Zodiac is a recounting of the people and events surrounding a series of unsolved murders throughout the Bay area in the 1960s. It was based on the non-fiction works of Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle during the killings.

But let’s get one thing straight, San Francisco is nice and all, but as far as serial killers go nobody holds a candle to the Northwest.

They might not all make the silver screen, but the likes of Robert Pickton and Gary Ridgway are so much scarier than The Zodiac killer it boggles the mind. Yes, we’ve got crazies up here that Jake Gyllenhaal wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole.

Mark Ruffalo as lead detective Dave Toschi is outstanding, as is Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Chronicle crime reporter Paul Avery. This movie is worth watching just for their performances, they even overshadow the complete lack of chemistry between Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his family, and the less than convincing “obsessive” that Graysmith devolves toward as he attempts to unravel the Zodiac crimes.

The movie is long, 2 hours and 40 minutes long, and its stodgy pacing forces you to ask why. Slashing 30 minutes off the picture would’ve gone a long way toward making it a more taut thriller, but it still has great performances and the kind of disturbing imagery that will make you think twice about walking around the streets of Seattle San Francisco tonight.