if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

60 years old Dennis Lynn Rader, was a model Wichita's citizen, suburban Park City's compliance officer, former Kanzas Cup Scout leader and the president of the local Lutheran Congregation Council, yet the neighborhood's ultimate nightmare.The four members of Joseph Otero's family killed in early 1974 were first victims of the B.T.K. strangler. The killing spree in the area that further spanned throughout the following seventeen years has abruptly ended in 1991.Despite tireless and meticulous investigation the police had failed to reveal the murderer's identity that time and the the case was remaining one of FBI's top unsolved mysteries until the killer resurfaced again in early 2004.In an attempt to draw media attention he sent a letter to Wichita's local news room claiming credits for a number of unsolved murders. This has triggered resumption of investigation and eventually led to detention of Dennis Rader who was accused of murdering at least ten people between 1974 and 1991.The account of Rader's crimes were dramatized in two feature movies released in 2005 the year when Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms.'The Hunt for the BTK Killer' focuses more on exhibiting Rader's sweet facade as a considerate family man, meticulous civil servant and committed community leader rather than elaborate depiction of grisly acts he has committed to materialize his sick sexual fantasies (which are only sporadically shown in flashbacks in the course of the court proceedings).The film features memorable, impeccable performance from (hardly recognizable - kudos to the wizards from the makeup department) Greg Henry as the aged killer. He made it to alter flawlessly between mild mannered, affable and respectable Wichita's resident and sinister, calculating shape-shifter contriving a cat and mouse game with the police.He could have managed to further evade justice unless his paranoid lust for limelight has eventually exposed his disguise.Only a mere accident and Rader's computer illiteracy has enabled the forensic lab experts to derive a badly wiped out file from a dumped floppy and identify the BTK strangler.The killer's shocking revelations at the interrogation room about his frightening past when he refers to his poor victims as the "projects" are presented in a semi-documentary manner.Of course the creators of the film took some liberty in simplifying the story and adapting it to the TV movie format, modifying some details and introducing fictional elements and characters like collective figure of Det. Madiga convincingly played by veteran actor Robert Forster.Nonetheless it is pretty accurate in providing insight to the tragic events that has kept Kanzans on tenterhooks for over three decades. I guess it deserves to take a worthy place among the best examples of TV true crime dramas like 'The Deliberate Stranger' (Bundy), 'Out of the Darkness' (Berkowitz), 'To Catch A Killer' (Gacy) and 'Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker' (Ramirez).

Boring and bland, this made for TV movie about the famous BTK Killer Dennis Rader is ultimately unsatisfying. With such great material to work with, one would think this would make a great movie, with a real-life serial killer that took thirty years to be caught. The script is stilted, the dialogue bland and the cinematography....well, it looks like its been filmed with a hand-held cam-corder. Makes one feel quite ill! In more skillful hands it could have been so much better. Robert Forster and Maury Chaykin gamely plod along, doing what they can with scant material. TV's Michael Michele provides a bit of glamour for what is essentially an ugly little movie.Not very inspiring!

John Dunsworth ... Jim Lahey of Trailer Park Boys has a few different appearances in the movie.As the Reverand of the church BTK goes to and speaks several lines but there is no mention he is in the movie.just seemed odd to me.I am from Halifax and enjoyed seeing a few people I knew in the film and of course recognizing locations.I did also see a few other people I knew from just seeing them around not really knowing them but there is no mention of them either.For some reason I never heard of this movie until this week and it is 2 years old. I normally am pretty on top of what movies are out there but this one slipped me by and it was a local movie for me also.I rather enjoyed watching it but does have a bit of the stereo-type of a Canadian film look to it but very glad to watch it and will again with my wife at a later date.

While the Variety reviewer did not liked this version of the BTK story, I found it to be a good, but not exciting, movie. The lead investigator does the role with almost a Jack Webb approach and his narration is also reminiscent of Webb. The movie spends relative little time rehashing the murders and focuses on the actual hunt and capture. It also features Gregg Heny as Dennis Rader and plays the role well, especially as he resembles, through makeup, the killer. It is his chilling take on the killer that makes this movie worth watching. The movie combines characters and simplifies the events, but stays, mostly on track with the actual events.