D.C. Sniper

Peacock Films 2010

R4 DVD

In Washington in 2002 eleven people were shot at random by a sniper whose stated aim was to overthrow the U.S. government by terror. This story is very loosely based on the sniper, his accomplice, and the detectives who finally arrested him.

John Mohammed (played by Ken Foree) is a Desert Storm veteran, a charismatic individual whose political manifesto is a jumbled mash of black rights, discrimination, the Big Corporations who really run the world, and corrupt government. The only way he can see to change the system is to wage a campaign of terror against the people of Washington until they overthrow their government. He is helped by John Malvo, a teenage boy he has brought up as his son, but who still has a spark of humanity left in him. He is the one who does the shooting and he is powerless to stop in the face of his “father’s” continuous indoctrination.

Against him the police force is helpless because of the random nature of the murders. Two rogue cops manage to work outside the police investigation and gradually develop a feeling for the Sniper and what he may do next. Slowly they close in on him. One detective is distracted by his missing runaway daughter. She has now turned up making porno movies for the internet and he is devoting too much of his time to finding her and getting her away from her exploitative boyfriend. Sometimes he needs a break from the intensity of both manhunts. On one occasion he visits the Potomac River where George Washington staged a surprise Christmas Day attack on British forces. He reflects that Washington was branded a terrorist by the British for ignoring the rules of war (you just don’t make war at Christmas) and for his unconventional tactics of hiding snipers in trees. He makes one observation that is rather chillingly accurate – “War is the terrorism of the rich, terrorism is the war of the poor”. His meditations give him an idea of looking for a vehicle that could be used to hide a sniper and he starts to work in the right direction.

Unfortunately we know he is going to succeed because of producer Ulli Lommel’s annoying overuse of flashback interviews to describe what happened before it is shown in the film. Some of the interviews are important, such as the Washington residents and victims’ families discussing how impotent they feel in the face of terror and the inability of the police to stop it. Perhaps John Mohammed has the right approach to achieve his goals after all?

The film is rather slow moving and even the sniper scenes are drawn out. John Mohammed’s rantings in his prison interviews had me reaching for the fast forward button after a while. The story is saved by some absolutely brilliant acting, and the build-up of tension as John selects their next victim and they work up to the shot.

If the motives expressed in the film genuinely reflect those of the real John Mohammed it should be compulsory viewing for all police and criminologist. John Mohammed was executed for the serial killings. John Malvo is serving life in prison.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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