The Zodiac Killer

Set in the late 1960s, the film uses contemporary routines like postal work and city life to ground its events in a specific era. The era’s media attention and public fear heighten the tension between normalcy and violence. The time period helps explain the killer’s ability to blend in and evade detection.

An urban setting framed by everyday locations—bar rooms, residential streets, a city park, and a police precinct. The place feels ordinary, underscoring how danger can hide in plain sight among everyday life. The film paints a recognizable cityscape where private lives intersect with public violence.

🗝️ Duality

Appearances deceive: the same man who keeps a normal day job and greets neighbors can harbor a capacity for brutal acts. The film juxtaposes everyday civility with hidden violence, showing how ordinary routines can conceal monstrous impulses. This duality is mirrored in the film's structure, moving between two parallel lives—the 'normal' man and the killer.

🧠 Descent

Grover's breakdown demonstrates the fragility of the psyche under personal upheaval. On the killer's side, violence escalates as a response to ridicule and perceived slights, revealing a mind driven by grievance and need for control. The narrative suggests that personal pain can catalyze brutality.

🎭 Masking

Concealment is a motif; the killer's everyday job as a postal carrier makes him appear harmless. The film shows how social camouflage enables a serial killer to operate undetected. Ordinary crowds mask extraordinary violence beneath the surface.

📰 Fame

Notoriety as lure drives the killer to perform for an audience, taunting viewers and courting mythologizing of his acts. The film critiques sensationalism and shows how public fascination can fuel violence. The final act reinforces the idea that fame can be weaponized by those who feel unseen.