Villisca: Living with a Mystery

Absolutely engaging! I wanted to know more and more as the filmmakers went through the story. The pacing of the movie -- historical photos and details, interviews of residents who remember the murders and their impact at the time, footage of the town as it is today were blended to tell the unfolding story in just the right amounts. Documentarian Ken Burns made the Civil War so accessible. His extensive use of old photos along with interviews of knowledgeable experts and his storytelling ability, capture the essence of his subject in a humanistic way. Kelly and Tammy Rundle captured that same feeling in their film. Like Ken Burns, the Rundle's use of old photos and extensive interviews gave me more access to the people who lived in the town at the time. The attention to detail, accuracy, use of animation to take the viewer into the home and town all make this film credible and engaging. Kelly and Tammy Rundle have done a great job!

What a wonderful piece of work! A documentary that is at once informative, intriguing and terrifying - a "horror flick" not due to gruesome special effects and jolting surprises, but rather to the grisly reality that demented acts do occur, and they shape us profoundly from our personal psychologies to our communal attitudes.

Having spent my life on the West Coast, I'd never heard of this town or the murder, so I came to the film knowing only that it was "about an ax murder." It is so much more. Yes, the historical mystery is presented, clearly and fascinatingly. But it goes on to build the psychology and personality of the town itself, as shaped by the murder and its aftermath.

This was a small town in the early 1900s – murder was personal and close and horrifying, there was no way for the townspeople to shrug it off as we might now that we've become more accustomed to, and desensitized to, violent crime. The town changed overnight, from welcoming and warm and trusting, to fearful, prejudiced and defensive. A community that had gone along in harmony became split, with half believing these had been murders for political/financial/community gain and the other half believing it was merely the work of a madman. One belief generated battles and hard feelings within the community, splitting families and friends to opposite sides and lifelong feuds. The other created a fearful, racist, closed society, completely distrustful and rejecting of any stranger or person of color. The town remains split even over the reality of this piece of its history - those who believe it to be historical fact which should be remembered are accused of celebrating it by those who consider it a shame that should be hidden and forgotten.

The documentary presents it all in a fair and non-partisan manner. No sides are taken, so we viewers get the full story and can develop our own conclusions – we are still, after seeing the film, in exactly the same position as the town and the authorities, "living with a mystery" – we have all the information at hand, but still no positive conclusions.

Artistically, this is a documentary with a twist…the narration is so calm and cool and presentational, that it eventually creates a chilling and horrific atmosphere. In our modern world we are so familiar with murder, and so surrounded by excitement and sensationalism, that this calm matter-of-fact voice talking of bashed heads and sundown laws becomes spine-shivering, and we are reminded of the true horror of some things we've begun to accept as common in our modern world.

Villisca is an exceptional exploration of the ills faced by communities which have not dealt with issues directly or compassionately. In light of Integral Theory, Villisca offers a keen and mature investigation of the effects that violence has on communities. Although a historic piece dating from the Villisca ax murders of 1912, Villisca's themes are equally or possibly more poignant today in communities across America that are faced with similar issues that divide and destroy small towns and big cities alike.

This film offers an intelligent approach to sensitively evaluating the validity of varied perspectives. Furthermore, it suggests powerful and transformative measures for individuals and communities alike to embrace into broader programs of forgiveness and healing.

Villisca is a film to be watched multiple times and studied for its depth of content and broad applications on many avenues of life. My husband Jeff and I highly recommend it!

True-life ax slaughter makes for seemingly horrifying film fare, but Villisca: Living With a Mystery chronicles the aftermath of the murders in a small western Iowa farming town rather than the gore and ghost stories that might have tempted more lurid producers than the Rundles. The cast of characters (names like Blackie, Dona, and the Little Minister) alternate between being fraught with foibles and downright frightening as much as any who populate fiction. Yet these people existed. The film even includes interviews with childhood contemporaries sharing memories of the 1912 murders. A riveting film. Historians Ed Epperly and Bruce Stillian provide commentary as engaging as Shelby Foote's in the PBS Civil War magnum opus. You might not learn for sure Whodunnit, but you will discern insight into how folks react to violent tragedy. Two hours well spent.

I saw "Villisca" this fall and thought it was great. I wasn't expecting to get so caught up in the story of the town and how it has been impacted by a grisly murder that took place almost 100 years ago. At the end of the film I felt like I'd lived in the town of Villisca. The historians are wonderful and entertaining interviews, as are the older people who were alive at the time the murders took place. Every time I thought I had the murder suspect nailed down, I was proved wrong. But that is what keeps you glued to the story. I had never heard of the case and that made it all the more interesting. It really is an excellent murder mystery and a good historical documentary worth seeing.