Review: Documentary: I Survived BTK.
By William Pattison, aka Eric Morse
For Horror Bob’s Blog
I usually don’t review documentary films. It’s not that I
don’t like documentaries; it’s that I’ve never felt the need to comment on
them. To me a documentary is a learning experience; it’s not supposed to be
entertainment. But there are always exceptions to the rule. One of those
exceptions is Marc David Levitz’s Documentary, I Survived BTK.
This is a very important film in that unlike other films and
documentaries about serial killers rather than making an icon out of the killer
and treating the victims and their families as third class players, Levitz
focuses on the surviving family members, mostly the oldest son, Charlie, of the
first victims of the BTK Killer, the Oteros.
As the film begins we meet Charlie Otero, who we find is
in jail for aggravated assault. Charlie is one of the surviving members of the
Otero family along with his younger sister and his brother. Charlie’s father,
mother, sister, and brother were viciously tortured and murdered in 1974 by the
infamous BTK killer, Dennis Rader. We hear how two days before the murders
Charlie had watched the film In Cold Blood, which was based on the book by
Truman Capote about the murder of four members of a family in the area he
lived. As the documentary progresses we see how this because an item of guilt
with Charlie and how the murders affected his life. After he gets out of jail,
we follow Charlie as he take us on a bit of a tour through his life after the
murders and how he has become estranged from his family and other loved ones,
including his own son.
Along the way we are introduced to Steven, who is also a
survivor of another family that was destroyed by Dennis Rader. Levitz
brilliantly compares these two survivors and shows us the similarities and
difference. One thing that shows is how both men use tattoos to deal with their
pain.
Then we get to the capture of Rader and his media trial.
Levitz handles this in a matter of factly way and avoids making Rader a larger
than life character like a lesser documentarian would do. Still, Levitz hits
the viewer with the full non-candy coated fact of what Rader did to the Otero
family by showing the crime photos as presented in court.
Then Marc Levitz hits you with an emotional punch as the trial
ends . Levitz handles this incredibly by showing scenes of Charlie with Steve
at a victory pool game. Charlie talks about how after the murders he had grown
to hate Truman Capote and how on day of Capote’s death Charlie, who had lost
his faith, had been begging the devil to kill Capote. What happens make you
honestly consider if Faustian deals do happen…
So if you are a fan of true crime or if you are just curious
of the other side of the story of a serial killer, this is the film for you.
This film is an emotional ride and a character profile that can’t be missed…
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