Lifetime made a movie about Philip Markoff. He was a student that terrorized the whores of Craig’s List in New England. This is based on a book by Michele McPhee, who is as gritty as a reporter as they come. So imagine my surprise to find out that this movie is like every Tori Spelling movie from the 90s. College is good. 90s music is playing. Everyone is smart and happy. Love blossoms, and then it all goes to shit. The first hour of this movie is unbelievably preppy. Everyone is white and rich.
The most ridiculously awesome part of the movie is when he buys supplies. He actually asks the dood at the home depot if ”these are the disposable phones that are untraceable”. Then he takes a trip down the serial killer aisle, buying duct tape and plastic ties. He buys a gun with a fake id and then acts all psycho in the store. Anyone who’s been alive would have at least made a joke about him keeping prisoners in the basement.
The movie kind of ruined the most salacious parts of the story. We got more time with his fiancée dress shopping then we did with his killing. He apparently had 16 pairs of panties under his bed with his gun. He took a picture of his junk. We never saw the real dirtiness that went with this. Apparently he was into transsexuals and other shit. We never saw that or his enjoyment of his fetish. It was like J.Crew produced the most sanitized adaptation of a killer’s story they could. Even at the end when he committed suicide in his cell, it was like an episode of Dawson’s Creek. Why were they trying to make it about a tragic romance? Save that for the CW. I wonder what Abercrombie and Fitch would do with the same material.
Our one star was William Baldwin. It’s been a long fall since Sliver for him. One thing he’s got going on is that his Boston accent is as good as his brother Alec’s. This movie is a total pass. The movie failed to do the story justice. Word is that Michele McPhee was a consultant. I guess her input was to make a story about a sick fuck into a “Forever Young” style movie.
