| Director | Alexander Bulkley |
|---|---|
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $86,872 |
When two teenagers are gunned down on Lake Helena (in real-life, Herman) Road on December 20, 1968, the small town of Vallejo (Benicia) is thrown into a state of terror. Assigned to the case is Police Detective Matt Parish (Justin Chambers) of the Vallejo Police Department. With few leads, the case goes unsolved and the emotional attachment causes heartache for Parish's family; wife Laura (Robin Tunney) and 12-year-old son (Rory Culkin).
Six months later on July 4 – as Parish begins to lose hope – the Zodiac strikes again. This time he guns down a couple in a deserted parking lot. He's inches away as he pulls the trigger, but he never reveals his true identity. Just an hour after the shooting, the Vallejo Police Department receives an anonymous call, confessing to the murders that have just taken place. Days after the second murder, a letter is sent to Bay Area newspapers the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner, threatening that 12 more people will die unless the three papers print the encoded letter they've just received. The killer reveals that if they can decipher the note, his true identity will be revealed.
It becomes an obsession for Parish to solve the case. He spends all his time with the coded sheet, sketches of the killer and psychological reports, putting strain on his family. The ever-increasing publicity pushes him to the edge. When Parish receives more anonymous calls and ciphered letters (some suggesting the threatening chance that his next victim could be one of Parish's family), he thinks he's got his suspect. Disobeying orders by Chief Frank Perkins (Philip Baker Hall) he goes in search of the killer. When he storms into the suspect's house, his allegations are shattered because the man has no relation to the murders.
The police later hear of more killings, but the case doesn't get close to being resolved. On April 24, 1978, ten years after the first reported murder, the Chronicle receives another letter:
The film ends with the statement that the killer has not been captured.