Boston Strangler Movie Reveals First Look at Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon as Journalists

One of the most famous serial killers in American history is the "Boston Strangler," who killed more than a dozen women in the '60s, with the upcoming film Boston Strangler recreating the unsettling true-life story for a new generation, which just got first-look photos. The film stars Carrie Coon and Keira Knightley as journalists attempting to uncover the figure behind the brutal crimes, and who were also the ones to realize the crimes were likely connected and committed by one figure as opposed to being a random string of gruesome encounters. Boston Strangler is set to premiere on Hulu on March 17th.

The film follows Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter for the Record-American newspaper, who becomes the first journalist to connect the Boston Strangler murders. As the mysterious killer claims more and more victims, Loretta attempts to continue her investigation alongside colleague and confidante Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), yet the duo finds themselves stymied by the rampant sexism of the era. Nevertheless, McLaughlin and Cole bravely pursue the story at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.  

Alessandro Nivola, David Dastmalchian, Morgan Spector, Bill Camp, and Chris Cooper also star in the film.

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(Photo: 20th Century Studios)
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(Photo: 20th Century Studios)

Writer/director Matt Ruskin reflected on his own personal connection to the source material to Empire Magazine and what about the story resonated with him.

"Having grown up in Boston, I had always heard of the Strangler in a very abstract sense, but I didn't really know anything about the details of the case and a few years ago, I started reading about it and discovered a really fascinating, layered serial killer story," the filmmaker shared with the outlet. "I always loved journalism stories and in researching the case, I discovered these two journalists, starting with Loretta McLaughlin, the first journalist to connect the murders, and in her reporting, she actually gave the Boston Strangler his name. It was a really monumental story for her in her career in the early 1960s. She was a very ambitious reporter in a male-dominated field and this was a real turning point for her."

Even after this initial interest in telling this story, Ruskin realized he had another connection to the historical event.

"In reading about Loretta and her partner Jean Cole, the other reporter she worked with, I discovered that Jean Cole's granddaughter is an old friend of mine," Ruskin admitted. "I called her up and said, 'Is the Jean Cole your grandmother?' She said yes, and that she had adored her and so she introduced me to both Loretta and Jean's families, and they welcomed me with open arms, they gave me access to old photos, clippings, and really shared the histories with me. So at that point, I was really hooked and devoted to telling their stories."

While some parts of the area looked somewhat similar to how they did back in the '60s, the filmmaker detailed some of the challenges the production faced.

"A lot of old Boston doesn't exist anymore," Ruskin admitted. "There are certainly old neighborhoods with old buildings, but it's very difficult to shoot a period film these days, particularly in Boston where so much has changed. There's always some element that's not right for the period. We shot in the winter and some of those cars just don't start in the middle of January! But we had a wonderful group of people and I'm proud that we shot the film in Boston, very close to a lot of the real locations, it was an incredible opportunity to be able to recreate that period."

Boston Strangler premieres on Hulu on March 17th.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments!

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