Poor Josh Townsend. I suppose that's the best way to start this thing. I feel for this director on so many levels. That is assuming that he's fully aware of how terrible his film is. If I were to hear that Mr. Townsend is proud of this filth, I would lose the little amount of respect I currently have for him.
Let me cut to the chase...The Gainesville Ripper is a senseless and heartless film that shows very little respect for the victims that were mercilessly slaughtered by a monster. He takes a very real series of events, turns them into a terrible 70's slasher flick, and then has the audacity to premiere this "joke" IN Gainesville, the town where these killings took place. If thats not a gross sign of utter disrespect than I don't know what is. And as if that in itself is not bad enough, the film itself is complete garbage. Not only does it feel like Townsend hired mediocre actors from theme park attractions, but the writing is atrocious...absolutely atrocious. The editing was probably the worst part of the whole film; it was a toned town and poorly made ripped-off style of Natural Born Killers without any of the themes or importance that that film holds. Not to mention the terrible ambient music (probably purchased in a HORROR MOVIE TRACKS audio package) that plays during all two hours of the movie. The only part of this poopstorm that was even bearable was probably the cinematography, while amateur at most, it was the best part...but alas, Townsend ruined his sweet shots with terrible color effects and transitions. In short...and I owe this comparison to a friend of mine...the entire film felt like a really long dramatic re-enactment that you'd see in an episode of Forensic Files or CSI.
All of that said, there was so much wasted potential in this project. The story of The Gainesville Ripper is truly a great one and a wonderful idea for a dramatic film. Townsend, in my opinion had the raw talent and money, to have made a decent dramatic film about Danny Rollings. But he didn't. He made a joke. I would tell you not to waste your money and go see this film, but something tells me it won't even get sold to go straight to DVD.
