Over 40 years since the infamous Zodiac killer terrorised inhabitants of San Francisco and surrounds, three people stumble across homemade films of some of his murders. They then set out to track him down. Despite some solid perfomances from both Shane West and Leslie Bibb 'Awaking the Zodiac' is a waste of both time and talent. It starts kinda promising with a Zodiac murder that was indeed sinister and the 2 leading actors do try but both the script and the story lead nowhere and it feels more like a film from an amateur director rather than a good one. Check out Fincher's 'Zodiac' movie instead... (3/10)

At one point while watching 'Awakening the Zodiac' I thought to myself, this is such a good idea, how has nobody done this before now? Then I realised that that is how unoriginal and unimaginative Hollywood has become. Any idea that is remotely fresh is utterly bizarre and unfounded to us. The fact that I had that thought about this movie indicates just how clever of an idea it is. Anyone can have a serial killer in their movie, but to base it around one that actually existed in real life and was never caught is downright smart. And it works. The hunt for this killer is genuinely intriguing and it all adds up to a very enjoyable film.The only faults I could see in the movie were the odd character decision being a little out of place, and a scene or two missing (assumably to cut down the run time). Other than that it's a very tightly put together little production. The acting is impressive, the story moves along nicely with decent pacing and the concept is more than interesting enough to keep the audience captivated. I was very impressed with 'Awakening the Zodiac'.

Awakening The Zodiac is a tense thriller and definitely worth a watch. It stars Shane West and Leslie Bibb as Mick and Zoe Branson, a down on their luck couple trying to make ends meet. To Zoe's chagrin they end up buying a storage locker with their friend and pawn shop owner Harvey (played by Matt Craven). Whilst there is not much of value in the locker there are two old 8 mm reels of film showing footage of the Zodiac Killer murdering his victims in the 1960's. The trio then decides to try and track down the Zodiac Killer in order to collect the $ 100 000 reward offered for his discovery and/or capture. This proves to be a highly hazardous endeavor. The story and directing are good and for the most part there is a high level of tension that leaves you wondering who the Zodiac is. The overall cast is solid and the supporting roles provided by Stephen McHattie, Kenneth Walsh and Nicholas Campbell are all above average. Not surprising given the fact that they have close to six hundred acting credits amongst them. When the identity of the Zodiac is revealed the movie shifts gears from a tense mystery to an an action thriller in the last ten or so minutes. Whilst the movie is not perfect, most of problems occur at the end especially in the closing scenes. And whilst some aspects of the story are far fetched given the age of the Zodiac and the fact that a landscaper and a hairdresser and a pawn shop broker found him when no one else could, overall the movie is definitely worth a watch. If the movie ended slightly differently and without the last scene it would have been even better though.

The real life, unsolved Bay Area Zodiac killer case gets a fictional exhumation four decades after the murderous spree, when a trio of junk collectors stumble upon canisters of incriminating film. This clever retro take on the YouTube crime clip phenomena presents our innocents with a chance at a $100,000 reward. And we're off.For the most part, this is a terrifyingly terrific movie, full of creepy, shadowy scenes, hair- raising tension and clever comedic quips. Our trio of trailer trash Sherlocks are very engaging as they stagger into a complicated and dangerous world, not so much for possible riches, but also for adventure. Taunting cryptogram clues, a sinister hood, and creepy voice messages; the Zodiac put the "K" in killer.Great stuff, but it is almost ruined with a messy, straight forward, by the numbers, uninspiring climax. Which in turn is then inexplicably thrown under the bus with an attempt at an open ended, confusing conclusion. It really does suffer from a proper wrap. "Awakening The Zodiac" needs a rewrite tweak focusing more on mystery than monster. Still a pretty good thrill ride.