The week has come to an end. You're tired. You're brain is numb from whatever it is you do all week. All you want is to set your brain to stun, and be entertained. That's where From The Basement comes it, and we're coming at you tonight at 6:05 on the mighty Radio NL 610 AM Kamloops! What do Jason and Shawn have on the chopping block this week? How about a couple of new feature films and a few high-profile TV series designed to tickle your entertainment centre? For one, Jason has taken in the first two episodes of Marvel's WandaVision, the official kick off of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He had to watch the episodes twice to form an opinion... which is?  Stick with us! And stay tuned, as the Dynamic Duo take on the first of Netflix's 71 original films for the year: Outside the Wire with Anthony Mackie. There's also the World War II thriller Shadow in the Cloud starring Chloe Grace Moretz, and two new documentary series to take down, Survivi...

If you ever look back on historic events, it can be easy to spot the mistakes made, time that's been wasted, and so on. With David Fincher's Zodiac, we see just how complicated it was to catch a serial killer in the late 20th century. This film track's the infamous murderer's full "career," starting in the 60s, and ending in the early 90s. It's probably one of the most comprehensive serial-killer mysteries I've ever seen. We see every new twist and turn, and the staggering amount of red herrings. This is due to Fincher wanting the film to be as accurate as possible, grounding it in reality, and pulling you in with its authenticity. What Zodiac does so well is communicate the detrimental obsession that comes from trying to solve a case like this. Through all the time jumps and subplots, the characters remain static in their goals; caught in the investigation's grip. We see the lives lost to the mystery, and relate because we too need to know the tru...

The third episode of HBO's brilliant I'll Be Gone in the Dark takes the case -- and the story of author Michelle McNamara -- into a chilling new space. Titled Rat In a Maze, the episode is book ended with a recording of an actual phone call made by the East Area Rapist right before he became the Golden State Killer. The phone call was recorded by police as it was made to an intended victim. And it's frightening. "Gonna kill you... gonna kill you... gonna kill you... Bitch!" The first time we hear it, the recording is meant to be an introduction to the culprit's switch from rapist to killer. And he did brutally murder some 10 people on top of the 50 rapes he committed. We hear it again at the episode's conclusion when McNamara, faced with an early deadline on the book that became I'll Be Gone in the Dark, has doubts about her ability to finish it. By then, she had the entire catalog of crimes in her head, and was driven to do right by the vict...

The second episode of HBO's I'll Be Gone in the Dark presents some of the most harrowing moments of television I've ever seen. The episode, titled Reign of Terror, chronicles the East Area Rapist's transition from a rapist of women, to targeting couples and, finally, his transition to a serial killer. And it does so through a series of interviews with the victims which, at times, can be hard to hear. The level of trauma these poor people experienced during, and often after the assault, is unimaginable. Director Elizabeth Wolff enhances the interviews with creepy imagery that's meant to set the scene, not re-enact the crimes. These moments are eerily effective. She uses light and shadow and a slow moving camera, which evokes a disturbing atmosphere. The visuals will stick in your mind long after the episode ends. Equally as disturbing are a series of PSAs from the 70s that are interspersed throughout the interviews. These maddeningly reflect society's att...

Michelle McNamara's true-crime book I'll Be Gone in the Dark is easily one of the best -- if not the best -- of its kind. It's an exhaustive and fascinating dissection of the crimes committed by the Golden State Killer, a violent criminal responsible for some 50 rapes, and 10 sadistic murders, back in the 1970s and 80s. I reviewed the book right here , and encourage true-crime addicts like myself to give it a read. Or, if you're like Shawn and don't do reading, you should definitely check out HBO's adaptation, which debuted Sunday night. I caught the first of six episodes last night, and was hooked. The series is actually two stories; the first being an examination of the Golden State Killer's crimes, with the second an equally detailed look into McNamara's obsession with the case. McNamara died before she could finish the book. Her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, helped complete it, and get it published. The first episode scratches the surfac...

