The Killing of America Uncut

R4 DVD

Beyond Entertainment

I remember when I first saw the Killing of America on Video and I was shocked, very shocked. It left me unsure of how much this show was a genuine exploration of violence and serial killers in America and how much was just “shockumentary”. What worried me most was whether it “crossed the line” and sensationalized the subject. I am still not sure. I am not adverse to violence in film but this film seemed to use a flood of violent images to overpower the viewer and I and am unconvinced this is necessary to tell the story they have set out to tell.

In the wake of the success of Faces of Death, The Killing of America was written by Leonard Shrader and his wife Chieko, he also directed. It was made for the Japanese market where Faces of Death was a huge success. The major difference is that where Faces of Death used obviously faked footage mixed with newsreel content, this is all terrifyingly real. The researchers on this film must have been quite a team; they located some of the rarest newsreel footage, documents, stills and audio content in this field ever brought together into a film.

It opens with a mentally ill man shot dead on the street and works on from there to be an indictment of crime in the US. Extensive coverage is given both to major crimes including serial killers such as Charles Whitman, John Gacy, David Berkowitz, Charles Manson and Ted Bundy as well as to random killings, robberies etc. The footage is offered with a well structured commentary which attempts to put the information into context.

This is very shocking stuff and I will be surprised how many people watch it until the end. It is like a dark news report that just does not stop, there does not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel and the footage just gets worse and worse from the Bundy Court case to Jim Jones and beyond.

That being said, this is a remarkable piece of documentary filmmaking and while certainly controversial, it is surprisingly well made, has a very professional presentation and brings together footage which is unique and has not been seen anywhere else.

However, be warned, this is not for the faint of heart.

This review will appear in Volume 2:1 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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