Customer Reviews

Diary of a Serial Killer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like so many others, I too have become a recent Vosloo watcher and bought the DVD of this film for that reason. This is not a film I would have purchased ordinarily, nor would I have attended it in a theater. (I spend too much of my time keeping others alive to relish watching someone else trash viable young adults in the full bloom of youth and life). Still, one can hardly but appreciate the talent that went into bringing Stephan to reality on the screen. I have met two psychopathic personalities, one professionally while I was working on a neurology ward and one in private life while I was living in Egypt. In both instances in retrospect, I am especially amazed at the skill they exhibited in enlisting the cooperation of their victims--myself among others--in their enterprises. One not only believed in what they said and did, one actually WANTED to believe in what they said and did. Nor if I were to have a third encounter with such an individual could I honestly say I would be any the less vulnerable for the experience. Mr. Vosloo's characterization of Stephan is, therefore, not only creditable it is positively chilling. (One wonders how he went about preparing for the role.) His ability to show up virtually everywhere without warning was also effective (though not unpredictable given the genre). The only film I've seen wherein the character--in this case a female--was more effectively menacing, merciless, and everywhere is an Egyptian film in Arabic, entitled Shamps. Mr. Busey's character was also believable in that he entered a web of terror of his own volition (and probably arrogance) with Mr. Vosloo's very dangerous spider waiting for him in the middle of it. His ineffectual efforts to escape it and his ultimate involvement of others in the terror is also creditable. My only criticism of the film is that the story behind the title character's madness was neglected, religated to the experience of a disillusioned teenager--though recent events have proved graphically how violent and tragic that can become--this was, after all, the diary of a serial killer, and I would have liked to have known more about the making of such a madman. Over all, though I cannot honestly say I "liked" the film, I still thought it was a good one.

With Gary Busey and Arnold Vosloo starring and a great story idea, how could this movie go so wrong? Simple. With a script that can't live up to its full potential and weak directing that leaves these talented and charismatic actors with egg on their faces.

Throughout this movie, lines are forced and emotional outbursts come flying out of nowhere. At times the actors are left to grope for a connection, or worse, they are made to violate their instincts, turning powerful moments into awkward ones.

Like harpies from the sky, these senseless moments make the viewer want to run screaming for shelter. What seemed like a promising thriller of intrigue and insanity turned out to be a disappointing groaner of missed marks and flat presentation.

It's always a shame when such awesome actors have been wasted, but they say that any experience is a good one if you learn a valuable lesson. I sincerely hope so, but I want to know "Is it too early to do a re-make?"

Sad to see such wasted talent as Arnold Vosloo (who is horribly miscast as a far too attractive and far from menacing serial killer) in this unfortunate excuse for a psychological thriller. If, like me, you have recently become a fan of this sexy and darkly intense actor since this summer's mega-hit "The Mummy", you will be pleased at the amount of screen time and dialogue he has but sorely disappointed if you are a fan of the psychological thriller genre. Gary Busey seems to sleepwalk through the movie when any other journalist would likely be traumatized at being stalked by a serial killer. More interviews with the killer would have provided more insight into this character. Lots of potential for an interesting study of the mind of a killer, but somebody missed the boat on that one. In short, if you're a Vosloo fan, give it a look but if you're a psychological thriller movie fan, give it a definite pass!!!

This is a movie about a reporter (Busey) who unknowingly witnesses a serial killer at work. The killer (Vosloo) finds out that someone just saw what he did, he confronts Busey and finds out that he's a reporter. Busey saves himself by offering to do a story on Stefan (Vosloo) and in turn gets in over his head. I believe this is one of Vosloo's best films. He is believable and captivating in this role. This film is why I became a Vosloo fan in the first place. Highly reccomended for adlut audiences.

Diary of a Serial Killer is a pretty good film, though the woman who played the main character probably needed some lesson skills before attempting position as lead role. Oh well, she was hot, and that makes up for it in my young and innocent mind, lol.

The story is about a man who's really messed up in the head. He goes around killing men and women in graphic and violent ways. He does so by sneaking around (usually late at night) makes sure the people are alone, and finds a way to murder them. Yeah, he's a real mean guy.

The woman who stars in the film is a hot, long-haired blonde who goes around trying to figure out the clues that will eventually lead to finding the murderer. Throughout the movie we are treated to scenes involving one disturbingly violent murder after another.

The way the serial killer changes his facial appearance for each of the murders, and the way the storyline goes through the mind of a man who apparently has NOTHING to lose makes Diary of a Serial Killer a pretty good movie from beginning to end. I wish the acting could have been better though, because that would have definitely made the film even better in my mind.

The actual violent scenes are EXTREMELY violent. I have to warn you about that. Numerous kills in the movie deal with bullet blasts directly to the head, which leads to blood shooting on the wall behind the victims body.

This is one example where poor acting does NOT distract from the enjoyment and the believability of the storyline.

