The Sierra Nevada Murders (2022) (USA)

aka Forgotten Legacy

⭐️⭐️1/2

Renewed interest in a batch of murders originating in the isolated Sierra Nevada mountains and then spreading outward peaks when the perpetrator, Micah Anders, dies in prison. Micah (coming off like a theatrically creepy John Mulaney) was following in the footsteps of his twisted papa and reportedly had 19 confirmed murders under his belt before being apprehended. A four-year-old child among them. The FBI agent who captured him (Dale Maxson) retired and vanished for a decade shortly after the arrest but has been pulled from his now off-the-grid life by a journalist and her producer doing a piece on the infamous killer and the case which has just recently been reopened. A collection of footage, interviews (the killer’s sister who is also in prison for aiding her brother) and murders pieces together the interview and the crimes by the baby-masked killer as the former agent and the smug journalist talk about the disturbing case. Of course, being off the grid means there’s some shit Dale has not heard about. This includes two ghost hunters who were supposedly slaughtered by the serial killer but it turned out to be a hoax… a hoax which was a centerpiece of the murder trial. File that under oopsie. The conversation carries on and there’s talk of a certain mythology pertaining to the killings and the area which make for an interesting story but has Dale getting frustrated with his interviewer. There’s flashbacks within flashbacks, a long line of history discussed, a valid excuse to tell not show (even if they kind of still show anyways), questions being raised, performances that feel a lot more like amateur theater and a storytelling hook that works in the films favor even if it shouldn’t be running one-hundred minutes. I respect it for trying something a little different in its presentation of masked-killer thrills but it’s still pretty familiar for anyone who has been watching these kinda flicks since Se7en had them popping up every week straight to video. This one just has a supernatural bend to it which makes it more up my alley. Editing could have helped cut this down to a more appropriate runtime as the story does not justify the length but it’s still not a waste of your time at least once.