Based on a true-crime novel by the same name, author Jesse P. Pollack’s book The Acid King was released to Amazon in 2019 for a short time before being changed slightly and re-released. Having not read the book, but noting Pollack was part of both the directorial process and the writing process for the film, I can only assume what research was uncovered in the novel has been simply made into a visual version.
There is a lot to like about a sensationalized story about Satanists who kill. If you are interested in the backstories about young people who do terrible things, then The Acid King is a must-see. But this story isn’t just about Ricky Kasso’s crime. The telling details and interviews with people who knew Kasso as a kid add interesting detail to an already dark story.
What The Acid King movie does is want you to understand how media can misconstrue events in a variety of ways. Most true crime documentaries sway their version of the truth from the angle they want it to come across. Most of the time filmmakers proposing their story can at least back it up with evidence. Pollack’s retelling of the 1984 murder of Gary Lauwers goes one step further than that. It does add some really interesting views on the 80’s Satanic Panic. There is some great dialogue about misinformation given to the general public about what happened. This generally involves how journalists took the word Satanist and ran with it for views.
The Acid King Official Trailer
The Official Trailer: The Acid King by OC Trailers.
The Acid King Documentary
What I liked about The Acid King was it tied all these things together. You get a rounded view from a bunch of different angles. The documentary doesn’t feel exploitative. There are no grisly crime scene photos or reenactments that devolve into what might have happened the night Lauwers was killed. With a run time of over two hours, however, some additional footage of anything remotely different to aged drug users on-screen might have been more engaging.
On the downside, the sound editing for The Acid King movie was poorly executed. Often set in noisy environments, not edited to isolate voice, the film comes off cheap. Instead of a nice eerie monotone voiceover, the filmmakers chose to put up written information for much of the run time, which was annoying. The people that were interviewed were not the cream of the crop. I can only wonder how many people must have said no to being part of this process considering what they were left with. Filmmakers interview other filmmakers, heavy metal musicians, and of course, people who went to school with those involved.
Overall, The Acid King is certainly not a polished well-made documentary. But as someone who wasn’t well-versed in the story, I found it interesting enough to watch.
I give The Acid King
2 aging heavy metal rockstars out of 5
The true-crime documentary is available on digital platforms and you can watch it from November 9th, 2021.
Written and directed by Dan Jones & Jesse P. Pollack.
For a more positive take on The Acid King, check out the article by B&S About Movies.