Diary of a Serial Killer (1997) Gary Busey, Arnold Vosloo, and Michael Madsen star in this low budget thriller. Busey plays Nelson, the kind of journalist so committed (or needing to be committed) he'll go on a several week alcohol binge or throw on a wig and dress to write articles "through the eyes" of alcoholics and crossdressers. When he accidentally stumbles across one of serial killer Stefan's murders, it looks bad for Nelson, until Stefan (Vosloo) decides he'd like the journalist to start a new project: "Through the Eyes of a Killer." As he puts the nutjob off as best he can, Busey tries to contact cop Madsen several times, but the creepy Vosloo has a way of turning up each time and stopping him. Eventually, Stefan forces Nelson along for one of his killings and then starts eyeing Busey's girlfriend (Julia Campbell) as a potential victim. Will Nelson be able to stop Stefan, or having seen through the eyes of the killer, will he be corrupted into a life of murder? This one turned out okay, carried along more by the cast than anything else. In terms of their performances, all three actors add to this movie, but Vosloo is 100% into his role, Busey is 90-95%, and Madsen is his usual 70% or so. Busey seems a tiny bit uncomfortable as the hero, and it might have been interesting if he and Vosloo had switched parts. Madsen simply always seems a little bored, and weirdly, he just disappears from the movie in a way that more suggests behind the scenes strife than coherent screenwriting. There's not a whole lot of objectionable material happening here in terms of gore or nudity, so this one might also come off a bit TV movie-ish, so I can only really recommend it to fans of the stars or serial killer kompletists.

This is, by far, one of the worst movies I have seen. I had hopes for the movie based on the initial credits - Gary Busey, Michael Madsen (who I like, rasberries to all of those who don't like his acting).

The movie starts out in a transvestite cabaret, with of all people - RUPAUL - aargh!
Then we are treated to a very frumpy looking Garey Busey in drag, not a pretty site at all (joke intended). Even cheesier is that instead of wiring himself to record conversations, Busey holds a giant tape recorder at his side and MIRACULOUSLY ENOUGH, gets PERFECT SOUND QUALITY OF A CONVERSATION 15 FEET AWAY!
Two scenes in this movie creeped me out, but I don't think this was intentional on the part of the director. ONE: Gary Busey putting on makeup in the mens room of the bar, surrounded by crossdressers urinating in standup stalls, getting advice on how to keep lipstick off of his teeth from Julia Campbell, TWO: Gary busey still in makeup, with earrings, smoking a cigar at home and looking like a typical country grandmother!

The interaction between the police officers was terrible and not realistic compared to so many other movies I have seen. Madsen's backstory wasn't done well at all, expect for about 10 seconds where he describes his daughter being killed by a serial killer. The "rookie cop" character writing wasn't done well, especially in the last scene when he declared Madsen's character dead in the car without even checking his pulse! There was no chemistry at all between Madsen and Wilson!

As far as Vosloo is concerned, I have to disagree with everyone who said he did a great acting job. I didn't know him from a hole in the ground before I saw this movie, and all I can really say is that he was creepy, but not as intended. Vosloo came across like a poor imitation of Nicholas Cage with a cheesy radio host voice.
He was completely unconvincing as a serial killer. Sorry! Plus, NOBODY is that lucky - murdering people in broad daylight and never getting caught - so the character was unconvincing as well.

This movie was edited badly, and I have to agree with one reviewer that I'd like to see an uncut version. For instance, Michael Madsen's character "watching the warehouse" is never explained, then all of a sudden he is dead in his police car for no obvious reason after changing the batteries from his pager to the "hard to find" tape player (WHAT?!) and entering his car to listen to the tape.
Then he's found dead? DID THE TAPE PLAYER EXPLODE? WHAT HAPPENED?!

In the second to last scene, Busey stabs the serial killer, so you assume he was killed, and all Busey has for him after he "rises from the dead" to appear at his book signing (and what did he use to make the book? 10 minutes of interviews??) is a cheesy, denture filled smile. What a joke! Plus, the freeze frame at the end was even more sucky. Freeze frame endings are so yesterday...

Overall, this movie was a complete waste of time. Busey's acting is so terrible as to be almost not worth mentioning and he is supposed to be the star!
If I didn't know better from the end credits, I would have thought this film was made for TV based on all of the bad shooting and empty plot.

I want my 92 minutes back.

Gary Busey and Arnold Vosloo star in this lukewarm thriller, diminished by a pedestrian script and its failure to really be a "diary". We don't really find out why Vosloo does what he does. While Vosloo's performance is effectively chilling, Busey is horribly miscast. His journalist role is weakly performed, and little conviction is evidenced in his relationship with Vosloo or his live in girl friend (the lovely Julia Campbell). Add Michael Masden (B movie's Bruce Willis) as a cop whose daughter was killed by a serial killer and Reno Wilson as his obligatory African American partner, and the soup thickens. Masden sleepwalks and Wilson tries to be Ice T. Wilson's actions at the end of the movie are highly unprofessional and hard to swallow.
This could have been a better movie with a tighter script and someone else in Busey's role.

I rented this just to see Arnold Vosloo. He looks great, but the movie is dumb. I'm not a horror fan, so I can't compare this film to others in the genre, but the story is pretty weak. And Gury Busey is fat and sluggish in his role (literally and figuratively). I couldn't believe how weak his character is... especially in the scene where he stands there and evespdrops during a murder. I kept shouting "do something!". Even Arnold loses his edge sometimes when the script calls for him too talk to much... sometimes less is more. But if you are a Vosloo fan, you can't miss this one.

this is a must see movie for any vosloo fan!! yeah, i know, i know, he's a psycho in this movie, but he's just so darn sexy as lunatic...oh yeah, i'm getting off track. i definetly recommend this movie to anyone who's in the mood for a freaky experience, or someone who's looking for a hot friday night date.....