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Charlie Shackleton’s Zodiac Killer Project Opens, Turning a Failed Adaptation Into a True‑Crime Takedown

The essay film pairs static Bay Area imagery with wry first‑person narration to probe the ethics and formulas of modern true crime.

Overview

  • Following its Sundance premiere, the feature begins theatrical engagements on November 21 with an opening at Toronto’s Hot Docs Cinema.
  • Shackleton pivoted to this self-reflexive project after the Lafferty family withdrew support, leaving him without rights to adapt The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up.
  • Built from long, mostly static Bay Area shots under an intimate, self-correcting voiceover, the film maps the documentary he planned but could not make.
  • The work critiques streaming-era true-crime tropes rather than advancing the Zodiac case, citing examples such as The Jinx, Making a Murderer, Paradise Lost, and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
  • Reviews characterize the release as sharp and entertaining yet occasionally thin, emphasizing formal and ethical scrutiny over new investigative revelations.