The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story

Awful film. Story could have been so much better based upon the subject matter. Acting poor and shouldn't have been but maybe the script was even worse. You can have a low budget film with great acting. It was so bad I started to enjoy it. Hence the 2 star not 1. 1 jump scare and acting that was so deadpan when you would have been clawing up the walls in reality, it made us all laugh. What a waste of money for all involved. Surely the actors could tell how bad it was and would have requested it being put to sleep rather than going out to the world. Definitely a possibility of an award for worst film of the year.

It's 1977. The BTK Killer has been hounding Wichita, Kansas for the last 3 years. Everyone is on edge and Ruth Finley (Teri Hatcher) is no different. Her husband gets hospitalized. While alone at home, Ruth receives a threatening phone call. The caller knows about her scaring kidnapping as a teen. She starts getting stalked. The police suspects the BTK Killer who tends to stalk his victims in this manner.

I really only know the nickname BTK Killer. I don't know anything about Ruth Finley. The first half is your every other Lifetime woman-in-danger movie. Once the reveal happens, the story is less compelling as the woman-in-danger genre. Maybe this should be done in a different way. There is a surreal element that could be exploited.

Not much seen with Father and Mother. The complaint filed said she lived with her Father and Stepmom. Binging of movie it was said she was in foster system. Wish they stuck on actual events and had some interactions with Father or Mother to create more of a story line into her life at the time.

Very disappointed with movie. Mabey budget was low and could not hirer additional Actors. Would of made for a stronger movie and drama. Her statement was she was locked in a closet all the time, in Movie she was put in there once . I understand the grooming men do. My first husband took me in at 16 (runaway) married me.at 18 and preceded to groom me with charm ,terrorizing me with physical, and mental abuse for ten years. The Fear is real when they say they will kill you or your family. You believe them. I managed to get out at 26 years old, years of therapy.

I really wanted to like this. I've read a lot about the BTK case. I am a huge Teri Hatcher fan but I found the plot to be very confusing. When she starts receiving the letters, she doesn't report it. When she is abducted the first time at lunch, she has pepper spray in her purse. The second time she is abducted, she is shopping in the dark, in a deserted parking lot, and she actually takes the time to put things in the trunk. I can see and understand no endangered woman acting like this. Either there is something off with this movie or there's something off with the story. I realize that female awareness has sadly increased over time, but I did not understand her behavior.

Strong ending brought this one to a seven. Riveting true story, extremely sad.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.