Zodiac Killer Project

4/4/2025

Setting out with a plan of deconstructing the true crime documentary genre, filmmaker Charlie Shackleton’s “Zodiac Killer Project” certainly should get a lot of credit for the ambitious idea alone. But this intriguing concept is frustrating rather than entertaining, and the film feels more like a slow dry lecture about the mechanics of true crime documentaries than a real game changer. The film features Shackleton essentially describing the documentary he wanted to make about the Zodiac Killer but couldn’t, mainly because he was unsuccessful in securing the rights to the story. Instead of being a documentary about the Zodiac, it becomes an analysis of the genre itself. In theory, it sounds incredibly interesting. But in practice, it’s more of a monotonous series of voice overs paired wi