The 27th of January, 1973 in the small town of Ottawa, Michigan. Dee McGuire, a young mother, is abducted by a stranger during a shopping trip into town. Despite searching extensively, the police & the public fail to find any trace of her. Six weeks after, her body is found near a farm. She had been raped & shot three times in the back. Despite an exhaustive investigation, where Detectives Lynn Kendall, Ben Bannister & David Sheridan chase down every possible angle & every lead, they come up frustratingly short. The suspects all have solid alibis & their limited forensic skills at the time fail to produce conclusive proof. The murder weapon is found but is too rusted to be test-fired. And to top that, the main suspect is killed in a motorcycle accident. The case goes cold for nearly twenty-four years before DNA testing & a chance lead on the rusted murder weapon lead the detectives in charge of the case onto whom they believe is the killer.An Ordinary Killer is an attempt to showcase, in an era of police television procedurals that place an emphasis on scientific forensic techniques that look flashy but disregard human investigative skills as antique, what things were like back in the days when DNA testing was unknown & the most advanced forensic testing that was available at the time was basic blood grouping & fingerprints. The film's title might put a lot of people off because of its inherent dullness but it actually is an interesting effort that, despite the slow pace, manages to put a more human dimension on the detectives who worked hard on this & other cases (the film was based on a true story), the killer only being caught due to a chance lead.While the film's concept might be well, ordinary, & the pace is a little on the slow side, the cast all give good performances. DJ Perry's lead might have the habit of talking to himself at times, but everyone manages to deliver the right kind of performance for the production at hand & you'll know they have the right man for the crime when the killer uses a familiar line that is used in a flashback.

I was at the world premiere in Owosso and was thrilled with it. Now that I have viewed the official release, I have found it to be truly excellent. The performance given by the entire cast. It was truly on the mark and very warming. Each actor and actress portrayed their characters very strongly. I believe that the DVD was better than the premiere. I was happy at that time, now I am thrilled. I want to spit out a spoiler but I won't. I will leave that to someone else. To Tony Hornus I say, "Job well done. You wrote it well. As well as directing it well." To the cast I say, "Way to go. You guys took a true story to the limits." I hope you all get to go to the Oscar's with this one. And if not the Oscar's... maybe the Emmy's when it gets seen on the tube.

I live in Texas and I went to Owosso to review the movie because I am a fan of one of the actors who appeared in it. "An Oridnary Killer" was all that I had expected it to be and then some. The storyline was a sad one but, was ever so well done. There are a few veteran actors as well as a few newcomers. They all gave fantasitc performances. It could not have been an easy script for the writer to have written at all but was well done. I do recommend the movie for those who like details... and mystery...

This is a plot driven tale of midwestern values applied to a horrible set of real crimes. I for one tire of not only the same bare Los Angeles topography in most films but of the big city f*** you attitudes that are increasingly taken as a societal norm. Well thank god most of the world isn't as messed up (yet) and communities of people often work together for a better good than getting the next Benz or getting into some dope club.Ordinary Killer is like the good part of a funeral; acknowledging the tragic, but recognizing the love and caring that can arise from that same tragedy.