''Gacy'' (also known as ''The Crawl Space'') is a 2003 American
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
horror thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
written and directed by Clive Saunders, and co-written by David Birke. A
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
release, it is based on the crimes of
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...
, an American serial killer who raped, tortured, and murdered at least thirty-three men and boys in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
during the 1970s. It stars
Mark Holton
Mark Douglas Holton (born April 2, 1958) is an American actor, best known for portraying Francis Buxton in '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' (1985), Chubby in the ''Teen Wolf'' film series and Ozzie Jones in ''Leprechaun'' (1993), and ''Leprechaun Ret ...
as Gacy.
Plot
In 1953, the teenage
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...
argues with his father, who says he will "never be brave enough" and kicks him.
In 1976, the adult Gacy's lunch with his family is interrupted by a neighbor demanding something be done about the stench coming from his
crawl space
A crawl space is an unoccupied, unfinished, narrow space within a building, between the ground and the first (or ground) floor. The crawl space is so named because there is typically only enough room to crawl rather than stand; anything larger t ...
. Gacy responds angrily that he will. Lunch is interrupted again when Steve, an employee of Gacy's, complains he has not been paid for two weeks. Gacy says he will be paid and orders him off his property. Gacy consults a friend who advises
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
for the smell.
While driving at night, Gacy abducts a man, brings him back to his garage and tells him about his problems, then releases him. At work Gacy angrily berates his workers for smoking on the job. He asks his latest employee how he's enjoying working for him, and if he likes wrestling. They wrestle in Gacy's back yard where Gacy pins him down and Steve, watching with another man, calls him a
faggot
Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to:
Arts and crafts
* Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel
* Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease
* F ...
. Gacy is furious.
The next day, Steve and two other men attack Gacy as he comes out of a shop. Steve takes the money from Gacy's wallet, gives some to the other men and tells Gacy that he quits. Late that night, Gacy's wife, Kara, is awake in bed when she hears a car pull up. Gacy gets out and brings out Steve, who's
handcuffed
''Handcuffed'' is a 1929 American silent mystery film directed by Duke Worne and starring Virginia Brown Faire, Wheeler Oakman and Dean Jagger.Munden p.322
Synopsis
Gerald Morely's father is ruined in a stock fraud and commits suicide. When sho ...
, and shoves him into the garage. Investigating, Kara finds clothes strewn about in the garage. She runs to the crawl space entrance where Gacy bursts out, saying that he had been laying down lime.
Gacy hosts his
4th of July fancy dress party
A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock char ...
, during which he offers Tom Kovak a job, and a speech is made honoring Gacy as an asset to the community. He hires an
exterminator to take care of the
maggot
A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies.
...
s and
cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...
es gathering in the crawl space. Questioned by two police officers about Steve's disappearance, he says Steve told him he was going to
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
or
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. One day, Gacy hits one of his employees over the head with a hammer. After cleaning him up, he pays him for his silence and lets him go. Kara discovers a pair of handcuffs and some
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
magazines in the garage. Gacy blames some employees, saying "you know how I feel about homos". A few days later, Kara takes the two girls and leaves Gacy alone with his mother. Tom is having problems at home, so Gacy suggests he rent Gacy's spare room.
Another late evening, Gacy picks up a male prostitute and stuffs a
chloroform
Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with chemical formula, formula Carbon, CHydrogen, HChlorine, Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to ...
ed rag into his face. The prostitute awakens suspended by chains in Gacy's garage. The next morning, Gacy leaves the prostitute in the park where he stumbles away. Gacy lays concrete in the crawl space to try and cover the stench. He meets with James Burrel and agrees to buy his car. Inviting Burle in for a drink, he instead drowns him in the bathtub. Gacy is running out of room in the crawl space. As Gacy and Tom are watching a video reel of how Gacy started his business, the video cuts to pornography. Tom freaks out and spends the night awake and terrified.
Tom decides to leave, but Gacy tricks him into being handcuffed and starts strangling him. Tom manages to escape and runs to the police. While Gacy is out of the house the police enter and find dozens of watches and drivers licenses.
Gacy is arrested as the police exhume the bodies from the crawl space. The film ends with Gacy's last words before he's put to death. They are, "Kiss my ass!"
Cast
Reception
On the film review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Gacy'' received a 17% approval rating, based on six reviews, with an average rating of 3.8/10. Chuck Wilson of ''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'' found ''Gacy'' to be an "unenlightening" and "unconvincing" film that suffered from "dime-store psychology" and a failure to "convey the subtleties of Gacy’s scheming intellect." Mike Long of
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
gave the film a half star out of a possible five, opined that it "offers no suspense, no gore, and no thrills" and concluded, "If nothing else, a film about a serial killer should offer a glimpse inside the criminal mind. If it can't do that, it could at least be an entertaining
exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
. ''Gacy'' is neither of those things and there is absolutely no reason to see this movie." Reel Film Review's David Nusair commended Mark Holton's performance as Gacy, but lambasted the film itself, which he derided as being an ineptly written and directed "bore" that "completely fails to make any kind of impact." Conversely, ''Gacy'' was praised for its "dark, disturbing insight into Gacy" by Steve Barton of
Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...
, who went on to write that the "horrifying and informative" film was "well-worth seeking out to learn more about America's most notorious serial killer." Buzz McClain of
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
also praised the "ruthlessly fascinating" film, which he gave a score of 3/5.
[ ]
See also
* ''
To Catch a Killer
''To Catch a Killer'' is a two-part television film from 1992, directed by Eric Till and starring Brian Dennehy and Michael Riley. It is based on the true story of the pursuit of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Plot
As he investigates ...
'', a 1992 film about John Wayne Gacy
* ''
Dear Mr. Gacy
''Dear Mr. Gacy'' is a 2010 Canadian drama thriller film directed by Svetozar Ristovski, and starring William Forsythe and Jesse Moss. The film is based on Jason Moss's memoir '' The Last Victim''.
Plot
As part of his college thesis, Jason Mo ...
'', a 2010 film about John Wayne Gacy
References
External links
*
*
* {{rotten-tomatoes, gacy, Gacy
2003 crime thriller films
2003 direct-to-video films
2003 films
2003 horror films
2003 independent films
2003 LGBT-related films
2003 psychological thriller films
2000s American films
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Fictional portrayals of the Chicago Police Department
Films about adultery in the United States
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