There's quite a large alumni group of us out there. I like all the Fr Koesler mysteries, so enjoyed this one. Streaming on Roku. It is entirely possible. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1954 and spent twenty years as a Roman Catholic parish priest. We are in the business of saving souls, not lives. He struggles with his conscience as he searches for the identity of the killer and tries to find a way to stop him. Donald Sutherland is a priest who becomes entangled in a series of murders where someone is offing nuns and priests. I'm pretty sure Elmore Leonard slumbered his way through the source material's adaptation. If he really did feel that mysterious force, would he not have ceased his rampage entirely? This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply. A detective story? A priest is called to the confessional from his quarters in the church. The classic film about a Detroit cop who goes to Beverly Hills, California to solve a crime. [CDATA[ I want it to be true, but I cannot believe something I know is most likely not true. Life in the Catholic Church of the Holy Redeemer in Detroit is upset by a series of killings whose victims are all priests and nuns. A killer of Detroit clergy confesses to a priest, who turns sleuth because he cannot tell the police. Walton favours a bloodless approach and the film is often more spookier than a dozen others that do not. Directed by Fred Walton, from source material written by William X. Kienzie and adapted by Walton and Elmore Leonard, the film co-stars Charles Durning and Josef Sommer. He killed two girls and only one girl in the house was left unscathed. Copyright EpicPew. It was merely a way to stall his execution. Twitter Facebook Link Print. That bug-eyed sincerity, the Sutherland signature that held us in "Klute," is working here. Sign In. Now, no one but Sutherland, can give that blank stare so well. Belinda Bauer, with her jackhammer delivery, plays the lapsed Catholic reporter who falls in love with Koesler after he mumbles in an interview. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. "The Rosary Murders" is based on a neo-noir novel by William X. Kienzle who was a real catholic priest. There were many websites that shared various versions of the story. His book, Eugne de Mazenod: A Saint for Today, is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and LeoninePublishers.com. 105m/C VHS . Did she exist? This cozy mystery is fun, easily followed, and easily read. Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. But he's bound by church law to say nothing. William Kienzle wrote at least 20 mysteries featuring Father Bob Koessler. The Rosary Murders, first published in 1978, is coming to readers again. Man, Oh Man, Catechism in a Year Podcast is Right Around the Corner! Sure some things are dated, but it was politically correct at the time. He's still watchable. 105m/C VHS . A really good cast can't stop this movie from feeling, unfortunately, very tedious and dry. The Rosary Murders was named one of the top twenty-five mysteries of the twentieth century in spring 2000 by the Chicago Sun-Times. Father Koesler wonders if he will be next. The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review. I've spent much of the past week binging the CBS-turned- Paramount Plus series Evil, which has become one of my favorite shows currently airing. I write for epicPew and have a masters degree in criminal justice. The Rosary Murders was one of the first real adult suspense thrillers I ever read. New TV Tonight You: Season 4 . They are funny and remind me of a precursor to Stephanie Plum. No, absolutely not. There is no evidence to conclude thata mysterious force prevented Ted Bundy from continuing his slaughter that night. They go out for a drink one evening and suddenly it's the next day over coffee at a nearby greasy spoon. Rent this movie and see if you agree. The case itself has some darkly salacious elements but the narrative still feels very, "TV movie of the week". When the killer explains why he did it I started laughing. The author has relied heavily upon the literary device of COINCIDENCE in constructing his plot; i.e., he expects you to believe that several people living in the same part of the country would have certain proper names. External Reviews His only prayer -- to learn how the maniac chooses his victims. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/rosary-murders, "The Rosary Murders Murder mysteries generally speaking are criminal fantasies, outside of those based on real-life or so-called true crime. Mobilesite. This is the first in the Father Koesler series by the late William X. Kienzle. MOTW-level yellow paged potboiler where Donald Sutherland and Charles Durning play Detroit priests facing a wild ethical quandary: a serial killer splattering clergy spills his crimes to Sutherlands casual collar during confession. For example one of my favorite horror films is Alice Sweet Alice, I think The Exorcist is a well-written drama, and I lean towards the Italian films with spiritual or religious imagery. Some are splendid; some are average. His interests include: Following hockey and Minnesota sports teams, Batman, detective stories, community theater, and improv. He was constantly staring into space. This is not Sutherland's best role because he is not given enough material to work with. Thriller. It begins when Koesler, editor of a Detroit Catholic newspaper, agrees to help the police solve a bizarre murder mystery. Interesting, though sometimes muddled and too rarely tense. The vacant, sleep-walking style adopted in this film gets tiresome very quickly. The Rosary Murders is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by William X. Kienzle, a former priest turned crime novelist who married a newspaper reporter shortly after leaving the priesthood in 1974. I could definitely relate to this because I'm a lifelong Catholic. 59:59. Mystery thriller with a Catholic twist. It was a sorority house. Evil doesn't want this, it's going to be pissed off that someone who claimed atheism is having faith and reaching to God for help. 'The Rosary Murders' (R) By Rita Kempley Washington Post Staff Writer September 26, 1987 Donald Sutherland still seems to be suffering from his brush with the Body Snatchers in his role as the . In contrast to Walton's spine-tingling "When a . This story did not appear anywhere until 2002 when it was mentioned in a 2002 article in a Pittsburgh newspaper(a really good article; I recommend it). If the rosary had stopped a serial killers rampage, how had I not heard that story before? The second victim is a colleague of Father Bob Koesler. I like religious horror and giallos. However, there was more than one survivor. The author has relied heavily upon the literary device of COINCIDENCE in constructing his plot; i.e., he expects you to believe that several people living in the same part of the country would have certain proper names. Midsomer Murders S13E02 The Made to Measure Murders. Sem dvida, esta histria de detetive est entre as melhores que j li. Duration. The violence happened mostly off-screen, but managed to leave a chilling mark and the Detroit setting complements the weary imprint. It read well, kept my interest and was pretty well written. Report this film. Every time another worshiper dies, Koesler shares the responsibility but refuses to break his vows of secrecy. "The Rosary Murders" uses the very familiar plot of a priest getting a confession from a criminal, but because the priest is bound by the seal of the confessional, he can't inform the police about what he knows. | Directed by: Fred Walton. Father Robert Koesler: People are going to die. The original trailer in high definition of The Rosary Murders directed by Fred Walton and starring Donald Sutherland, Charles Durning, Belinda Bauer. Warning: This post contains big spoilers for Evil's Season 1 finale.. Evil's Kristen Bouchard has had a hell of a week.. Not only does she spend much of the CBS drama's finale worried that a . The story, scripted by thriller author Elmore Leonard and director Fred Walton, tippy-toes around the subject of our hero's celibacy with implications about his relationship with a Detroit Free Press reporter. //