Awakening the Zodiac (2017)

After spending last night reviewing the latest entry from the Planet of the Apes series, I decided to get back to something more realistic for my next review. That movie is the 2017 thriller Awakening the Zodiac.

Plot/ The story follows a down-on-their-luck couple that discovers a serial killer's film reels. They decide to take the law into their own hands, risking everything for the chance at a $100,000 reward. It isn't long until they find themselves in the killer's lethal cross-hairs.

I love movies about serial killers, especially ones with a historic and mysterious appeal. With that being said, Awakening The Zodiac was much better than I imagined when I saw the synopsis at Family Video. More of a thriller than a true horror movie, this one comes complete with some originality and a dark/heavy atmosphere that helps bring everything together. Overall, the storyline, the performances, the cinematography, and the scripting work extremely well together and create something better than one would expect. Yes, there are some head-scratching moments and there are a few moments where the editing feels like it removed a bit too much of a scene (probably due to budget or time issues), but those flaws are minor in the grand scheme. In the end, this is one of the better thrillers to come out in some time and one that has an authentic feel. Give it a shot; it is worth watching.