PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Unearthed Films has just released a brand new director’s cut of Mark Blair’s Confessions of a Serial Killer, an eyebrow-raising film from some point in the ’80s based on the tales told by notorious serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who was arrested in 1983. That name may sound familiar to you if you’ve ever seen the more popular Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, another film about Lucas that came out around the same time.
There’s always been a bit of confusion and even controversy surrounding this film. First of all, there’s the writer/director, Mark Blair. Who the heck is Mark Blair, you might ask? Good question. If you check IMDb, you’ll see that Confessions of a Serial Killer is the director’s only project. Kinda crazy that such a bleak, uncomfortable film was the first and last project from this guy. But there’s a very good reason for that. Mark Blair is a pseudonym for filmmaker John Dwyer (see: Alan Smithee). Dwyer ran into a bit of embarrassing trouble when he was hired to write the script for the Disney film, Captain Ron (1992). The trouble was, his only credit was writing and directing Confessions of a Serial Killer. Not exactly Disney material. So he took his name off the film and replaced it with Mark Blair. In another twist, Mark Blair supposedly died after falling off a mountain in Nepal, a story possibly inspired by Dwyer’s book, High Road to Tibet.
The reason Henry Lee Lucas is so notorious is because he confessed to hundreds of murders. The drifter said he traveled around the country, with or without his sometime-lover, Otis Toole, spreading murder and mayhem wherever he went. So many cases were solved when Lucas confessed to these crimes, and he was labeled the most prolific serial killer in American history. So, what’s the problem?
Lucas was a pathological liar, so any and all of his stories should be taken with a grain of salt. At one point, he tried taking credit for 600 different slayings, constantly recanting and reconfessing. He couldn’t always match photos of the victims to the crimes and gave incorrect directions to places he supposedly dumped bodies. It must be mentioned, however, that Lucas did have information about some murders that no one but the killer would know. Still, it’s never been confirmed just how many people Lucas has killed.
Another weird aspect about this film is the release date. Everywhere you look on the internet, it seems like Confessions of a Serial Killer was released in 1985 by Roger Corman’s company, Concorde/New Horizons, a year before Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. However, I can’t find any evidence of a 1985 release, including posters, promotions, newspaper articles, etc. And the end credits of the film itself has a copyright date of 1987… interesting. So, what’s with the 1985 date? Unfortunately, I have no idea.
Robert A. Burns was cast as Daniel Ray Hawkins when the original actor dropped out, and his performance is haunting. I am impressed with his portrayal since he never really acted before. He also had an amazing talent in production design and art direction, which you can see from his work in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and The Howling (1981). The man wore any hats, and did so splendidly.
Because of its violent nature and bleak, stone cold murder scenes, Confessions of a Serial Killer was heavily edited before its eventual VHS release, which came after Jonathan Demme’s sleeper hit, Silence of the Lambs (see: the Hannibal Lector-inspired DVD cover art, which had nothing to do with this film). Luckily for us, Unearthed Films has gathered up all of those tidbits of bloody rapes and stabbings and compiled them here on this 2024 release.
Let’s get to the story. Daniel Ray Hawkins (inspired by Henry Lee Lucas) is a cold, emotionless drifter who, despite his low IQ, managed to slay and get away time and time again during his reign of horror. The film begins after his arrest, where he immediately starts confessing to Sheriff Will Gaines (Berkley Garrett: Red Headed Stranger 1986), especially after having his cuffs removed and being offered cigarettes, cheeseburgers, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. The sheriff, detectives, and the killer end up going out on excursions to supposed crime scenes and dumping sites, which may just be an excuse for Hawkins to get out of his cell for awhile as evidence was not found at all of them.
The film is told in flashbacks to Hawkins’s crimes, where he details some of his most disturbing acts in a dry, monotone voice. The detectives show Hawkins hundreds of murder files, and the psycho flips through them and randomly picks out victims he says are his. However, after one story of the murder of a woman named Karen Grimes, Hawkins skips by her picture in the file, cementing his unreliability. He does mention his friend, Moon Lewton (Dennis Hill: Friday Night Lights 2004), helping out with the slayings in between the two men carrying on a sexual relationship. Eventually, Moon’s sister, Molly (Sidney Bramer: Nadine 1987), joins them, and she’s just as bloodthirsty as her cohorts. A boxful of Polaroids backs up some of the gang’s tales.
The trio eventually end up working for and living on the property of the elderly Dr. Earl Krivics (Ollie Handley), doing light office work and maintenance in the doc’s electrical repair side business. The good doctor’s spoiled, college-aged daughter, Monica (Dee Dee Norton: Dakota 1988), rather naively parades around the property in skimpy clothing, drawing Hawkins’s lust from the moment he meets her. It’s here that everything comes to a head.
There are so many disturbing scenes in Confessions of a Serial Killer, but two stand out to me the most. One is the murder of the aforementioned Karen Grimes. Hawkins and Lewton offer to fix Karen’s air conditioner, which is just a ploy to get into her house. Hawkins keeps her busy as Lewton “works,” but when the lady of the house checks up on him, she finds him sitting at her makeup table, slathering his face in blue eyeshadow and red lipstick while wearing a pair of her panties on his head. As Lewton turns his garish face towards Karen, all hope for her is lost. The attack on her and her reaction to it will be stuck in my nightmares forever.
In another scene, Daniel hides in Monica’s bedroom as she showers, and the tension rises as the audience wonders, “When will he jump out?” Because he will. He has to, right? He’s a freaking serial killer! But the thumbscrews keep turning as Monica slowly dries off, picks out clothes to wear and makes a phone call. It’s one of the tensest acts since the kitchen scene in The Strangers.
Two scenes that were added back in to the Unearthed release shows the killers driving by two little girls walking down the street and gunning them down in cold blood, and a male hitchhiker being picked up and subsequently raped and murdered. Strange that the long visions of violence towards women got to stay in the original cut of the film, but a few seconds’ mention of a man being attacked was removed. I guess TPTB felt a bit uncomfortable imagining that something horrible like this could happen to men, too. But I digress.
In the end, Confessions of a Serial Killer is an often overlooked but graphic, bleak tale of pointless murder, lustless rape, and emotionless killers. In many ways, it conveys the same feelings as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer in its cold, gritty portrayal of Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole. Anyone looking for a film about ice cold serial killers and their victims should definitely check this one out.
Extras included in the Unearthed release:
- Commentary with director John “Mark Blair” Dwyer, director of photography Layton Blaylock and actor Sidney Brammer
- The Henry Lee Lucas Story by author and TV news correspondent James Moore
- “Rondo and Bob” Full length documentary on Robert A. Burns and actor Rondo Hatton
- Polaroid Gallery
- Promotional Gallery
- Trailers
Specs included in the Unearthed release:
- CATALOG #UN-1167 / UC 16
- ASPECT RATIO 1.33:1
- COLOR Color
- AUDIO 2.0 LPCM Mono
- YEAR 1985
- RUNNING TIME 107 Minutes
- SPOKEN LANGUAGE English
- SUBTITLES English, English SDH
- NUMBER OF DISCS 1
- REGION A
- RELEASE DATE July 23, 2024
