Synopsis
Based on the true life story that took place in the 1970s, this movie follows the murder of Susan Reinert and her two children in Upper Merion Township in Pennsylvania, a case that lasted seven years
Echoes in the Darkness
1987 Directed by Glenn Jordan
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Alternative Titles
Visszhangok a sötétben, Instinto Cruel, Ecos en la oscuridad, Ekon i mörkret
Releases by Date
TV
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USA
Releases by Country
USA
01 Nov 1987
- TV
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I went to this school;
Vince Valaitis taught me there.
breaking format now...I graduated from Upper Merion Area High School in 2011, and Vince Valaitis was one of the best teachers I had in my time there. He taught film classes on genre films in the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Thriller genres. It was one of those classes where the teacher showed movies every day, and most seniors took it as an easy A or a free pass to nap. He showed films such as Silence of the Lambs, Nosferatu, Strangers On A Train, Psycho, Alien, etc. He had an immense collection of DVDs and would readily lend them out to budding cinephiles like myself. I credit him for the…
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To say this was a tad overlong would be the understatement of the century, but it aired like a miniseries so I won’t harp on it too much. There are some really good performances by actors you (should) love in this but I couldn’t stop staring at Peter Coyote’s patchy little beard. Ultimately, it’s a good little story that leaves you feeling empty and unfulfilled.
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good to know that the american true crime miniseries complex has always been churning out mid
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A really well-balanced true crime miniseries considering the size of the ensemble and the number of years the case dragged on. It’s so much stranger than fiction, the first half takes a dramatic turn at practically every commercial break. The second half gets bogged down by courtroom drama — as these things tend to do. There’s strong acting across the board, especially from Zeljko Ivanek and Stockard Channing.
66/100
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There is something quite demented about this made for tv crime flick with a stacked cast written by Joseph Wambaugh. With two distinct parts it’s more than a little overworked in the first part, taking on an almost surreal dementia quality - how many more times can they hit us in the head? We get it. You could have easily excised 45 minutes from this, but the fact they didn’t just makes it better. It’s going nowhere but you can’t look away.
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I watched this for three reasons:
1. I love shitty TV movies from the 70s/80s/90s
2. The cast is stacked with all-timer character actors - Stockard Channing, Peter Coyote, Treat Williams, Peter Boyle, Zeljko Ivanek, and Gary Cole. Like that’s a murderer’s row of talent.
3. I like the film The Onion Field based on one of Joseph Wambaugh’s other true crime novels.The first part of this is really not great. Wambaugh overwrites the character building scenes, the dialogue especially. In the second part when it moves to the police investigation, it really improves and there’s a lot more authenticity. Also, Gary Cole is excellent in this as the more junior cop, hands down best in show, and his…
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Upper Merion High School was rocked with controversy in the late 70’s when a teacher was found dead and naked in the back of her hatchback in Harrisburg. Over 7 years of investigation the State Police along with help from the FBI came to the conclusion that two men Bill Bradfield Jr (Peter Coyote) and Dr Jay Smith (Robert Loggia) were involved. Glenn Jordan’s TV mini-series is based off of the book “Echoes in the Darkness” by Joseph Wambaugh. Joseph Wambaugh was a police detective who turned to writing with some fiction and nonfiction stories that are well acclaimed, many of which have been adapted to TV or the movies.
I found a copy of Wambaugh's book at a library…
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"Echoes in the Darkness" is top-notch stuff. The cast is very good with the standout being Peter Coyote. Coyote should have won an Emmy for his performance. The court finale between Treat Williams and Coyote is great stuff. I've seen this movie quite a few times now. It never fails to land its punches. It’s one of the best tv-made movies ever made.
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