This extremely depressing documentary about serial murder in impoverished South Central LA argues powerfully that murder suspect Lonnie Franklin was able to kill countless women over a period of decades because the LAPD had no interest in protecting his victims (many thought that the police themselves were responsible). Reverting to the faux-naif boom mike-bearing persona of yore, Nick Broomfield takes us on a ramshackle tour of the neighbourhood in which the so-called Grim Sleeper operated, unearthing several survivors of whom the police appeared unaware even as they prepared for Franklin’s forthcoming trial. Their voices are powerful and appalling, and it is to Broomfield’s credit that they are heard here. Crime scene photos strike a callous note, even with the faces of victims demurely covered.
