Review: Tales of the Grim Sleeper

The story of Lonnie Franklin Jr., a South Central L.A. family man who despite dealing in stolen cars, was considered a respectable man. Hell, he was the most affluent man in the neighbourhood. However, Lonnie had been harbouring a very dark secret for many years when he was finally arrested for the murders of at least 10 women (sex workers and/or drug addicts). Allegedly, the actual body count may be over 100. The title refers to the supposed 14 year gap between some of the murders, though Franklin may still have been active during that time.

Although he usually makes very interesting films, I do tend to find Nick Broomfield a somewhat biased, subjective, and intrusive filmmaker…even at the best of times (which would be his two Aileen Wuornos films made about ten years apart). This 2014 documentary is probably one of his less intrusive films (despite Broomfield appearing on camera often throughout), and I’m a sucker for a serial killer story, as I’ve always been a true crime buff. Broomfield mostly lets others tell the story here, and occasionally chimes in to fill the gaps. I wouldn’t say the film is free of bias, as Broomfield never speaks to the cops, and I also don’t think he needed to speak to a whole bunch of sex workers to explain in depressingly graphic detail what they did with Lonnie and what he did to them. One or two would’ve sufficed. That’s the one occasion where I felt the rather exploitive and intrusive side of Broomfield (i.e. The “Kurt & Courtney” Broomfield in particular) coming out.

For the most part though, I found this absolutely fascinating…but also incredibly, almost overwhelmingly sad (And make no mistake, most of the exploitation here was done by Lonnie Franklin himself). Otherwise, these are simply the people Lonnie preyed on and the environment in which he was allowed to go undetected for many years amassing quite the body count. At least Broomfield doesn’t interview Franklin himself and give him too much of a voice, so if that bothered you about his two Aileen Wuornos films, you may appreciate this approach more. He focuses a lot more on community and the victims here. It’s an incredibly depressing socioeconomic situation, and that’s before we meet Lonnie’s son’s former nanny. That story is an incredibly disgusting and depressing one. This guy was a fucking monster of a human being. However, depressing or not, the story had to be told. It took far too long for the crime to be solved, and while some will call bias on Broomfield, if this depiction of events is true…shame on the relevant authorities for taking so long to release vital information that could’ve helped save some lives. It’s an outrage, especially when you learn the meaning of the acronym NHI (I won’t spoil that discovery but it’ll make your blood boil). One wonders if Lonnie would’ve been able to carry out his deeds undetected for so long if he carried them out in a different neighbourhood. I mean, put aside the police aspect for a second. Although a family man, the guy was no saint. He dealt in stolen cars, carried the same gun as used in the crimes, took naked photos of chicks doing all kinds of kinky shit, and yet so many people from the neighbourhood are still shown on camera saying ‘But I don’t think he did it…’. Seriously, it’s a phrase we hear countless times from people just after describing some clearly suspicious stuff…it’s incredible. They also describe him as ‘normal’ in the same breath. Yeah, he definitely wasn’t ‘normal’, even if he didn’t kill people. The guy’s a nasty freak before you get to the killing. Everyone appears to have been asleep at the wheel here and Franklin seemingly took advantage of it. Or perhaps Lonnie was just one freak in a city that seemed to contain many lowlifes so that no one noticed…or cared to. Actually, forget ‘freak’…he was a disgusting vampire who was one of the select few able to prosper in a pretty rough neighbourhood.

Really fascinating stuff for true crime buffs like me, but an incredibly and unglamorously sad experience that may be too much for some. This guy was a true bottom feeder, but for my money the story needed to be told. Definitely worth a look if you think you can handle it.

Rating: B