Five Underrated: Made For TV True Crime Edition By Mickster

Deadly Intentions (1985)-Michael Biehn is absolutely terrifying as sadist Dr. Charles Raynor who physically and mentally torments his new wife Katherine, played by Madolyn Smith. When I originally saw this film, I had already watched The Terminator (1984) and viewed Michael Biehn as a good guy, so I was astounded by how creepy and unhinged he was. Here are the most vivid moments in this two-part true crime movie: Dr. Raynor’s sick obsession with photographing his wife in terrifying/upsetting situations is disturbing—inadvertently swimming with an alligator, accidentally encountering a spider while on a ladder, and violent morning sickness…To make it worse, he enjoys looking at these photos on a projector in his makeshift attic “office.” After the baby is born and Katherine figures out he tried to poison the newborn, her escape from Raynor is a master class in building tension. Unfortunately, you can only find this one on YouTube, and it looks like it was ripped from a VHS copy. Even with the low quality print, it is definitely worth checking out.

Helter Skelter (1976)-Steve Railsback is Charles Manson in this unsettling adaptation of Vincent Bugliosi’s true crime classic, Helter Skelter. I discovered the true crime novel the summer before my sophomore year of high school (1986). My best friend’s mom had a paperback copy. I became obsessed with the story. It both fascinated and horrified me. I remember having nightmares about it and being nauseated by the descriptions of the crime scenes, but I couldn’t stop reading it. My favorite hometown video store had the two-part TV movie on VHS. It was like reliving the experience of reading the book for the first time, but it felt like I was watching the real Charles Manson thanks to Railsback’s phenomenal performance. Nancy Wolfe is equally effective as Manson’s minion, Susan Atkins. Her nonchalant description of the Tate murders sent chills down my spine! It is ridiculous that this film is not available to stream anywhere. There are a few clips over on YouTube, but that is it. It is still available on DVD at Amazon.

The Deliberate Stranger (1986)-Mark Harmon is so effective as the “sadistic sociopath” Ted Bundy that it took me years not to be utterly repulsed by him no matter what role he was playing. I vividly remember watching this two-part film when it originally aired on NBC, May 4-5, 1986. The depiction of the abduction of two different women in broad daylight at Lake Sammamish State Park really emphasizes Bundy’s overconfidence and compulsion to kill. As with Helter Skelter, this one is only available on DVD & VHS. There are some clips on YouTube, but it is not streaming anywhere.

Hotline (1982)-Okay, this one isn’t based on a real serial killer, but I’m including it because I think this movie fueled my fascination with serial killers. I was eleven years old when I watched this on CBS—October of 1982. I’m quite certain I wanted to watch primarily because I loved Wonder Woman when I was little. The killer’s reveal in this movie stuck with me, so when I recently watched it on Tubi (Yay, Tubi!), I wanted to see if it was obvious to me early on who the “Barber” was (the killer is dubbed “The Barber” because he cuts his victim’s hair before killing them). While there are several “red herrings” throughout the movie, the real “Barber” was a shocker. Lynda Carter’s character, Brianne, starts receiving creepy calls at a crisis hotline giving clues to unsolved murders. The calls become more invasive as she deciphers the clues. The Barber whispers to Brianne, “Barber, barber, shave a pig. Lovely hairs will make a wig!" This movie held up years later, and I highly recommend going over to Tubi to check it out.