Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck

There has always been a certain fascination for killers, especially those who are so devoid of humanity that they can kill a number of people without the slightest hint of remorse. One of the most heinous of these mass murderers was Richard Speck, the killer of eight student nurses in Chicago back in 1966. Speck was a tall, lean man with pock marks on his face from a serious case of acne. He had no regard for anyone other than himself and was driven only by compulsion. In short he was a textbook example of a deranged sociopath, a person with no sense of empathy and completely lacking a conscience. To a man like this the taking of a human like in a brutal fashion is no more significant that when a normal person brushes an ant off their arm. Perhaps one of the reasons that men such as this are popular fodder for films and novels is it permits normal, law abiding people a chance to vicariously look into the face of pure evil. The latest incarnation of these horrible murders is in Lion’s Gate direct to video opus, ‘Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck’. The film details some of the background of Speck as well as the murders and their aftermath.

The film opens in what appears to be a jail cell. Richard Speck (Corin Nemec) is smoking wondering why he hasn’t been let loose. The scene then shifts to what looks like a ranch somewhere in Texas. A woman, Mrs. Whitmore (Amy Lyndon) is leading her children into the house. Speck slips into the truck and begins to drive away, tossing her groceries out as he drives off. The woman shouts that she is going to call the police. Speck seems to take his time driving off reveling in the trouble he is causing Mrs. Whitmore. We then see Speck in his best clothes as the judge addresses him. The judge tells Speck that he has been in his courtroom 15 times nut he is reluctant to send him to jail. The judge feels that jail will only make Speck more of a criminal and charges him with court ordered therapy. Mrs. Whitmore is outraged since the truck she needs to earn a living is wrecked. Speck reneges on the therapy and hops a train out of Clifton Texas. Flashbacks show the abusive relationship Speck had with is step father (Nino Simon). Richard actually can appear charming. When he meets a student nurse, Sharon (Cherish Lee) she asks for his number. He tells her he doesn’t yet has a place to live but he knows she is a student nurse and must live in the nursing dormitory. When drunk at a bar he muses about how long it would take to strangle a person. Yes, Speck is far from the kind of guy you would want to cross.

On the night of July 13^th, 1966 (actually the events took place on the 14^th), Speck breaks into the student nurses dorm and begins to terrorize the young women there. He claims that although they ‘look tasty’ he is ‘not there for that’. Apparently Speck just wanted to speak to the nurse he met and perhaps rob them. That plan, like most of Speck’s life, did not go well. Speck wound up repeatedly raping and torturing the women leaving eight dead. The next we see is a news reporter, Barbara Billing (Cameo Cara Martine) trying to get past the detective in charge, Captain Joe Dunning (Tony Todd). There was one survivor, Sondra Azano (Joanne Chew), who hid under the bed during the entire ordeal. In another flashback Speck has one of the women tied up in a bathtub as he apologizes to her for the beating he gave her. He then leans over her and shoots her in the head. Casually, he takes a drag of his smoke. Back at the investigation Dunning takes Jack Whitaker (Andrew Divoff) on a tour of the scene. Both men are appalled by what they see, room after room of young women in pools of their own blood. Whitaker wants to pursue a lead that initially leads him but Dunning is under as lot of political pressure due to growing racial tensions in the city. The investigation plods along; at one point two police offices have Speck in front of them when they investigate a claim by a hooker (Debbie Rochon) that he drew gun on her. The police let him go without a single piece of paperwork. Eventually, the film gets around to his capture.

This is one of two films by writer-director Michael Feifer this year that deals with famous killers. The other deals with the infamous Ed Gein, who killed, ate and wore the skins of his victims. Considering the latest trend in horror flicks to show extreme amounts of blood this flick is fairly tame by comparison. While the many flashbacks depict the rape, torture and murders the use of the camera spares the audience most of the graphic details. Most of the terror is shown through the eyes of the young women. One by one Speck took a single victim to kill. The look in their eyes as they are taken away and the eyes of the women awaiting their turn is the true emotional impact of this flick. The main thing that detracts from this film is the pacing. Much of the story is told in flashbacks; not only to the night of the murders but to demonstrate the abusive background of Speck. Thankfully, there is nothing here that tries to excuse his behavior. Speck is shown as a man who became a monster long before his killing spree. The only time he feels empowered is when he is physically dominating a helpless woman. The film would have been served well with a tighter editing but overall it holds up.

Corin Nemec does well portraying this heinous creature. His performance is rather flat but considering the subject it works. Nemec shows little depth in his representation of Speck but after all there is not much to this character beyond his brutality. Speck was a one note character and Nemec demonstrates his acting talent by not making him more complex than he was. Tony Todd is a talented character actor but here he is not given the right environment to show his skills.

Lion’s Gate releases this film as one of their direct to DVD titles. This film lacks the gore which most horror fans want from such a flick but I found that a point in its favor. The video is in anamorphic 1.78:1. The color palette is dark, almost muddy. Most of the color is washed out perhaps to reflect the lifeless view that Speck must have had. The Dolby 5.1 audio is reasonably balanced but the channel separation is lacking in most scenes. There are a few extras to note. There is an interesting commentary featuring Nemec and Feifer where they detail the difficulties in bringing such a detestable person to the screen. There are also some deleted scenes and a photo gallery. In all this is a film that will appeal mostly to the true crime fan.

Posted 06/01/07