Sometimes filmmakers can really fumble a concept, as they did with The Black Dahlia. From everything I knew about this story before hand, I was expecting a movie about the old-fashioned, 40s culture being shocked by this senseless, motiveless murder. What I got was a convoluted, tone-deaf replay of 40s and 50s detective flicks. While it's fine for a movie to take you by surprise, this felt like a total deviation from what should've been. The film spends little of its two-hour running time on the actual Dahlia murder, and most of it on the messy conspiracy involving the two main detectives. In the end, they eventually tie the big mystery back to the titular murder, but it feels very tacked on. It was almost like the movie forgot what its point was, and made a last-minute scramble to stay on-brand. What definitely didn't help is the almost cocaine-fuelled pace of the plot. Every shot went by incredibly fast, giving the audience little time to process what was happenin...

I reviewed Michelle McNamara's brilliant true-crime novel I'll Be Gone in the Dark right here . Obviously, the use of the word brilliant tells you exactly what I thought of her work. One of the scariest things about McNamara's account of The Golden State Killer is how these crimes -- which were committed in the 70s and 80s -- aren't more in the public spotlight. This story should be as well known as the Zodiac and Son of Sam, but it's not. HBO is going to change that with this six-part series, which begins June 28. The episodes will chronicle McNamara's tireless investigation, as well as cover her death and efforts by husband Patton Oswalt to finish the book, which was released in 2018. The killer was caught months after the book came out. Check out the trailer: Looks good! And, if you haven't read the book, get on it now! Source: HBO

If there's a plus to being sick on the sofa with a virus, it's catching up with shows you've been meaning to binge for a while. I used to write about crime for a daily newspaper, so I do enjoy me some true-crime documentaries and books. I'd wanted to watch Netflix's three-part series Don't F**k with Cats since it hit in December, but was sidetrack by Christmas, Star Wars, and The Witcher. But I've bloody well seen it now! Director Mark Lewis didn't just create an expose on some kitten killing videos, he tapped into the backstory of one of Canada's most notorious killers -- Luka Magnotta. And he does so through the lens of Deanna Thompson and John Green, two self professed Internet nerds who were appalled enough by a kitten killing video to bring the culprit to justice. Surprise! The culprit turned out to be Magnotta before he filmed the butchering of Jun Lin. What transpires is fascinating and intense stuff that's as exciting as any Hol...

True crime isn't something we dive into a lot here at From The Basement, but it's definitely a subject that's near and dear to my heart. For the 10 years I was a mainstream journalist, the crime beat was my bread and butter. I lived it, breathed it, and it almost drove me nuts. But the subject is one I continue to be fascinated with, particularly when it comes to serial killers. Michelle MacNamara might best be known for her True Crime Diary blog. But it's her obsessive search for the criminal she dubbed the Golden State Killer that gained her notoriety. The culprit, a violent predator responsible for some 50 rapes and 10 sadistic murders, largely operated under the radar. It was McNamara who pushed him into the spotlight. I'll Be Gone in the Dark is a dazzling display of writing and research. She not only painstakingly recreates the predator's crimes, but also the stories of his victims. And by doing that, she tells her own story too, which was sadly cu...

The first season of Mindhunter was easily one of Netflix's best shows; a compelling, and often brooding, adaptation of John Douglas' non-fiction work of the same name. Douglas created criminal profiling for the FBI by interviewing captured serial killers, and the opening season did a fine job of bringing that harsh, but fascinating, story to life. Season 2 continues to draw from the book, and focuses on the Atlanta Child Murders while continuing to follow the story that haunted Douglas' career - the BTK killer. Meanwhile, it expands on the characters' personal stories (which are largely fictionalized), all the while maintaining the mood and cool craftsmanship of the first season. A big part of Mindhunter's continued success is executive producer and director David Fincher. Fincher is so damn good at telling these kinds of stories! Mindhunter is less Se7en and more Zodiac, but it's pure Fincher. He is a master craftsman, and even when he isn't direct...

In the summer of 1960, four teenagers were brutally murdered on the shores of Finland's Lake Bodom. The killer was never caught. True story. Now we've got a creepy as fuck Finnish horror flick that uses these murders as a springboard for an off-the-walls horror flick that deserves to be ranked among the best of the genre.

