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

Syl I'm sure Brian Dennehy must have hated doing this role portraying sadistic, cruel serial killer, John Wayne Gacy. In this film version of the events that led to his capture and the revelations of the thirty plus lives that he tortured and murdered and kept as souvenirs to remember. Dennehy gives a performance that is both riveting and frightening and yet we can't wait to see what he does next. Especially when he's trapped by the law and being followed everywhere, still trapped in the closet, he refuses to describe himself as homosexual. Gacy was truly a hated individual who nobody missed now or ever. Dennehy deserves an Emmy for his portrayal because he tries to bring a heart to a heartless villain of a character. In reality, Gacy was the bogeyman that we children feared. Margot Kidder is memorable as the psychic who sees the horror at the home. THe mini-series is worth watching to see a great American actor like Dennehy turn this role into a winner.

Chloe1251 I think this movie should have been made for the big screen and not TV.Brian Dennehy gives one of the most electrifying and chilling performances I've ever seen, as serial killer John Wayne Gacy. His facial expressions, threatening demeanor and aura of pure evil are much more shocking, creepy and frightening than buckets of blood and graphic violence would have been.This movie is driven on suspense, which is saying a lot, considering most viewers already knew the outcome of the story beforehand.This is a thriller in every sense,way scarier than many recent so-called "horror" movies released, and does it all without CGI, gore, cheap shock elements,or foul language.

Nachtterror This film was a very mediocre telling of the story of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. The acting wasn't all that hot (except for Dennehy) and it had that distinctive made-for-tv look and feel to it. My one major complaint is that Dennehy was too aggressive in his role of John Gacy. The thing that made Gacy so evil and diabolical was that he was friendly. He was popular. He was successful. He seemed like a nice guy. Dennehy shows Gacy to be a real a**hole, which at times he was, but he doesn't show that friendly side. Besides that the film is alright. It is a fairly honest rendition of the whole event, but of course since it is a made-for-tv movie, lacks the grizzly details. I recommend it to people familiar with the Gacy case or people looking to learn more, but if you I would recommend reading a book (such as "Killer Clown") as well, just so you get the WHOLE story.