pmaatta Normally I enjoy documentaries about serial killers but this one I cannot in all honesty call a documentary, but a travesty of a documentary, for it approaches its subject in a manner more appropriate to a high school student trying to go the easy way getting his grades.You will not find any consistent notifications of interviewee's identifications during the progression of the show but only random reminders when, it seems, the makers of this "documentary" deem that it is appropriate - or I may be completely wrong - when they had any chance of inserting information pertaining to their subject.All in all, this is still very much worth watching if you appreciate the baffling mind frame of the serial killer. *** out of *****

cabrerahot69 Bazaar Bizarre is an attack on the subject matter of serial killing unlike any other. Defying all logical genre definition it plays out like a aural, visual, and physical meditation on the mental capacity that is required to enact crimes such as serial rape and murder. Society is quick to judge such acts. We are fast to condemn. There are times in Bazaar Bizarre that do this as well, but just as often it seems to ask us to slip into the mind of the killer, to see something that we may not want to. Is it poking fun with these sensory assaults, or unsettling the viewer even more with this skewed view of the world? I cannot say. There are no answers in this film, just questions.The strange case of serial killer Bob Berdella began for authorities when a man was found running naked in the streets of Kansas City. Unable to talk, ass cheeks bloody, and wearing a dog collar and leash, this man spun a terrible tale. This was to begin unraveling a story that was as wondrously weird and hideous as they come. For days, the man had been being kept a prisoner in the home of a local man. Over these days he was repeatedly raped, tortured, and photographed. Drain cleaner had been injected into his vocal chords, and he was unable to speak clearly, but for slight as his voice may have become, his tale was as strong as any could be. He led officials to the house, and the peeling of the many layers of the life of Bob Berdella commenced.Bob Berdella was the owner of a local shop that carried curios and oddball nick-knacks from all over the world. In Kansas City, if you wanted to purchase a shrunken head, Bob Berdella was the man to see. His shop was "Bob's Bizarre Bazaar". Need bone jewelry? Or maybe ask him to try some of his home made chili that he shared with other shop owners. Well maybe not...Director Ben Meade also hails from in Kansas City, and there's something intimate about his look into the mind of this killer. Understandable, as Meade himself had come face to face with the killer at least once at his shop. Maybe it is this backyard proximity that allows Meade to pounce with such unflinching zeal on the topic. Aided with commentary and narration by James Ellroy, author of L.A. Confidential, both men constantly creep into and out of the mind of Berdella...Meade lulls the viewer into a feast for the eyes with stunningly awkward visuals, documentary montages with Berdella himself, and musical interludes that fixate upon the events and give the viewer a moment to collect his or her thoughts. Ellroy crashes in, here and there, with a gut punch of verbal realism. He is the sound voice of reason in the chaos. He speaks a true grit truth. He has no love, compassion, or empathy for Berdella. He lets this be known, unmistakably.Meade has concocted a strange brew of a film. He has interviews with the aforementioned surviving victim, one with Berdella, and with people who were involved with the case and its media coverage. Meade mixes all of this in a fashion that is not locked into any format. Unlike other forays into serial killer docudramas, there is not a chronological time line. Instead, Meade allows the mind of the viewer to connect the dots themselves. A higher form of reward is earned in this manner, as people are asked to involve themselves and potentially become immersed within the framework of the film.There are scenes in Bazaar Bizarre that are gruesome. Some of the exploits of Bob Berdella were not the type to be readily accepted by Mr. And Mrs. Middle America. The recreations tickle the edges of exploitation with a grainy realism. A well used attempt to blur the boundaries between the stock archival footage and staged magic of film. This forces the viewer to accept a more intimate arrangement with a very twisted mind. The exploits of Bob Berdella are not narrated over black and white stills. It is much more closer to us than that.Bazaar Bizarre will not suit the taste of every one. It is a hybrid of experience and knowledge. We are taken to places and then given pause. The pace is one that allows for introspection, but at the same time if the viewer does not have a lot to bring to the intellectual table, they may find that this dance is a bit one sided. Berdella's story is not shown as a parable of humanity. There is no attempt to make him anything other than what he was.

jonm11100 I thought the way this film was presented was very good, although I could do without "The Demon Dogs" playing songs as the film progressed. A documentary such as this has no business interjecting a rock band playing songs because it has nothing to do with the story. The film contains archival footage of Berdella's victims as well as actors portraying the people involved in the case. I would love to see a documentary on serial killer DEAN CORLL presented in this way, with actors portraying Corll doing what he did to the victims. The Dean Corll case is one of the spookiest, most disturbing case of serial murder that has ever happened and to date, nobody has ever devoted much time to the case. At any rate, I was very pleased with "Bazaar Bizarre" and would recommend the movie to any serial killer buffs out there. You won't be sorry.

4cshore I was wondering why James Ellroy never got in contact with me? I went to college with Bob - worked next door to him in the River Quey - was over at his house many times.We bought and traded many esoteric collectibles - I was the one that the Police had come in and appraise the collection on the second floor gallery - warning them that if he could sell them his collection it would be worth well over $300,000 and he could afford to hire a good lawyer - that's when they claimed it as part of the crime.Bob even borrowed my chainsaw -Euh- glad I never got it back.The interesting fact the Judge Charlie that arranged him and the Detective Chester that was #2 in the investigation and Bob were at my wedding - I have a photo of them all in one photo together, this was less than a year before he was caught.I was even the one that Phil Whitt from channel 4 interviewed - they incorrectly stated that I was Berdellas BEST FRIEND - Son of a B*t*ch lied to me. Ever notice how big Phil's butt is - it's really really big looks deformed.Well I was never contacted so I wonder how much research James Ellroy really put into this. Guess I'll have to see it.I still have the worry beads that are made for human bone that Bob gave me for Christmas one year - said they were Tibetian?