This is the true story of Albert Desalvo, the self-confessed Boston Strangler. The characters and incidents you are about to see are based on fact.

Yeah, except it’s not though is it?

Moral qualms aside, and this film has none, it’s a disgrace, The Boston Strangler is well put together.  The use of split screen adds to the forensic atmosphere (even if the investigative skills on display amount to contacting a psychic and hassling gay men) and the later interrogation scenes blend past, present and memory almost bordering on the Fritz Lang.  It also boasts great performances.

But the real lie is the ‘quality’.  Many films do this, they scream quality in a way that means to hide hollowness, patronising elitism and regressive values.  I don’t mind films playing fast and loose with the truth, that’s half the fun, but I’ll take the honest gutter level exploitation flick over this rotter any day.