Reviewed by Geno McGahee
“I’ve been kinda naughty.”—John Wayne Gacy (Mark Holton)
John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer, responsible for the rape and murder of 33 boys, 27 of which were uncovered, buried in the crawlspace of his house. One of the creepiest things about Gacy is the fact that he was a clown at kid parties. So, when a movie comes out depicting this story, it is up against a lot, especially when you have to compare it to “To Catch a Killer,” another film concerning the infamous serial killer with Brian Dennehy as the lead role. When I heard of “Gacy,” featuring Mark Holton as John Wayne Gacy, I was skeptical, but after seeing Hoboken Hollow a few weeks back, where he played a serious role, I had high hopes.
We begin with young Gacy and the torment that he went through as a child, and we learn that he was called a “jack off” quite often. If I had that term “jack off” forever ringing in my head, I may too go off the deep end. So, now we have reason one why we have a serial killer on our hands…a jack off serial killer if you will. He is also a repressed homosexual, married with children, and has no self control.
One of the best characters is Little Stevie (Jeremy Lelliott), a kid that worked for Gacy. He is really amusing and kicks off an insult Gacy’s weight trend. Stevie calls Gacy a “fat ass,” while Gacy’s neighbor calls him a “porker.” The insults seem a little excessive, but they are amusing for the most part, especially the neighbor’s rant. Not only does he call him a porker, but he also calls him an A-hole to boot. I’m surprised that Gacy didn’t take him out too.
Gacy’s lifestyle of killing young men and burying them in his crawlspace is catching up with him. His wife leaves him, the neighbors are complaining because of the odor, and he is seemingly getting more vicious with his torture. This movie is actually disturbing and it has to be given credit for that. The visuals of the maggots and roaches along with the paintings of the clowns…and I don’t like clowns, make this relatively unknown gem a great watch.
When he takes in Tom Kovacs (Charlie Weber), a young man to live with him in his home, the chinks in his armor become more and more prevalent. You wonder why Tom is staying there with the horrible smell and the strange behavior of Gacy. For instance, after doing some drugs with young Tom, Gacy puts on some homosexual porn and makes some moves on the youngster. Tom doesn’t leave the house though. He just lies in bed with a baseball bat. The come on is only one of many strange things that Tom experiences, but he doesn’t leave until he gets handcuffed and nearly strangled to death.
This movie begins and ends with Mark Holton, who may have seemed like an unlikely pick for a role of this magnitude, but they chose right. Much like he did in Hoboken Hollow as “Weldon,” he owns the role. You are actually creeped out by him and when he is about to kill Tom Kovacs, you are rooting for the kid to get away. That is how you know that the villain is affective.
If I have any complaints about this movie, it concerns the length. It is only 88 minutes and because of that, you feel slightly robbed and the ending seems abrupt. I understand restrictions when it comes to making a low budget movie, but it disappointed me that it wasn’t longer, which is really my only complaint. This movie is far better than I thought it would be and Mark Holton is fighting his way onto the list of my underrated horror stars.
I highly recommend this movie. I especially love the scene with Gacy confessing to his friend Hal (Tom Waldman). It gave a window into just how crazy Gacy was. This movie may not pack the punch of the Brian Dennehy entry but it is a really creepy horror film and features a great cast of actors that make the characters believable.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10. Who Let The Clowns Out?
