Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck (2007)

On July 14, 1966, Richard Speck took 9 student nurses hostage. He held the girls, methodically beating, raping and stabbing them to death in one of the bloodiest mass murders in American history. Witness the terrifying story every fan of true crime must see.

Poorly Made

I watched part of this movie the other night. I just couldn't finish the whole thing. And I am not talking about the subject. I know the Richard Speck story and how he slaughtered 8 student nurses in 1966. It just did not come together like it could have. I thought the acting was good but the film is terribly made.

The Asian girl who survived by hiding under a bed really did get out of the witness chair and walk over to Speck, point and say he was the man who killed her roommates. The film makers show this moment, but on film, or at least this film, it didn't pack the punch it could have.

The film was dark, bizarre and boring. If you want to learn about Richard Speck and the student nurses he murdered, watch a good documentary or read a good article.

September 8, 2008

This Is Corin Nemec At His BEST!!!!

Chicago Massacre is Corin Nemec at his best ever!!! He played the nut so naturally and down to earth with the least bit of effort. He played it so well that you actually believe he is really nuts and he will scare you to the pit of your stomach acting or not acting. Corin is one of the finest actors around after showing us how well he can play a psychotic rapist and murderer in this flick. Honestly no other actor could have pulled off this role the way he did with such natural talent. Corin Rocks All The Way! I watch this nearly every night!!! You go, Corin! May 28, 2008

0 STARS: A very poor attempt at the Richard Speck story.

I caught "The Chicago Massacre" Richard Speck" on fearnet the other night. It's hard to believe that a movie could do a worse job of retelling the Richard Speck story than this one does. First of all, I should preface this review by stating that I really do not consider serial killer movies to be horror movies in the first place. To me, these are crime movies belonging to the crime genre, and are therefore distinct from horror movies much the same way mystery, suspense and thriller movies should also be distinguished as well. This does not mean that there are not horror elements to these movies, but they, with very few exceptions, just do not work very well as horror movies.

Richard Speck was a very interesting and truly sickening mass murderer who brutally assaulted nine (9) nursing students eventually killing eight (8) of them in a dormitory in Chicago during the 1960s. While the story of Richard Speck is remarkable, the movie itself is disjointed, poorly acted overall, and horribly executed. Perhaps one of the most glaring weaknesses of "The Chicago Massacre" is its reliance on flashback scenes as well a lot of completely unnecessary and boring scenes which serve as nothing but filler-space accomplishing absolutely nothing, all of which reflect a very poorly organized movie sorely lacking in structure, cohesiveness, style and spirit. Indeed, it appears that the creators of this movie just did not know how to make this story into a movie. The script was simply awful.

Aside from the fact that movies like this belong to the crime genre, I am not sure why anyone would classify "The Chicago Massacre" as a horror movie anyway as it is simply not scary in the slightest. The acts committed by Speck are despicable, horrible, and quite disturbing. However, this movie's depiction of those events reflects a very poor effort on the parts of the creators of this flick to tell the Richard Speck story which results in a completely ineffective movie no matter how you characterize it.

For those who are interested in the true crime genre, I recommend "The Deliberate Stranger" (a great movie on Ted Bundy, much better than "Ted Bundy", "Fatal Vision" (another great movie about the Jeffery MacDonald story-non-serial killer), "Murder in Texas" (non-serial killer) and "Murder Ordained" (non-serial killer). Also, if interested, other serial killer movies which are dubiously effective and sometimes inaccurate are "Henry" (an inaccurate account of the serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas, and his buddy, Ottis Elwood Toole), "Gacy", "Dahmer", "Ed Gein", and the aforementioned "Ted Bundy". I believe there may also be another Ed Gein movie out there, and I am sure there are other serial killer movies not mentioned herein.

P.S. I wish I could find a movie on the South Carolina serial killer, Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins, but to my knowledge, no such movies exists. If anyone knows of one, I would greatly appreciate it if you would drop me a line in the comments section. Thanks, HorrorMan. February 24, 2008

Quickly Made, Cheaply Done

I have got to think that maybe it's not a great idea to make feature length videos about dull-witted and very boring criminals who go on alcohol/drug-induced murder sprees.What we end up seeing is sa dull-witted and boring as the villian we watch, It's just not entertaining.

I knew this was a clunker from the first scene when "Texan" Richard Speck wearing what else but a cowboy hat steals his neighbors car and is chased on foot by a woman calling his name. This is the poorest character/location establishment I've seen outside an elementary school production.

Other lowpoints (or lowerpoints I should say) are the sole survivor Filipina nurse who confronts Speck in court. Here's a woman the viewer might want to empathise with, but not so. The actresses performance couldn't be crappier or more unbelievable had it been on Lifetime channel.
Locations are often poor. The crime scene could have used a few extras playing cops, as the only people who seem to be at the "crime of the century" are a very poorly portrayed detective and assistant. There are some anachronistic haircuts and speech as well, something that makes me think this was grinded out in a few weeks by a group of filmakers who lost interst (or money) before the project began.

Richard Speck was a dull man who became famous by a horrible act. "Chicago Massacre" is a dull and horrible video that will never be famous. September 1, 2007

waste of time

Scott M. Cook Initial post This has to be the worst movie I have ever seen. Poor picture quality and second rate actors. Michael feifer had an opportunity to create a good picture but half fast the whole process and created trash. He fails in many ways to tell the whole story. Don't waste your money buying this or even renting this. Aug 20, 2007 6:33 PM PDT


August 20, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...