Echoes in the Darkness

I live in the town and attended the school where this took place around the time when it occurred. the frame work of the story is true, and the names of the people are true, but little else is true. Upper Merion is not on the Main Line, we did not go to school in a Gothic cathedral. Many of the people portrayed in the story are portrayed poorly and maliciously. These events permanently have harmed them, and this movie has not helped. These events did occur and affected the school and the people involved. However, this does not reflect the real stories behind the people and the school.

This is a fine movie for entertainment value, but please do not believe everything portrayed in it.

The moral of this excellent series: never mindlessly trust someone who's all charm on the surface no matter how educated or "normal" they appear to be. The educated can be sociopaths too. Also, women shouldn't be so desperate and man-hungry that they'll fall for the first man who gives them affection and attention. How Susan Reinert could have allowed herself to be so easily manipulated and controlled is both puzzling and disturbing, especially since she had two children to consider. Both Peter Coyote and Robert Loggia give outstanding performances, but it's also infuriating that the real-life characters were able to do what they did while Bradfield's minions blindly believed his lies and (obvious) manipulations again and again. Those complicit morons should have been thrown in jail just for their cluelessness and blatant stupidity.

Not familiar with the actual incident this movie is based upon, so cannot comment as to the accuracy of the facts and portrayals presented, but give this movie credit for holding a viewer's attention without being overly sensationalistic. The performances are stellar, and the tone of the movie is realistic and gritty - it feels like Pennsylvania, and it could be the town where you live.

I was delighted by a small inside joke. Gary Cole, who plays an investigator in this movie, is sitting in the courtroom while one of the defendants is being questioned. Reference is being made to the books the defendant owned and used as references, including the book "Fatal Vision," upon which another television movie based on fact was made. The camera swings slyly to Gary Cole, who did, in fact, play the infamous defendant, Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, in the movie "Fatal Vision." Very cute.

This movie was being broadcast on Lifetime, which I normally tune to when I want to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I was drawn in far enough I never took that nap.

Bill Bradfield was my landlord back in 1982. He was preparing to go to trial for the murder of Susan Reinart at the time. My friends and I rented a fixer upper from him out near French Creek Park. He was at the house all the time. Things happened there that could never be explained, and I became very frightened. He drove a green VW, and had a very nasty dog. I had many encounters with Bill and I never felt comfortable around him. It wasn't long before I left and moved back home to live with my father. Peter Coyote was great in the movie, but the Bill that I knew at that time was a tall, manipulative, clever, and creepy man. The movie didn't make me as sick as I did when I was around the real thing. Great movie though.

The night Part 1 aired on tv, I was inexorably drawn in. When Part 2 aired, I recorded it because I had to work that night. It was the same night a horrible storm hit--when I came home to my VCR, I'd discovered that the entire episode was UNWATCHABLE! This forced me to buy the novel to find out what happened. The novel is much more graphic and involved, but it turned me on to Joseph Wambaugh because it was the only true-life-horror-mystery-tragedy that I actually laughed out loud while reading! The book is very morbidly funny! Years later when I acquired the video, my girlfriend lamented that it was too long--until we started watching it...when Gary Cole utters the final lines of the cliffhanger--"What kids?" then we saw "To Be Continued..." flash across the screen, I jokingly said: "Well, it's late and I need to be leaving, I'll show you Part 2 some other time." She grabbed me and told me that I WASN'T GOING TO LEAVE until we watched the second video! Yes, it's that good! Watch it if you like true crime--but read the book too!