User reviews

This film is not like most serial killer stories, in that it examines the lives of the young girls, tragic victims in the wrong place at the wrong time, born into the wrong social class with little choices Amy Davidson as victim Helen "Hel" Remus is particularly tragic and notable; a discarded child really, her mother Opal (Sharon Lawrence) is an impoverished waitress living in a trailer park, drinking, and attaching to any man who will be her meal ticket for a day.

Tom Cavanagh is good as local Detective Reichert, who persists on the Green River Killer case despite the foibles and arrogance of the FBI.

The actor portraying Gary Ridgeway is effectively sleazy and odious, he looks like any gas station attendant a young girl may hitch a ride from: that's the truly frightening aspect. Most serial killers blend in the scenery, hold steady jobs, and many are never caught.

Indeed the Green River Killer was free for over a decade and his tally of victims has never been clearly established.

Overall the film is not perfect in that some of the deeper psychological issues leading to these tragedies could have been explored, for instance what leads young girls to a transient life in the first place, and why is society failing here?.

Worth watching as it is respectful of the young and tragic victims of these senseless and random homicides. 8/10.

It's 1982 Seattle. Police detective Dave Reichert (Tom Cavanagh) is investigating bodies being dumped in the Green River which is affecting his family life with wife Julie (Michelle Harrison). Helen 'Hel' Remus (Amy Davidson) makes a new friend with wild girl Nat Webley (Jessica Harmon). She rebels after getting raped by her mother (Sharon Lawrence)'s boyfriend. She runs away at 16 after a fight with her mother. Her boyfriend gets her into prostitution and she becomes convinced that the Green River Killer drives a pick-up truck.

This is a sincere but over-extended telling of the investigation plus a fictionalized story of one of his victims. This is better than most Lifetime movies. In the end, it tries so hard and falls short of greatness. There is a really compelling true story to be told. I like Cavanagh and he has some poignant scenes with his daughter. The up and downs of the investigation are great material. It's a bit extended and some of it feels repetitive. The last act is really stretched out.

The other half of the movie with Hel is fine. Davidson is good but I don't like spirit Hel. It's too lyrical. I would have prefer a true story for Hel. I also wish the movie takes a chance with the structure. The first part of the movie could be all Hel leading up to her death. Then the second part of the series could be Reichert doing the investigation. Generally, this is over-extended with some very compelling moments.

I watched this movie on lifetime movie network, and I cried through the end. These girls who were fictional , represented the women who went missing and were never found. I did some research on The Green River Killer and I was sickened this man was not already taken into custody before he could kill . I think that this is a great movie as it's really much like the real existing case, despite a few fictional characters. I really liked the acting in this movie, it was very emotional and moving. I don't think I'd ever want to think if I was a victim, or my friend was a victim to these heinous crimes! Watching the movie was enough to make me think hard about my own life and what I do to put myself at risk, in other words, a wake-up call.

One day all of the women will be matched to their families, as the movie says, there's always hope! Hope is what these families have to keep.

I followed the story of the Green River Killer as the country did. After watching "The Capture of the Green River Killer" I have to say I too am in awe of Tom Cavanaugh's performance. I have loved him as the adorable Ed and in his romantic comedy's like "Grey Matters" and "Snow", but I too have to say that his role as Dave Reichert was just spell binding. This is a mind blowing TV movie. Better than most at the movie theater - very much like "The Lovely Bones", as the victims talk through out the movie. I was riveted by his and the whole cast's performances.

Just a fantastic movie.

Where to even begin. The main detective's wearing a horribly obvious wig and makeup. His demeanor is more like a nerdy accountant than a hard headed detective. The film opens up with 2 actresses supposedly portraying teen girls but look more like 30 year-olds acting like they have developmental disabilities. You have people supposedly crying their eyes out but no actual tears (were eyedrops not in the budget?)

The dialogue is so dry, like the writers have no imagination at all. For example, a cop talking to a room of other cops: "We need to find clues and arrest this guy!". It's like the writer asked their 5-year old child what a cop would say.

The SeaTac Strip looks like they just went to some run down neighborhood, put up some lights and clothes racks to make it look like a busy area and called it a day.

Whoever was in charge thought absolutely nothing through about this. It deserves negative stars for how obnoxiously bad it is.

Listen, I love a good detective story. I also love a good community theatre production. But this movie was the worst mix of the two I've ever seen. This movie has the worst script I've ever seen I'm not even kidding, how did someone green light TWO full hours of this? Where was the editing??? I literally can't with this movie. PLEASE hire a dramaturg next time I'm not even kidding. Absolutely none of the emotional moments in this movie felt earned in any way. HOW did they get spike from buffy in this movie???? I have so many questions about this movie.

I watched this movie thinking it was just about a fictional serial killer, featuring actors I knew and liked, or at least appreciated their range in other roles (!!!) thinking yes, good thriller and mystery story to enjoy. It wasn't until the end that I realized there were many, many real women, that this was a true story, and these women were involved in the telling and exposition of this story. I cried for every face that showed, every woman whose life was ended without regard for her humanity. So many women. So much tragic loss of human life. So much value that society did not want to deem worthy.

Everything about this film is awful. The acting is horrible. It's VERY boring. It's not accurate. The video shoots look like a home made video. The made up story of the two girls is ridiculous. The narrative is annoying. Bad, bad, execution. The music during the film is hideous.

A show based on the Green River killer and not film It in the cities where all of this happened? I know sounds trivial but make it right.

Everything was good excpet the very wrong depiction of john e douglas (the fbi agent) he did make the wrong call on the letter which was right after his near death problem but he never braided the cop.

The plot and (sadly) the account of the victims are a bit inaccurate, I felt I could not continue to watch the show. However, after a few hours, I continued watching. Pros: in the end, I gained a better understanding of the victims lives. Cons: I dismissed the actual facts about the case and watched it as a form of entertainment,sadly.

Overall, I would think an honest portrayal, especially in regards to the many girls and ladies who lost their lives due to the murderous "Green River Killer," would be a better way to remember their lives. So, an accurate telling of the story could have served as a benefit for all involved in that tragedy.

Other than the acting being horrible! It was really annoying how much they try to make this seem like some kind of Lifetime Christian movie where they kept bringing God up. Asking why he lets these things happen to people blah blah... not sure why the movie was made this way. Also, the soundtrack was cheesy and horrible.

Did they actually do any research? Like, AT ALL? The Sea Tac Strip has NEVER been like that...they played it like Sunset Strip. It's NEVER been that busy, and shops DEFINITELY do not display merch out on the sidewalk like that. IT RAINS HERE! The body with the fish displayed? Wrong kind of fish. The pregnant woman's body found with the Space Needle in the background? You can't see the Space Needle from ANY of the body locations. Even from the Aurora end of the Strip, the Needle would look TINY. SO much bad I can't even get through it!

This is neither the first nor the last film and/or documentary about this monster. This particular one has been called prolix and full of errors, but while it is indeed a tad on the long side, the errors aren't important. The real names of the victims are used, and though it isn't a documentary, it isn't much of a drama. A lot of it focuses on the publicity the murders generated and the red herrings the police chased, something they are forced to do in any complex investigation, especially those that involve missing persons or murders. At the end, we see Ridgway's confession made with all the sincerity of a turkey relishing the onset of Christmas. If you're tempted to watch this, think of a better way of spending three hours first, like watching three or four documentaries about other serial killers.

.......... just shows how useless and dumb kkkops are. Over 20+ years with hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars and resources and they couldn't find him. Never trust a kkkop.