The Speedway Murders

Adam Kamien and Luke Rynderman take a lot of risks with "The Speedway Murders", a true crime doc that posits five diverse theories on a cold case that's baffled authorities for over 45 years.

On an evening in November 1978, four Indiana teenagers were abducted at gunpoint from closing a robbed Burger Chef only to be found in a nearby county, days later, apparently shot and stabbed in an almost execution-style manner.

Nothing about this case is clear cut. The motives are murky, the suspects are myriad, theories extending into drugs and massive debts are tossed out and debated hotly by cops, ex-cons, and family and friends of the victims. It's a lot to digest, but fortunately Kamien and Rynderman manage to laser in and lay bare the emotionalism and attendant PTSD of the tragedy without inordinate exploitation.

This is a documentary that makes no bones that its focus is on the four young employees of the restaurant rather than on the possible suspects, living or dead, maybe even more than the actual crime itself --- an approach likely to annoy many hard true crime addicts. It's a wise choice, though, because without that accent on humanism the film would never keep one's attention due to its many contradictory theories and suppositions. It's a unique, gripping experience because unlike a lot of crime docs, you're almost thrust into the position of actively solving the case as you watch the film. It's not a reductive set of flashbacks.

The structure is unique yet somewhat repetitive, but I actually found that to be more stabilizing than distracting. You really get a feel for the "Burger Chef Four's" individual personalities and their connections with each other, even though much of their interrelations are speculative. In perhaps the most unique facet of the film, instead of relying on strict, vague reenactments, the kids often recount the events of the night, debate the clues, examine the suspects in longer-than average takes, almost but never completely breaking the fourth wall (which might have been more interesting, actually).

The actors who play the teens aren't striving for drama as much as authenticity, and if there's any shortcomings to this approach it's more in the clinical nature of their lines than in the line-readings themselves. This borderline Verite approach is not going to fly with many conventional doc audiences, I don't think, but if you're in the mood for something a little more unconventional, I think you'll enjoy it.

This isn't a case with a scope or sensationalism on par with the Manson murders or the Zodiac, but in its own way it's as immediate and disturbing, if only for the length of time it has taken for it to come to a plausible resolution and how many lives it touched and fractured in the process.

I was initially unsure about the narrative style in which the actors who portray the victims walk through and discuss the various theories themselves, however by the end I knew the directors had nailed it in a truly humanizing way.

This true crime docu-drama is unique not only in its narrative structure, but also in the quality of the production design, soundtrack, cinematography, use of colour, and tasteful, high quality reenactment scenes and dialogue.

The filmmakers clearly earned the trust of the various witnesses, police officers and family and friends of the victims as evidenced by the degree of openness and emotion demonstrated by them in the film.

By the end, I was in tears.

I wasn't aware of this tragic event, so watching it was both sad and interesting (in a strange way).

In 1978 four teenagers who all work together at a fast food restaurant are tragically killed. The story is told in a respectful manner, goes into detail and moves at a good pace. A few different scenarios of the evening are proposed. You will find yourself trying to pick the most likely scenario to crack the case.

The story has an interesting twist as actors play the victims who speak about the tragic night. This gives the documentary a slightly deeper insight. You feel sorrow for each teenager, their friends and family.

The world is a terrible place at times.

This is done in a unique way, it mixes interviews with all the key players (family, suspects, friends of suspects), with dramatisations giving voice to the victims - there are actors playing the four victims and talking to each other (in character, in the restaurant, as they clean up etc) about the case and the likelihood of each theory. At first I thought, "this is a bit cheesy, c'mon guys". But after a while I realised how good it is. So sad. Senseless. Giving the victims actual life, mixed in with family interviews makes it even sadder. The polite 17 yr old girl who kept a diary, looking forward to turning 18 soon. The guy wanting to make the basketball team. The other guy wanting some pocket money for xmas presents. Such a bloody waste by a cold blooded killer.

I was very much looking forward to this documentary because I have been following this unsolved case for quite a while now...several years. I was very impressed with the style and format on how it was presented. I also liked that they explored several known theories on why this senseless crime happened. I absolutely LOVED how they brought these people back to life for us. It was hauntingly beautiful, and I didn't want it to end. I don't usually like to give a perfect score for anything, but I was just so captivated with this film. The authenticity to time and culture of 1978 mid American teenagers was spot on as well.