No one, but no one, handles the topic of serial killers quite like David Fincher. The man made his mark on the subject with 1995's Se7en, and then took it to new heights of cinematic greatness with Zodiac a decade ago. Now he's taken John Douglas's fantastic true-crime book, Mindhunter, and brought it to the small screen via Netflix, who Shawn and I have pimped so much lately we should be getting royalties.

Beware the Slenderman is a doc I've wanted to watch since it was first announced a year and a half ago. I'd become fascinated with this bit of Internet-created folklore, partly because of how pervasive Slenderman has become in our culture, and partly because my then four-year-old son and his friends talked abut him like I'd talked about the Boogeyman.

We live in interesting times when an Internet creation can compel someone to commit a crime and become the focus of a documentary. But, the same can be said -- I'd assume anyway -- of any popular medium. Comics were blamed for corrupting the morals of children, music has caused listeners to worship the devil, and now an online phenomenon known as Slenderman is the focus of a new documentary film.

When so many lightweight PG-13 films have permeated the horror genre it's refreshing to come across one that tries to grab you by the balls and drag you into some dark corner. Sinister attempts to do that, and mostly succeeds. A true- crime writer finds a cache of 8mm "snuff" films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s. Co-writer/director Scott Derrickson does a few things wrong but a whole lot right. On the downside, everything is too God damn dark in Sinister. Sometimes it's hard to tell what's going on. Would someone turn on a light already? Jesus ! That gripe aside, I like that Derrickson takes his time with this picture. Nothing happens quickly. The entire film is a slow burn as we discover what's going on along with Ethan Hawke 's writer. And what's going on is pretty much, well, Sinister. There's some great scares in this movie. I particularly...

The Snowtown Murders is one of those movies that sticks with me for a day or two after viewing it. I’m not sure if I would classify it as thriller or horror, but either way, it’s a horrendous true story about a rash of killings that took place in Australia between 1992 and 1999. Four people were convicted of murdering eleven victims, and the movie concerns itself with the beginning of the killing spree. If you’ve seen The Girl Next Door (no, not the Elisha Cuthbert one), that’s the kind of experience you’re in for. When the movie opens, Jamie, a 16-year-old boy, is molested by a neighbor. His mother, Elizabeth, finds out about it and, naturally, she calls the police. For whatever reason, they don’t do much about it, so soon enough, through a friend she finds someone to help deal with the problem. Unbeknownst to her, that someone turns out to be John Bunting, a serial killer and torturer. He repeatedly gets away with murder by forcing his victims to record messages talking about how t...

One actor who just doesn't get enough love is Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The man's so at risk of become just another That Guy actor and it just isn't fair. He's starred in a handful of fun, little-seen films like Dead and Breakfast and The Losers and has displayed such charisma. Yet he's not had his big break. But starring in Texas Killing Fields alongside Sam Worthington and Chloe Grace Moretz could help Morgan get a legitimate crack at stardom. The film, directed by Ami Canaan Mann, daughter of acclaimed director Michael Mann, follows a small-town homicide detective (Worthington) and his partner, a transplanted cop from New York (Morgan), as they track a sadistic serial killer dumping mutilated bodies in a nearby marsh called The Killing Fields. Serial killer movies can be hit and miss. But the trailer below looks pretty intense. And if Ami Canaan has as much talent as her dad, we could be in for a real treat. Anchor Bay loves it's genre pictures, but my fear ...

Word has it that Fox 2000 has closed a deal to turn the bestselling crime book The Monster of Florence into a vehicle for star George Clooney, one of the few working actors who is reliable when it comes to starring in good movies nowadays. Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander will write the script. Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen of the Jinks/Cohen Company will produce with Smokehouse's Grant Heslov, and McQuarrie. Clooney will play Douglas Preston, who wrote the nonfiction bestseller The Monster of Florence with Italian crime reporter Mario Spezi. Preston is a thriller writer who met Spezi after moving to Italy. Together, they set out to solve a 30-year old serial murder case. The story goes seven couples were savagely murdered between 1974 and 1985 while they sat in cars parked just outside Florence. The trail was cold when Preston moved into a nearby farmhouse and began asking questions. Could be a decent thriller. Now all they need is a great director to hel...