Voice from the Grave isn't a great movie, but it ends up being quite a fascinating one. It's pretty much strictly a TV movie with the associated and expected production standards ... meaning nothing out of the ordinary, The acting will not live in my memory by any means and Megan Ward, who plays the female lead of Renee Perkins is especially pedestrian. But the story, which is a lightly fictionalised account of the real life Voice from the Grave Chicago police case is quite gripping.
A segment from the Unsolved Mysteries TV series inspired this story, in which a respiratory therapist (Megan Ward) claims that she is possessed by a murdered co-worker's spirit which identifies the killer. Ironically this particular mystery ended up being solved with the killer admitting his guilt.
The movie updates the crime and its aftermath from the late 70's to the mid 90's and changes the nationalities of some of the major players from Filipino to Caucasian Americans, as well as condensing some events (E.G. There was a mis-trial) to save time and maintain dramatic pace. Apart from that and some obvious name changes, the movie's narrative follows the real life timeline of events in just about all aspects, right down to oddities such as Renee and Bill Perkins, being witnesses (hostile I presume) for the defence, rather than the prosecution.
At various intervals, the film turns characters into talking heads, who speak directly to the camera, about their experiences. This doesn't really work and interrupts the pacing and tone, as we know they are actors playing out roles and not real life characters involved in a documentary. But the storyline which involves the ghost of the murdered Terry Deveroux appearing in visions and occasionally possessing the body of Renee Perkins, in an effort to achieve her payback to the killer, will undoubtedly be enough to carry most viewers through to the somewhat unexpected climax. Although I'd previously never heard of this somewhat celebrated case, I was pleased to have the opportunity of seeing this movie.
