Good concept, poorly executed.

A Disappointing Continuation

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Great true crime thriller about a college kid who is obsessed with John Wayne Gacy and does his college thesis on him . Based on The Last Victim book by Jason Moss. Jason writes and befriends Gacy in an attempt to 'get in the mind of a serial killer '. Very dark stuff . William Forsythe does an excellent job playing one of the most notorious serial killers in American history . I did not sympathise much with Jason Moss . His obsession with Gacy and the lengths he went to complete his term paper made him nothing but a giant loser . He , however is not unaffected by his dealings with Gacy . The film explores these themes and is well done. Dear Mr.Gacy is excellent and from what I know about Gacy , Forsythe played him fairly truthful and authentic . Great movie.

Jason Moss (played by Jesse Moss, no relation), a college student attending UNLV, corresponds with serial killer John Wayne Gacy (William Forsythe),convicted of murdering 33 young men and boys, while on death row. They get closer and closer to each other... and each getting inside the other's head.This film was very highly anticipated by me. I had actually corresponded with many (31) serial killers from 2001-2003, and was familiar with Moss' book. I had found it to be full of ego-stroking and gross exaggerations. Other reviews I read seemed to agree with me, and I was frankly disappointed that Moss went on to intern with the Secret Service, as I felt he was a hack. I hoped the film would correct some of this.The film was developed with screenwriter Kellie Madison (her first script) and producer Clark Peterson ("Monster") along with interaction from Moss, at least up until his suicide on 6/6/06. They got permission from his widow, Charlotte, to go ahead, and made the film as we can see it today. Personally, I think they did a brilliant job. Some of the scenes (with the male hooker and the final confrontation, for example) are probably dubious, but they relate to the book. So, as far as adaptations go, it is pretty strong.I had the pleasure to speak with Barry Boschelli, a lifelong friend of John Wayne Gacy, before seeing this film. You can see some clips of Barry in the special features. He not only told me some great stories about Gacy (which you can read in his book), but praised William Forsythe for his accuracy in the portrayal of Gacy. If Barry says Forsythe was great, who am I to argue? I thought so, too, and it seems to be supported.I hope this movie brings more light to the life of Jason Moss. I would like to see a biography of him. What did his brother, parents and wife think of his adventures? His girlfriend in the film... was she a real person? Did his professor find this accurate? Menard prison? What more can be learned about his suicide and the date he chose to kill himself?I would recommend this film, without a doubt, for anyone who read the book, whether you enjoyed it or not. I would also recommend it for any fan or student of John Wayne Gacy. The accuracy is debatable, but I think the film is a valuable piece that deserves to be in your library. And any fan of William Forsythe... he does not get the credit he deserves often enough. This may be his stand-out role.

Just remember who I am. William Forsythe goes into a really dark place and accomplishes in his characterization of notorious psychopath John Wayne Gacy to make your skin crawl, in this rather unsettling depiction of a young college student doing his thesis on the inner working of the sick, perverted mind of the infamous serial killer.Jason Moss believed he could manipulate Gacy into giving up information, even a confession, in regards to the murder of those boys covered with Lyme and buried in his house's basement crawlspace. What happens instead is that Gacy begins to manipulate the kid, interested in private sexual conversations with Moss on topics of homosexuality, control and power. Moss tries to break free from the grip of Gacy (who has attained a small measure of power within the correctional facility holding him for future lethal injection execution, having befriended security officers on the inside, getting perks like art tools and other luxuries, somehow moving cash in and out and given permission to phone call Moss at his own leisure), finding it especially hard to do so, understanding that he had bitten off more than he could chew. Moss was just a cocksure kid with plenty of knowledge on criminal psychology and criminalistics, yet dealing with a real human monster, to chat it up and get personal with such a man, to stare into that abyss and eventually confront him face to face, he isn't prepared for that kind of experience (Gacy threatens him and his family, claiming to have connections on the outside). A particularly chilling scene has Gacy trying to convince Moss to molest his younger brother (Moss does attempt to get his brother to either talk or write to Gacy!), getting turned on by the sheer thought of the incestuous fantasy. We see the psychological toll on Jason, how his "involvement" with Gacy is ruining everyday life, his relationships with mother and girlfriend. Forsythe certainly provokes a response with his performance, it's so authentic and menacing, unnerving and unpleasant, and he works his spell over you with mostly his voice, demeanor, and presence, from inside his cell, cut off from the outside world, the camera often right in his face, a bit uncomfortably close which almost has you moving backward because of the repulsion for his personality and twisted state of mind. This is the kind of performance I imagine many viewers will not soon forget. Sweat-inducing meeting between the two(not sure how accurate this is but it is sure hair raising) with the guards outside allowing Gacy the privilege of confronting Moss without a glass partition often used to separate inmate from visitor. You kind of build up a dread because there's an expected physical confrontation, it is horrifyingly inevitable. During this meeting Forsythe is awfully intimidating..it's quite a performance. Young actor, Jesse Moss, does a fine job of relating to us the torment and turmoil his Jason Moss suffers—the devastating consequences of the real-life person he portrays is truly haunting because perhaps it shows just what kind of indelible mark Gacy had on the kid, knowing the true tragedy which accompanies the conclusion of the film.

I wasn't sure I wanted to watch another moralistic 'movie-of-the-week' about a serial killer since they are usually whitewashed beyond recognition to make them palatable to mainstream America. When I found out this was based on the true story of a college student contacting John Wayne Gacy in prison before he was executed, however, I thought I would give it a chance.It all starts like a 'docudrama' by the look of the cast, but with the first glimpse of the gritty characterization of Jason's mother, this film took on a much edgier realism than I was expecting. It seemed to me that I had not seen a woman like this before - not pretty, not likable, not whitewashed.In fact, none of the characters were Hollywood suburban - they were conflicted, vulnerable, angry, manipulative and contradictory. And, 'Jason Moss' takes us on a journey that seems ordinary at first, but step by step, the tension ramps up and we soon find ourselves betting against higher and higher stakes on a happy ending.What we end up experiencing is an intense and uncomfortable story that goes far deeper into the psyche of Gacy and anyone who came into contact with him than the usual fare. The acting is superb on everyone's part, especially Jesse Moss and William Forsythe - so much so that I had a hard time connecting to the pix of the real people at the end of the film.This is one of the best studies of serial murderers that I have ever seen. Watch it but be prepared to go places that aren't 'nice'. People are much scarier than we care to believe - an idea that John Wayne Gacy used skillfully to entrap his victims up until the end.