This is the Zodiac Speaking Review: Fresh Take on a Gruesome Old Tale

This is the Zodiac Speaking Review (2024, Netflix) | Leisurebyte

Director: Ari Mark, Phil Lott

Date Created: 2024-10-23 12:30

Editor's Rating:
4

In Netflix’s newest true-crime release, we take a look once more at the infamous Zodiac Killer murders that left residents of Northern California in the late 1960s terrified. However, the series’ focus is linking the unidentified killer with elementary school teacher and sex offender Arthur Leigh Allen, and at the heart of it all is an unlikely family whose relationship with Allen might just cement his connection with the harrowing murders of the 90s.

The series has 3 episodes, each with a runtime of around 40 minutes.

This is the Zodiac Speaking Review

The Zodiac Killer has been the subject of many movies and TV shows, both fiction and non-fiction, over the years. The hullabaloo surrounding the infamous killer is probably mostly because of their eccentric ways and the fact that their identity is still under a layer of mystery years later. Several speculations have made the rounds surrounding their identity, but none have stuck so far, leaving true crime fanatics to obsess over the mystery killer for decades.

This is the Zodiac Speaking is a true crime documentary that showcases the possibility of Arthur Leigh Allen being the Zodiac Killer and shows it through the tale of one family’s shocking encounter and relationship with Allen during the 1960s. Before the allegations against Allen start to pile up, however, the docuseries brings forth a rather horrifying story surrounding the family that creates a really disturbing picture that can send shivers down anyone’s spine. It’s thoroughly enraging and sad and provides the perfect prelude to the real horrors that await.

The Zodiac documentary is done quite interestingly. Jumping from the perspective of the police and journalists who witnessed their sick, obsessive and destructive acts to that of the Seawater family and their interactions with Allen at the time of the particular murders, the series keeps us hooked and connects these two different situations by a common thread. The situations are eerie and the similarities will leave anyone thrilled. The series, by way of interviews with Robert Graysmith and a bunch of other people, including the victims’ families, alongside the Seawater siblings, paints a vivid picture that makes it easy to recognise that the coincidence is uncanny and makes you wonder whether Allen really was the Zodiac all along.

The series wins with the Seawaters’ recounting of their interactions with Allen, once so loved and admired by the children which slowly turns into something more sinister. The docuseries is careful about what information to release when and that pays off because you make the connection instantly. This isn’t just another Zodiac documentary that rehashes old information to fit a few swanky new episodes – the series has a clear motive here and I will say that it does a fantastic job of doing that. It presents an interesting take and does so with a lot of determination.

The conversations with the police, victims’ families and particularly with Graysmith are another side of the show that is bloody and brutal. The series doesn’t spare anyone’s feelings as it tries to bring the gnarly details forward, leaving us to mull over the already-known set of information again. The parallels that the series sometimes draws with the 2007 film Zodiac, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr., is also interesting and adds a bit of drama to the mix.

However, the most interesting part of the series, probably, is the tender and emotional aspect of it. The newness of the series surrounds the Seawater children’s relationship with Allen and how he became close to not only them but also developed a relationship with their mother. The feelings that the siblings had for him – one of love and adoration after their father stopped being in the picture, are sweet until it’s not and the docuseries does a fantastic job of bringing that forward in quite a sympathetic way and does have an emotional effect on viewers.

Final Thoughts

Surprisingly tender and bringing a new twist to a shocking old tale, This is the Zodiac Speaking is watchable in every sense of the term. It provides a fresh perspective that makes you think and doesn’t dilly-dally with the same thing over and over again. It’s a truly fresh take, although whether or not you believe Allen was the killer is up to the viewer’s discretion.

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