The Hillside Strangler

"They lived to watch you die."

2004 1h 37m EN

😐

5.1

MID

🥫

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.3

IMDB

★5.1TMDB · 39🥫9%Rotten Tomatoes●19Metacritic★5.3IMDB · 2,022

DramaHorrorMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Kenneth Bianchi is a security guard whose attempts to become a police officer are repeatedly thwarted. He moves to California to live with his cousin Angelo and dates a string of women, becoming increasingly preoccupied with sex. Eventually the cousins decide to start an escort agency. After violently killing a prostitute they thought had betrayed them, Kenneth and Angelo begin committing a series of crimes that become a media sensation.

“They lived to watch you die.”

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Cast

Allison Lange
Claire Shelton
Nicholas Turturro
Angelo Buono
C. Thomas Howell
Kenneth Bianchi
Zarah Little
Carrie Ploskonko
Jennifer Tisdale
Erin
Kent King
Gabrielle
Aimee Brooks
Felicia Waller
Natasha Melnick
Karyn

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chuck Parello
Writers: Chuck Parello, Stephen Johnston
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chuck Parello, shot by John Pirozzi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Saber. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Paul Heiman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Allison Lange and Nicholas Turturro and C. Thomas Howell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They lived to watch you die.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0376649 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chuck Parello directs. John Pirozzi behind the camera. Danny Saber scores. Paul Heiman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 22 years ago.
3Directed by Chuck Parello, shot by John Pirozzi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Danny Saber. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Paul Heiman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Allison Lange and Nicholas Turturro and C. Thomas Howell carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "They lived to watch you die.".
8IMDB entry: tt0376649 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 39 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "prostitute", "rape", "1970s", "pimp".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Pirozzi
Original score: Danny Saber
Editing: Paul Heiman
Production design: Gregg Gibbs
Costume design: Niklas J. Palm
Makeup / hair: Tracy Wilcox Gillie
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,400,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Hillside Strangler (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 9% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 19/100
IMDB rating: 5.3/10 · 2,022 votes
MPAA: R
US box office: $4,143

Awards

1 nomination

Also by

Chuck Parello

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-12-01
★ 5/10
Hardly Kissing Cousins. Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were two cousins who were convicted of the rape, torture and murder of 10 females of various ages in LA 1977/78. This film is an interpretation of their reign of terror. Unpleasant. If you are going to do a serial killer movie, one based on real life perpetrators, then you surely have to make the characterisations of fascination value away from their despicable crimes. Unfortunately director Chuck Parello and co-writer Stephen Johnston fail to do this, leaving the film with a paucity of worthwhile human story moments. It’s not helped by the fact Nicholas Torturro as Buono is badly miscast, he’s just impossible to take serious in a role that calls for the ultimate seriousness. On the plus side, C. Thomas Howell as Bianchi hits the right notes. Howell is something of an undervalued actor in dark roles, as far back as 1990 where he played a vengeful killer in a film called Kid, he’s been doing good moody work in thrillers. Elsewhere John Pirozzi’s cinematography is on the money, keeping the murky tones of the film in harness, while Gregg Gibbs’ production design has all the late 1970s requisites. 5/10

Production companies