Trailer—B.T.K.

source: B.T.K.

I am really not sure what writer and director Michael Feifer was trying to do here. I hate to think he was just capitalizing on the publicity surrounding the B.T.K killer, but it seems obvious that he didn't do more than that. Kane Hodder as Dennis Rader was scary. Even when he was doing his day job, he came across as someone you really didn't want to mess with. Pity those that did, as they often wound up as his victims in the evening. When he talked to one young girl about her dog, or another that was lost, you could just see the predator oozing out his pores. Hodder was the only good thing about this movie. He played the evil Rader better than anyone I could imagine. He was the essence of evil. Unfortunately the rest of the move was definitely lacking in the sleaze one would expect of a film about a serial killer. If you are going to do a story about serial killers, a whole lot more realism would be nice. Any discussion of Rader's past or motivations, or anything about the police work that led to his arrest was seriously an afterthought.

As many reviewers here have noted, the events in this film are substantially different from Dennis Rader's BTK crimes. It's poorly acted and just plain gruesome. But I do think I understand what this production was attempting to do. This film picks up in 2004 when the BTK crimes had become a cold case to the police, who are surprised to start getting letters from BTK again. We enter the deranged mind of Dennis Rader as he sleeps -- and DREAMS -- about the other crimes he has been considering committing, and how it might play out if he were caught. Yes, folks, this whole thing is a BTK dream (but the audience's nightmare). Rader admitted freely that he had been stalking and planning other murders when he was finally arrested in 2005, and several of the women he harasses/kills in this film fit the known details of his intended targets. In reality, a couple of women had restraining orders on him and one even moved away because of his harassment -- and two of the women he stalks in this film are clearly based on them. At first, while watching this, I didn't understand why they would include so much factual information (actual poetry and drawings) but then depict murders that never happened. But the similarity to his intended future victims is what made me see what they were up to: the cliché old dream sequence technique. However, even understanding that doesn't redeem this voyeuristic and gratuitously violent film. The lead actor physically resembles Rader in many ways and does his best to appear menacing. The women mostly overact (his wife "Susan" and one of the daughters, for example) or underact (the other daughter). Wish I had never watched this. Made me feel like I had been dragged through scum and needed to take a shower.

I actually joined this site to warn you not to rent or buy this movie. I usually don't do this, but I love horror movies and enjoy true stories about serial killers. This untalented and amateur director/writer/producer made a terrible movie. This is a true story as we all know. This idiot put in fake stuff, citing reasons such as, "this is what people want to see." What? I wanted to see a true story. Not a story where you made stuff up. There are actually murder scenes in the movie that never happened. I will always look at a movie box before renting, if I see this guys name I will not rent. This was a waste of my time and the $1.00 rental fee. Yes, $1.00 I want back. On the positive side, which is not much. The main actor may be OK in another movie, not this one, which of course is the writer/director's fault. There are also a couple hot looking ladies in this, but I truly had to force myself to finish this movie. It is that bad. Save your money please.

Kane Hodder gives an excellent and convincing performance as Dennis L. Rader, the infamous sadistic serial killer who tied up and tortured his victims prior to savagely murdering them. Writer/director Michael Feifer presents Rader as a complex and fascinating bundle of contradictions: he's a dedicated, but overzealous compliance officer, a loving family man with a wife and two daughters, a boy scout leader, and even the president at a local church, but also suffered from sexual problems and an irresistible urge which compelled him to commit these atrocious and inhumane acts of calculated murder (the scenes with Rader manhandling his hapless victims are extremely harsh, brutal and disturbing). Moreover, Feifer admirably refuses to explain Rader; instead he presents in a stark and unflinching manner Rader as the ruthless and vicious murderous beast that he was. Hodder really holds the film together with his first-rate portrayal of this horrifying human monster; it's without a doubt the best acting he's ever done to date. The rest of the cast is equally sound, with especially stand-out work from Amy Lyndon as Rader's proud, loyal wife Susan and John Burke as no-nonsense Detective Lutz. The last third which shows the severe impact Rader's heinous actions had on his family is positively devastating. Matt Steinauer's polished cinematography and the shuddery score by Andres Boulton and Jermaine Stegall are both up to speed. Really strong and upsetting stuff.

Writer/director Michael Feifer offers us a fictional story based on the very real B.T.K. serial killer Dennis Rader. A seemingly mild mannered member of the Lutheran church, Boy Scout master, husband and father of two, Rader(Kane Hodder)is an ordinance enforcement officer of Wichita, Kansas. He relished his job and it helped his ego greatly. I guess every man needs a hobby. This story is supposition of the grisly and horrid murders committed by Rader between 1974 and 1991. B.T.K. meaning bind, torture and kill. The actual killings were graphic and nightmarish...but none of that in this film. Rader thought he was so intelligent, he teased the Wichita Police Department with letters in 2004 that led to his murder conviction in 2005. According to who you talk to, Rader was responsible for 7 to 10 or more slayings. Also starring are: Amy Lyndon, Daniel Bonjour, Caia Coley, Dru Ashcroft and John Burke.

B.T.K.(Bind,Torture, Kill) is supposedly based on a real serial Killer,I never heard of this guy. The movie was written, Directed & Produced by Micheal Fiefer,He has made other serial killer films,I saw part of one of them.I did not like what I saw, so I shut if off.. This one however, is not a good film from the very first frame. It is shoddily made, badly acted & written, BUT it had a good deal of humour, which I enjoyed. The killer,is an overweight middle aged family man,with a pretty but hefty wife & 2 daughters, He is also a devout church member, He just has a problem & solves it by killing innocent people (some of who have irked him in doing his job as a compliance officer in this small town). Now to me that was humorous. There are a few gory scenes, but they do go fast. The entire movie goes fast, Running time a quick 85 minutes. I have no way of knowing how true this tale is nor do I care. As I said its a guilty pleasure type of film. Its not a good film by any standard, but I enjoyed it & I think you may as well. Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 66 points+ (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10_ + 66 points is very bottom of point,rating & IMDb range

Yeah, it's a semi-pro attempt @ the story, but just seeing all the bad facelifts on the nobody actresses and the way the tension of the story keeps you going (even though you know the ending) is worth it. The lead actor playing Dennis is pretty good, and a decent set of guns on him as well. The way his scars in real life were not covered up was a good idea. Makes you wonder if that was part of the story until you read the bio on the actor. Bad acting is everywhere, but how many people want to be in a movie about a serial killer. Not a date movie that's for sure. I'll never leave my car parked 1/2 way in my driveway blocking the sidewalk after seeing this movie...lol

I try not to go off on rants when commenting. After seeing this I can't help but rant. This was such an amateurish attempt to put a spin on the story B.T.K. The real life story of this serial killer is fascinating in a macabre sense. B.T.K. was a media sensation known world wide. Now why would a director try to make a movie based on their half cocked interpretation of what made B.T.K tick? All they had to do was stick with what happened. Once in a while people that make movies get to clever for themselves. I got caught up reading about B.T.K and watching docs on what this killer did. As Rachel Maddow would say try to talk me down. B.T.K. is a movie. In movies it's expected that a director will take a little creative license with facts. B.T.K. went beyond that. What could have been a engrossing movie about a serial killer turned out to be a director playing Freud. This director needs to watch Son of Sam by Spike Lee before making one more movie.