Richard Ramirez was a man who raped, killed, and mutilated women, that was his goal. Instead of chronicling (and glorifying) his murders one-by-one in a "made for tv" sort of fashion, this movie attempts to tell a story about a woman who is trying to survive in the world of men. This movie is about what Ramirez' hated, not about Ramirez himself. He is clearly the antagonist, the evil, the literal and metaphorical enemy of the woman played by Roselyn Sanchez. In fact, I can't recall ever hearing or seeing the name "Richard Ramirez" in the film at all.
The biggest problem I had with the film is the way in which the videobox misrepresented the story as "this is his story". It is not his story, but I doubt the producers ever intended it to be his story as it seems very clearly to be a comment on society instead of a fact-based docudrama meant to air on A&E. Like SON OF SAM, this movie uses a true to life serial killer to engage other issues.
That said, is the film entirely successful? No, it has it's share of problems, but is nevertheless an interesting and challenging piece of work. Some of the problems are... The plot doesn't flow at times and the film feels longer than it actually is. The police work is not accurate enough to give a sense of gritty, police-reality.
However, there are many positive elements... The hyper-active editing and sound design succeed in portraying Ramirez' schizophrenic, epileptic, drugged out nature, but they do make the film hard to watch at times. However, this stylistic choice is form following function and you really feel like you are riding along with the killer. The use of real life footage chronicling catastrophic events of the 80's adds an impending sense of doom. The acting is generally believable and Roselyn Sanchez really shines.
The biggest problem I had with the film is the way in which the videobox misrepresented the story as "this is his story". It is not his story, but I doubt the producers ever intended it to be his story as it seems very clearly to be a comment on society instead of a fact-based docudrama meant to air on A&E. Like SON OF SAM, this movie uses a true to life serial killer to engage other issues.
That said, is the film entirely successful? No, it has it's share of problems, but is nevertheless an interesting and challenging piece of work. Some of the problems are... The plot doesn't flow at times and the film feels longer than it actually is. The police work is not accurate enough to give a sense of gritty, police-reality.
However, there are many positive elements... The hyper-active editing and sound design succeed in portraying Ramirez' schizophrenic, epileptic, drugged out nature, but they do make the film hard to watch at times. However, this stylistic choice is form following function and you really feel like you are riding along with the killer. The use of real life footage chronicling catastrophic events of the 80's adds an impending sense of doom. The acting is generally believable and Roselyn Sanchez really shines.