Not your average true crime doco, this witty and perceptive deconstruction of the genre is less about the infamous Zodiac Killer case itself, instead shifting focus to reexamine the way crime stories are told.
A brave, fascinating piece of filmmaking that asks viewers to question the mysteries of true crime storytelling and how they’re being told.
Zodiac Killer Project 2025
Charlie Shackleton’s metatextual documentary about the film he wanted to make following the hunt for the Zodiac Killer shrewdly and inventively upends the true crime genre, breathing new life into a subject otherwise destined for streaming purgatory.
Shackleton had intended to make a much more straightforward adaptation of Lyndon Lafferty’s book The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up. A retired cop, Lafferty was convinced he had uncovered the identity of the elusive serial killer only for higher ups to cover up the truth. Having started researching the project Shackleton is rocked when he is denied screen rights to the book. Not one to give up so easily, he starts his own investigation and has instead crafted a film reconstructing, almost scene by scene, the film he had been planning.
Slyly narrating his story over B-roll footage and shadowy reenactments, Shackleton sets the mood by referencing a slew of predecessors – from festival favourite Paradise Lost, to the jackpot confessional of The Jinx, to schlocky streamer fare like Dahmer. The result is a savvy deconstruction of a genre which turns true crime conventions inside out to reveal the smoke and mirrors that hold such films together. — Michael McDonnell