Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
BeSummers
Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.
Kinley
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Wuchak
RELEASED IN 2002 and directed by Keith Walley, "Speck" stars Doug Cole as the real-life mass murderer, Richard Speck, who savagely terrorized nine nursing students at a townhouse functioning as a dormitory in south Chicago, 1966. He murdered eight of them one-by-one. The ninth woman (Beverly Sotelo) only managed to survive by hiding under a bed while Speck was out of the room. In his drug-addled state the killer probably lost count. The woman's witness was key in capturing the man with the crude forearm tattoo that read: "Born to raise hell." The topic is distasteful, to say the least, but the movie effectively chronicles the events of late night July 13, 1966. Although this is a low-budget independent flick, it's competently made with quality actors. The score is one-note disturbing and haunting while the tone is dream-like, thoroughly austere and horrific. The murderer's narration throughout by Cole is akin to Willard's narration in "Apocalypse Now" (1979). It's based on the real-life Speck's blatherings combined with that of other renown murderers (e.g. Dahmer) and no doubt the writers' imagination. Regardless, the well-written sociopathic verbiage successfully puts you in the mind of the slayer and doesn't cop-out in regards to psychological scrutiny. In short, the narration boldly unveils the awful truth and is expertly delivered by Cole; the movie should be commended for this.The only thing that holds "Speck" back is the one-dimensional story itself. The first hour is comprised of the thug's invasion of the townhouse, his terrorizing of the girls and their systematic murders. The compelling final act records the aftermath and ultimate apprehension. It's all thoroughly convincing, but not entertaining in the manner of, say, the Friday the 13th flicks, probably because the producers intended "Speck" to be a wholly realistic account of the true murders; and it is. The Friday the 13th movies are sometimes fun and the murders can even be amusing; not so here.Speck was finally electrocuted to death 25 years after his crime in 1991 (WAY too long of a wait for justice). Concerning his murderous transgressions he said: "I had no feelings at all that night. They said there was blood all over the place. I can't remember. It felt like nothing ... I'm sorry as hell; for those girls and for their families, and for me. If I had to do it over again, it would be a simple house burglary." He was a thoroughly sick bastage who unfortunately descended into depravity in prison, a sad waste of human potential, but at least he honestly admitted that he was sorry for what he did.THE MOVIE RUNS 79 minutes. The script was written by Don Adams & Aaron Pope.GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)
daviddaveinternational
Watching this, at least to me, was a pain. I could make no connection between this character and Richard Speck. At all! Zip! Nothing! First off, Speck was not a "serial killer". He was a "spree killer" meaning he only killed people within a very short period of time. Second, he was a half-wit, to put it nicely. This guy in the movie was portraying Speck as a mastermind. Speck was missing a few candles on his birthday cake but in real life, was a very quiet and shy individual. He was very polite to the girls. The idiot in the movie kept repeating, "I love to kill" and horse-hockey like that. I could only watch about the first 15 minutes of this garbage before I had to turn it off. In no way does this movie even faintly resemble what really happened in Chicago. For instance when the one girl comes home stumbling drunk. What's up with that? Most of the girls hardly spoke any English and were too young to drink. At any rate, do NOT buy/rent this movie. It is NOT the way it went down. Kind of reminds me of "The Gray" movie. Just horrible directing, producing, etc. If you are not into reality, this movie is for you.
Katatonia
I rented the Rated R version of Speck, and i can only imagine what the Director's unrated version is like. To call this is a disturbing movie is an understatement. This is not a film to be entertained by, it is rather slow-paced at times. I am not saying this is a bad movie, it serves it's function very well. The acting is very well done. I say this because the women who play the nurses truly made themselves believable in their performances in sheer terror.I am no expert on the actual story of Richard Speck, so i can't say just how accurate this film really is. I do know that he was surely a complete psychotic in every meaning of the word. Not everyone will enjoy this film, or even like it. Some will be turned off simply due to the fact that it is so dark and depressing. It's a coin toss, but i would recommend it for fans of the genre.
gerry-7
My girlfriend and I enjoy the serial killer bio pics that have been coming out recently. We've seen "Dahmer" and "Bundy", both of which were released last year. I found both of those movies to be disturbing and realistic portrayals of the mindset of those men and the events surrounding their crimes."Speck" by contrast was highly stylized and contained absolutely no substance. I only watched the first hour and saw only the suggestion of violence along with a laborious soundtrack. The director wanted it both ways, he wanted you to be disturbed by this man but no *show* you anything disturbing. The acting was mediocre and the plot moved at a snail's pace. I am not a proponent of gratuitous violence, but if you're going to make a movie about a serial killer, especially a REAL one, then at least give us some sense of his rituals and behavior. They made Speck out to be a disgruntled cowboy that flashes his knife and does little else. yawn.
If you want to see a real dramatization of a serial killer and his mindset, see either "Dahmer" or "Bundy".