2004’s The Hillside Strangler opens with a woman stepping into a dressing room with several tops.  She removes all of the tags.  Then she puts all of them on and finally covers them with the sweater that she was wearing when she first stepped into the dressing room.

What she doesn’t realize is that she’s being watched by a security guard named Kenneth Bianchi (played by C. Thomas Howell, with a thin mustache).  Bianchi isn’t the type of security guard who relies on cameras.  Instead, he sneaks around in the store’s heating ducts and stares down into the dressing room.  Bianchi manages to get out of the duct quickly enough to stop the woman as she walks out of the store.  He takes her back to his office and orders her to remove each layer of stolen clothing while he watches.

Agck!  Seriously, as a former teen shoplifter, this scene totally freaked me out.  Beyond the creepiness of seeing Bianchi in the air ducts, this scene also captures the authoritarian mindset.  As soon as we see Bianchi, we know that his job is about more than just a paycheck to him.  His job is about wielding power and giving orders.  Wearing his uniform, Bianchi feels that he’s untouchable.

Bianchi dreams of being a real cop but the Rochester Police Department rejects his application to join because his test scores were too low.  Sick of having to listen to him whine, Bianchi’s mother sends him to Los Angeles so that he can stay with his cousin, Angelo Buono (Nicholas Turturro).  Maybe Angelo can knock some sense into him.  Maybe Angelo can teach him about being a man.

Instead, Angelo soon gets as tried of Bianchi as everyone else.  Still, he is impressed when Bianchi orders a fake diploma from Colombia University and sets up a practice as a sex therapist.  When Angelo attempts to set himself up as a pimp, he makes Bianchi is partner.  When Angelo and Bianchi fail at being pimps, they start picking up women and strangling them.  Angelo and Bianchi start out by stalking sex workers but soon, they’re using a fake LAPD badge to prey on anyone that catches their interest.

Based on the true crimes of Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, The Hillside Strangler is a grim and frequently trashy film, a portrait of two misogynists who can only feel confident when they’re hurting others.  Bianchi is the type who wears a t-shirt that reads, “Official Local Sex Instructor.”  Buono has a doormat that reads, “Italian Stallion” and a sign on his wall that announces, “Candy is Dandy But Sex Won’t Rot Their Teeth.”  Turturro and Howell give two disturbing performances as two losers who feed on each other’s sadism and anger.  Bianchi is desperate for Bouno’s approval.  Buono finds Bianchi to be annoying but he still enjoys being the younger man’s idol.  Would Bianchi and Buono have committed their crimes if they had never met?  The film leaves you wondering.  As a viewing experience, it’s effective and disturbing.

In real life, Angelo Buono died in prison in 2002.  Kenneth Bianchi continues to serve his life sentence.