feeldb

Dear Mr. Gacy

2010 · 103 min · Director: Svetozar Ristovski ★ IMDb 6.4 · 4,003 ratings

Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)

1993. Overachieving college student Jason Moss, fascinated by serial crime, decides to write his criminology class term paper on John Wayne Gacy, who is on death row and scheduled to be executed in six months time. Jason's criminology professor, Mr. Harris, will only allow Jason to write his paper on Gacy if Jason can come up with a fresh angle, as he himself believes the topic of serial killers is already overexposed. After writing Gacy a nondescript letter and receiving a questionnaire from Gacy in return, Jason believes the fresh angle would be truly to get inside Gacy's head, specifically to learn what makes him tick, by presenting himself in subsequent correspondence to Gacy as Gacy's "type", i.e. a vulnerable young man from a dysfunctional family and thus who is possibly at risk. Despite the advice that he needs to watch out for cunning Gacy, Jason is certain he can outsmart the serial criminal at his own game. Things take an unexpected turn for Jason when he starts receiving telephone calls from Gacy, who was able to find out his number. As Jason feels he has to do further field work based on things that Gacy wants him to report back on, Jason may find that he is not as well equipped emotionally to handle the situation than he first believed, potentially leading to serious consequences both for himself and those around him.

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Emotional fingerprint

Dear Mr. Gacy (2010) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Disturbing 35%, Anxiety 25%, Fear 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure

  1. Fear20%

AI estimate · no viewer votes yet

How we measure

AI estimate

Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.

Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.

Why it feels this way

The strongest emotional signals are Disturbing, Anxiety, Fear. Genres: Thriller, Drama, Crime. AI estimate.

Is it worth watching?

Consider this title if you are looking for Disturbing, Anxiety and Fear. Its IMDb rating of 6.4/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 67/100.

How did it make you feel?

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Emotional journey

AI · from subtitles
  • Tension
  • Disturbing
  • Fear

Not enough subtitle evidence

No dominant emotion

Dominant emotion: Disturbing

Dominant emotion: Curiosity

Dominant emotion: Tension

Dominant emotion: Sadness

Tension
Disturbing
Fear
Emotional journey Emotional intensity over the film’s runtime, from quieter to stronger on a fixed 0–1 scale. Hatched intervals have insufficient subtitle evidence. The table provides the values.
Ending hidden

Dominant emotion

Intensity dips around 13 %, then peaks around 83 %, then dips around 98 %.Ending hidden

Emotional journey
%Approximate minuteDominant emotionOverall intensityTensionDisturbingFear
2.5 %≈ 3′Disturbing62 %33 %53 %17 %
7.5 %≈ 8′Curiosity53 %32 %35 %15 %
12.5 %≈ 13′Curiosity50 %33 %30 %15 %
17.5 %≈ 18′Curiosity55 %36 %39 %15 %
22.5 %≈ 23′Curiosity60 %49 %44 %21 %
27.5 %≈ 28′Tension63 %60 %46 %31 %
32.5 %≈ 33′Tension66 %65 %56 %42 %
37.5 %≈ 39′Disturbing70 %68 %64 %48 %
42.5 %≈ 44′Tension68 %65 %59 %38 %
47.5 %≈ 49′Disturbing71 %68 %65 %38 %
52.5 %≈ 54′Disturbing80 %76 %74 %51 %
57.5 %≈ 59′Tension80 %79 %66 %56 %
62.5 %≈ 64′Tension80 %79 %68 %59 %
67.5 %≈ 70′Disturbing85 %83 %79 %70 %
72.5 %≈ 75′Tension85 %84 %76 %74 %
77.5 %≈ 80′Tension86 %85 %75 %73 %
82.5 %≈ 85′Disturbing87 %84 %77 %69 %
87.5 %≈ 90′Tension78 %63 %64 %45 %
92.5 %≈ 95′Sadness69 %34 %49 %23 %
97.5 %≈ 100′Sadness68 %22 %43 %17 %
Riches to rags

Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.

Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.

Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.

Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.

Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.

Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.

AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗

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Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers

Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.

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Cast

EL
Emma Lahana

EL
Emma Lahana

Alyssa

CH
Cole Heppell

Alex Moss

BM
Belinda Metz

Valerie Moss

MR
Michael Ryan

Frank Moss

DS
Daryl Shuttleworth

Guard Thompson

Patrick Gilmore

Glen Phillips

Andrew Airlie

Professor Harris

Michael Kopsa

FBI Agent

JB
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman

Male Hustler

HE
Hunter Elliott

Butcher Shop Victim

MM
Michaela Mann

Prostitute

Dee Jay Jackson

Desk Guard

LO
Libby Osler

Counter Girl

BD
Brett Dier

Marcus

JR
James Ralph

Armed Guard

JB
Jaren Brandt Bartlett

Mike

LC
Lynn Colliar

TV News Reporter

Details

Directed by
Svetozar Ristovski
Written by
Kellie Madison, Clark Peterson, Jason Moss
Type
Movies
Released
2010
Runtime
103 min
Country
Canada
Ratings
★ IMDb 6.4 · 4,003 ratings
Feels mostly
Disturbing
Data updated

Where to watch

Data: JustWatch · Wikidata

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Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.