated to disseminating it; they are run by former Witnesses, or as the Governing Body calls them, disciples of Satan.

The Prosecutors: In Pursuit of Justice: Defenseless Victim (2001) Season 2, Episode 2

Defenseless Victim

[7/10 · 29 March 2022]

In September 1998, Willie Crain kidnapped and murdered the seven year old Amanda Brown. The girl was almost certainly raped as well because Crain had previously been sentenced to twenty years for multiple sex offences against young girls, although he had been released after serving only six years.

He was an obvious suspect from the beginning, but the investigators didn't take anything for granted, though when a search of Crain's home turned up blood in his bathroom, the case was as good as closed. There was also DNA evidence. This wasn't an entirely routine prosecution because the victim's body was never found, but the case against him remained and remains compelling. Having committed this crime in Florida, Crain was sentenced to death. Shamefully, at the time of writing he is still on death row.

This run of the mill documentary includes reconstructions but nothing graphic.