Based on the actual case files of one of the most intriguing unsolved crimes in the nation's history, "Zodiac" is a thriller from David Fincher, director of "Seven" and "Fight Club."
As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.
The real Zodiac Killer case remains unsolved, with new suspects and explanations popping up every year. The film's official site has constructed an in-depth flash timeline of his history which will give you a lot of background on the case: http://www.zodiacmovie.com/timeline/
Due to its unsolved nature, the Zodiac remains one of the most famous serial killer stories of all time. Of course serial killers, defined as someone who has claimed multiple victims with a so-called 'cooling off' period between the homicides, became a well-known phrase in the 1970's after the term was first applied to Ted Bundy's spree of killings and later David 'Son of Sam' Berkowitz who terrorised New York in the way the Zodiac did San Fransisco.
Yet looking back serial murderers have been around for centuries. Of course throughout ancient history there have been stories of marauders who would hunt and kill for sport in many cultures. Some of those earlier stories make modern murderers seem pale in comparison. But the difference of course is motivation - serial killers have a psychological need for killing, whereas the majority of murders - even multiple ones - stem from more predictable motives of greed, revenge, jealousy or concealment of a larger crime.
French aristocrat Gilles de Rais abducted, raped and killed at least 100 young boys in the 15th century. Hungarian aristocrat Elizabeth Báthory and her collaborators tortured, mutilated and even partly cannibalized up to 600 young girls around the 1600s. Nicknamed the 'Blood Countess', her story went on to inspire the 'bathing in blood' myth and some say influenced much of the vampirism myth.
To this day the world's most prolific serial killer is said to be Thug Behram, the leader of the Thuggee Indian assassin cult which claimed two million victims during the early 19th century - and coined the term 'thug'. Behram himself is said to have strangled just shy of a thousand victims, though recent studies indicate the stories of this cult may have been slightly exaggerated by the British Raj as a means of generating fear to keep the populous in-line.
Of course history's most famous serial killer, like the Zodiac, remains unsolved and too this day highly debated - Jack the Ripper. Claiming five victims in total in London in 1888, the Ripper murders with their Victorian London setting and many intriguing elements have been the basis of many popular films, mini-series, books and comics.
In the US, H. H. Holmes confessed to killing 23 victims in all at the Chicago hotel he owned and operated during the 1896 World's Fair. This past century the US has churned out the most serial murderers with names like Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein, Aileen Wuornos and John Wayne Gacy well known by the public at large. Internationally killers like The Yorkshire Ripper in the UK, The Rostov Ripper in Russia, The Tehran Desert Vampire in Iran, The Monster of the Andes in Ecuador, and Australia's Backpack Murderer made headlines and many thousands quake in fear.
Fictional novels, comics, Hollywood movies and television have also played a big part in many people's awareness of serial killers with some fictional ones now household names. Whether it be Hannibal Lecter, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Patrick Bateman, Tom Ripley, Norman Bates, The Candyman, The Joker, Mr. Zsasz, Sweeney Todd, Dexter Morgan, etc. Many of these twisted creatures will be remembered for many years to come. Even now shows like "Heroes", "Prison Break", "Dexter" and "Bones" to recent films like "Saw III", "Perfume", "Hannibal Rising" and "The Hitcher" deal with serial killers and have been watched by tens of millions around the world in the past month.
Plenty of further information on the "Zodiac" film can be found at the Dark Horizons "Zodiac" film database page. There you'll find cast & crew listings, new stills, assorted trailers and more.
