momop1 This contains spoilers if you know nothing about John Wayne Gacy.From what I know the story is pretty well accurate, and the movie in general is a good piece of work, however it would be great if it were not for the portrayal of Gacy. I am not an expert on serial killers however I do know that John Wayne Gacy was a lovable and charming man until it came down to his actual act of murder. I can get passed the idea of the lone heroic cop who knows the truth because it is more entertaining, yet I feel Brian Dennehy's choice to react in such an angry way to this cop's investigations as completely out of character to Gacy. Gacy was a groomer, policeman who were watching him during his time under house arrest said that they "had to keep reminding themselves that he is a murder suspect". Anyone who knew him said he was the last person they could ever think to be a murderer.Gacy should have been portrayed as the most normal and lovely human being when it comes down to him in scenes with others who aren't his victims. That way seeing him switch off into his serial killer state of mind would have been more shocking to watch and in my opinion more entertaining. That was the real John Wayne Gacy.

Theo Robertson Police detective Joe Korenczak receives a missing person report on teenage boy Chris Gant who was last seen in the company of local businessman John Wayne Gacy . Joe visits the home of Gacy only to find the truculent home owner in no mood to talk since Gacy has just received news of a family tragedy . As Joe digs deeper he finds several more teenage boys have disappeared all of them associated with Gacy who has a previous for sodomy I remember seeing this mini-series many years ago and being hypnotized by Brian Dennehey's performance of John Wayne Gacy . I'd never heard of Gacy before TO CATCH A KILLER but thanks to to this he stuck out in my mind , helped no doubt that the mass murderer shares most of his name with a famous cowboy actor . Dennehey is terrifying in the role but with hindsight he's a little to good . His portrayal as Gacy is a little bit too abrasive , supercilious and intimidating . He effectively has " Evil Serial killer " written on his forehead and instead of the banality of evil we have the arrogance of evil . You'll be puzzled as to why the police didn't catch him sooner The unfortunate thing is that the police should have caught him sooner . . Before TO CATCH A KILLER takes up the story police in Illinois had received complaints about Gacy one of which related to the disappearance of 17 year old John Butokovich whose parents begged police to investigate him but the police did nothing . Gacy you see was a fine upstanding pillar of the community active in committees and local politics rubbing shoulders with the great and good . You can just imagine the parents of the disappeared wailing that Gacy knows more than he's letting on and the police dismissing them that anyone having their photo taken with the first lady is incapable of being a murderer This is at odds with the dramatized events of TO CATCH A KILLER . From the outset we know Gacy is guilty as does police detective Korenczak . It's almost as though this miniseries has been written for the benefit of the Illinois police making them less culpable of gullibility at the hands of Gacy but this ends up becoming totally ironic as Dennehey growls and sneers and effectively says " Come and get me coppers " from the very outset of the mini-series . The police here are so short of leads they have to contact a psychic for leads but the truth is complaints had been made about Gacy for several years before and no one in authority joined up the dots

burkemancometh Let me say this: Brian Dennehy did a great job portraying who is probably one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. John Wayne Gacy was a savage sociopathic killer whose outer image had to be cracked through in order to solve the mystery of 33 missing teenage boys. Dennehy does a great job portraying Gacy, and I think few people could have done it better.However, if you're expecting a movie directly about John Wayne Gacy, I'm writing this to crush your expectations. This movie is more about how the detectives caught Gacy than anything. Therein lies the majority of the movie, and also the weakest part of the movie. The scenes without Dennehy are God-awfully boring. Watching a movie with grass growing would be more stimulating. The guy who plays the head detective is not very convincing, and neither is the psychic he goes to in the middle of the movie (played by Margot Kidder). The part with Kidder probably didn't happen, and was probably added to the movie to give it more excitement. Well, it didn't work.To give it more excitement, it could have shown more of Dennehy playing Gacy. It also would have helped if they would have at least tried to make to movie look like it was the 70's, which was the decade in which Gacy was actually tried and convicted. I mean, the movie shouldn't have been overdone with 70's stereotypes like in "Boogie Nights", but at least give it some flavor.I bought this on video after seeing the excellent TV movie, "The Deliberate Stranger". That TV movie was based on the search for Ted Bundy, and provided a good balance between Bundy's actual life and the detectives who tried to find him. In "To Catch A Killer", there is too much of an imbalance. Besides Dennehy, the actors in this movie sucked, and many things needed to be added to this movie to make it more interesting. Having it be a TV movie is no excuse.

johnm_001 This television film, which focuses on the police pursuit of John Wayne Gacy, is utterly engrossing. Sparing us the more grotesque details of Gacy's crimes, we are treated to the investigation and the frustrations of the police, who are trying to "catch" him. Brian Dennehey is always good, and, his performance in this film, is no exception. The cast is fine, throughout, and the direction is solid; but, it is Michael Riley, as Detective Joe Kozenczak, who owns the film. His role gives him most of the screen time, and his performance is completely compelling. A wonderful performance! Highly recommended.