FAQ for
Zodiac (2007/I) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

"Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan, which also plays at the end when Mike Mageau identifies Arthur Leigh Allen as the man who shot him.

"Bang Bang" by Vanilla Fudge.

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Following Mike Mageau's identification of Arthur Leigh Allen, authorities scheduled a meeting to discuss charging him with the murders. Allen suffered a fatal heart attack before this meeting could take place.

In 2002, a partial DNA profile, that did not match Allen, was developed from a 33 year-old Zodiac envelope. Investigators in San Francisco and Vallejo refused to rule out Allen as a suspect on the basis of this test.

In 2004, the San Francisco Police Department deactivated their Zodiac investigation.

Today, the case remains open in Napa County, Solano County, and in the city of Vallejo, where Arthur Leigh Allen is still the prime and only suspect.

Inspector David Toschi retired from the San Francisco Police Department in 1989. He was cleared of all charges that he wrote the 1978 Zodiac letter.

Paul Avery passed away on December 10, 2000 of pulmonary emphysema. He was 66. His Ashes were scattered by his family in the San Francisco Bay.

Robert Graysmith lives in San Francisco and enjoys a healthy relationship with his children. He claims he has not received a single anonymous call since Allen's death.

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No, he was not. There have been multiple suspects, but none have even been arrested. If he is still alive, it is believed he must be at least 60 years old. It is presumed that he is dead. The case is still officially open and is regarded as a "cold case".

According to Wikipedia, the case was reopened again sometime before March of 2007.

The different actors were employed to match the varied physical descriptions of the "Zodiac Killer" by eyewitnesses and surviving victims. For example, the suspect seen at the scene of Paul Lee Stine's murder was described as quite heavy, and is here played by Bob Stephenson; while the man indicated to be Zodiac (although never positively correlated with the Zodiac killings by the police) who threatened Kathleen Johns was described as rather slighter and smaller, and is here played by John Lacy.

Interestingly, John Carroll Lynch, who plays Arthur Leigh Allen, the man who's ultimately accused of the Zodiac killings by Robert Graysmith (a theory seemingly supported by the film), was not used in recreating any of the crimes of the "Zodiac Killer".

The directors cut offers five minutes of new plot scenes. Most of the news scenes are slightly extended dialogue sequences but there are also three new longer scenes. A detailed comparison can be found here.

PRO:

Fincher seems to be in reaction against the slice-and-dice style of modern crime movies; his composition and editing are more classical, and he doesn't use nine shots when one will do. He is an elegant stylist on top of everything else, and here he finds the right pace and style for a story about persistence in the face of evil. -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A mesmerizing account of the infamous, never-solved Bay Area serial killings as seen from the perspectives of several men who spent years trying to crack the case. -- Todd McCarthy, Variety

Zodiac never veers from its stoically gripping, police-blotter tone, yet it begins to take on the quality of a dream. -- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

MIXED:

A sort of souped-up, ultra-long episode of "Law & Order." From a stylish director like David Fincher, the straightforward, no-frills approach is a little bit of a letdown. -- James Berardenelli, reelview.net

Zodiac is superbly made, but it's also a strange piece of work. -- David Denby, New Yorker

The straightforward approach is crucial, because the movie is constantly doling out so much information - so many names and places and theories to keep track of - that it borders on the overwhelming. Occasionally, it's a little dull, too. -- Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

CON:

The picture tries hard for addictive mystery, but it is full of scenes that promise insight and don't deliver. -- Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

At 2 1/2 hours, the film is too long in the telling and too short on suspense. -- Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle