Based on real life events, but liberal in skirting the facts. Richard F. Speck was born in Illinois, but moved to Texas around the age of six. Growing up in more trouble than not. The acne-pocked high-school dropout was a lifelong criminal and was pleased with himself for living his life the way he wanted. In July 1966, Speck(Corin Nemec)shocked a nation with the brutalized rapes and murders of 9 Chicago student nurses. Methodically beating, raping, stabbing, choking and shooting them to death in one of the horrific atrocities committed in American history. With his death sentence overturned; was set to be in prison for over 400 years, when he died of an enlarged heart in 1991. Five years later, a video tape surfaced that showed Speck in his cell with female breast, the results of smuggled female hormones; doing hard drugs and having sex with his cell-mate. He also spoke explicitly of the murders he committed...with bravado and no remorse. Also in the cast: Andrew Divoff, Joanne Chew, John Eric Bentley, Debby Rochon and Tony Todd.

This film should have been pretty easy to make watchable. You've got an intriguing subject - a serial killer - so pretty much just telling his story, documentary-style, would be interesting enough. The film pretty much writes and directs itself.

Yet writer-director Michael Feifer manages to turn an easy win into a massive loss. The plot is absolutely dull and lifeless, performances are unconvincing, production is basic. Hardly the Mindhunter-type story I was expecting.

Avoid.

If I had wanted to see an A&E Biography on Richard Speck, I would have tuned into A&E. I got this DVD because of Debbie Rochon, and it was an extreme disappointment on so many levels.

First, Debbie played a prostitute and was only in the film for five minutes. No. she didn't get naked. In fact, the only titties you see in this movie are on a video of Speck in prison. That is really creepy.

Secondly, the Chicago Police Department, as portrayed in this film, must be equal to the Keystone Cops. Andrew Divoff ("Lost", Wishmaster) played the lead investigator, and he was in a bar with Speck, knowing what he looked like, and lost him. His boss, Tony Todd (Wishmaster, Candyman) was more concerned about keeping things quiet and protecting Mayor Daley. It was so bad that two cops, after they had Specks name and description, interviewed him on a complaint by Rochon and looked at his ID and still walked away. BOLO anyone??? Thank goodness for Chicago that the emergency room doctor was on the ball.

The actual murders had nothing more that a little blood spatter and off-camera horror. Ther were no rapes, unless you count the time Speck supposed raped on girl WITH HIS PANTS STILL ON! Neat trick, if you can do it.

I have to give Corin Nemec props for his performance. He really did a good job in playing a slime-bucket. I wonder if he is so good because he has experience in portraying murderers (Boston Strangler: The Untold Story, Bundy: An American Icon). He was the best thing about this movie.

The camera-work was terrible and the flashbacks to Speck's earlier life were way too short and obscure to give any insight into the man. Did he hate women because of his stepfather? Was it just low self-esteem that made him a wife-beater, drunk and all-around jerk? Did he just think he could get away with anything? Unanswered questions abound.

Don't waste you time here. There is nothing to see unless you want to see a man with titties. Yech!