The Zodiac Killer Project Uncovers the Techniques and Themes of True Crime

      Charlie Shackleton's documentary on the Zodiac Killer originated from a project that ultimately fell through. He had intended to adapt a memoir by a police officer who believed he had solved one of the most notorious unsolved murder cases. However, after the rights to the memoir were unavailable, Shackleton opted to create a film that explored the concept of his unmade documentary, leading to the development of Zodiac Killer Project.

      Premiering on Monday at the Sundance Film Festival, the film features Shackleton narrating, with considerable humor, a detailed account of his unreleased documentary. Throughout, he reveals a variety of true-crime documentary techniques that filmmakers employ to engage viewers while making them feel informed.

      With a touch of dry wit, he critiques the manipulation and occasional deception prevalent in the true-crime genre, like a magician unveiling secrets while blushing at their simplicity.

      Shackleton demonstrates his prowess in what he terms “evocative B-roll”: scenes of crime scene tape, footprints, bloodstains, a closing door, and a figure in the background possibly holding a file. He contemplates why reenactments of interrogations in true crime documentaries frequently feature a swinging overhead light. If he needs a menacing police station, he cleverly substitutes it with a library.

      Some of the crafted visuals, such as a burning police sketch of the Zodiac suspect, are so impactful that they resonate with the audience, despite the knowledge of their manipulation.

      He finds humor in the frequent occurrence of the name "the bulldog" given to lead investigators in many true crime documentaries. Additionally, he responds to contemporary trends, such as using AI to animate still images, which creates an unsettling feeling of being within an old photograph.

      Shackleton's initial film was set to be based on the 2012 book The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up: The Silenced Badge, by Lyndon E. Lafferty, a former California Highway Patrol officer. The film adopts the pseudonym attributed to the suspect in Lafferty's book, George Russell Tucker.

      Although some viewers craving to uncover the true identity of the suspect may feel let down, Shackleton clarifies that uncovering the Zodiac Killer’s identity is not his primary focus; instead, he is examining the genre itself.

      For this reason, he intentionally avoids two things: providing the basic background of the Zodiac case (the serial killer who claimed at least five victims in the San Francisco Bay Area during the late '60s) and detailing his personal qualifications.

      By withholding his credentials, Shackleton suggests that anyone could achieve what he does, merely by consuming enough true crime content. This mirrors the impression true-crime documentaries give home viewers, flattering them into believing they can decipher clues that seasoned investigators have overlooked.

      "Clearly, I've never produced a true crime film. And it felt that my experience as a viewer was a reasonable substitute," Shackleton shares with MovieMaker. "I have no way to prove that. I didn’t actually go ahead and create the documentary, so I don’t have anything definitive to show. I'm sure true crime experts would question my ability to replicate the formula so easily. Yet, it felt intuitive based on my viewer experience."

      Though he doesn't specialize in true crime, the 33-year-old British filmmaker is respected for his work and began the movie blog Ultra Culture in 2008 at the age of 16. Growing up with a single mother, he started recording her seizures as a child, following doctors' advice for treatment.

      Shackleton is a keen observer of genres: His debut film, Beyond Clueless, released in 2014, analyzed '90s teen films. Another of his works, The Afterlight, contemplates impermanence; it features scenes of deceased actors from classic films, with only a single print that deteriorates with each screening.

      Similar to those projects, Zodiac Killer Project encompasses footage from prior films — particularly the true crime documentaries that Shackleton critiques. He makes frequent references to the works of Joe Berlinger, whose career spans the acclaimed Paradise Lost series and several recent Netflix successes.

      “All the material included in the film is used under fair-use provisions,” Shackleton mentions. “We did not seek permission from anyone, which could have been challenging to obtain considering I make some unflattering remarks about other true crime films and programs in the film.”

      He acknowledges being a fan of much of Berlinger’s oeuvre — particularly the Paradise Lost films, which meticulously analyze the West Memphis Three case — but feels that the director's recent Netflix projects can sometimes resemble a “production line.”

      Zodiac Killer Project is currently for sale at Sundance, and Shackleton contemplates whether potential buyers will shy away from acquiring a film that lightly mocks the true crime genre. After all, platforms like Netflix are thriving with true-crime content and may be reluctant to undermine their successful formula.

      "It became somewhat of a running joke that the more references we included in the film about various distributors and streaming services, the less likely we seemed to find one