The acting and writing are terrible in this one.
I feel like this is how a robot would write a movie script if its creator let it watch 7-10 B mystery movies, then gave it a typewriter and said "Do your best!"
If they'd just earned a nickel everytime the actors rattled off a terrible cliché or exposition, the production probably could have at least hired a better wig artist to outfit the guy who plays Alcala.
Speaking of which, they made the killer a weird mix between Chris Farley and Meatloaf. He looks like your dad dressed up like the drummer from an 80s cover band, then showed up at your school to embarrass you in front of your friends.
It's too bad because this is such a fascinating story that I wanted to learn more about.
2 stars though because - while terrible - it delivers a few good (albeit unintentional) laughs as it wanders into the abyss of awfulness.
Favorite scene is the mom, showering in the dark, crying into and sniffing her daughter's new lemon shampoo bottle after she goes missing. Bizarre.