This is the true story of Andrei Chikatilo, a serial killer who is known to have killed 52 people in Russia in the 1980's. We start with Burakov, played by Stephen Rea ("The Crying Game"), as a coroner just starting his one of his first days on the job. A dead body is brought to him and when he argues with the detectives to search the site for evidence that could identify the body, 7 more bodies are found nearby.

They all died of violent stabbings and all with sexual disfigurement. After searching his predecessor's records, 7 more bodies are deemed to be similar and attributable to this one killer and immediately Burakov wants a massive man hunt and much publicity. But this is the USSR where admitting a serial killer is loose in unacceptable. No, the Soviet state must go after the most common of suspects, homosexuals. If it isn't them, it must be a gang of rapists. But Burakov and his boss Fetisov (played by Donald Sutherland) try to do their besy even in the midst of an inflexible bureaucracy. After letting the 15 families know of their losses, Burakov has an idea where the killer is finding his victims, the train stations. In fact at one point, they even catch Andrei Chikatilo, a married mill worker who has a taste for blood and sex with a frenzy. But with some bungled blood work, they must release him. Remember, arrested "party" members isn't a good idea because good "party" members wouldn't do such stuff.

 So the murders continue and with little clues and even weaker technology, Burakov just goes on cataloguing the victims getting no closer to finding the killer. So Burakov tries a different track and hires Buchanovsky (played by Max Von Sydow) to profile the killer in order to get a better idea what is going on in the killer's head. But will this do any good for Burakov or will the killer simply go on murdering people? Can Burakov catch the killer under the current system or will the fall of the Berlin Wall help his chances?  
 

Directed By: Chris Gerolmo
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Stephen Rea
MPAA Rating: R for strong, graphic violence and related language.
Year: 1995

Citizen X is a really good, really accuracte account on the notorious serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. Not much gore, a little but not bad at all. Focuses more on the frustrations of the guys trying to catch Chikatilo. It's great how at the end they show him in the cage during trial, and his execution. I liked this one very much, I guess because serial killers interest me so much. Either way, it is a good movie.
-Monkey Shit