1980s True Crime Miniseries Arrives On Blu-ray: ‘Fatal Vision’ Reviewed

On February 17, 1970, Collette MacDonald and her two, young daughters, Kimberley and Kristen, were found murdered in their home on the military base, Fort Bragg. Their father – Colette’s husband – Captain Jeffrey MacDonald would be the one to call for help. Injured while allegedly fighting off the killers, Jeffrey was home at the time and the only survivor (Collette was also pregnant at the time).

In a case reminiscent of the Manson Murders, MacDonald would go on to claim that four hippies were responsible for murdering his family. Later he would become a suspect and hire writer Joe McGinniss to write a book about him that would prove his innocence. NBC would buy the rights to that book and the TV miniseries, Fatal Vision, is the result. Whether McGinniss (played in the series by Frank Dent) or the show believes MacDonald innocent, however, is another matter (and to put it a different way, MacDonald would go on to sue McGinniss).

Instead of giving viewers the option to choose between part 1 and 2, Kino Lorber have opted to combine the two episodes of Fatal Vision into one, three hour movie (though the opening and closing credits are still included, so it’s very easy to tell when part 1 stops and 2 begins). It’s a small detail but Fatal Vision was a miniseries, not a movie, and it would’ve been nice if the main menu of the disc reflected that.

Speaking of the credits, while Gary Cole (as MacDonald) should have been given top billing, his name appears late in the opening titles for the size of his role. Karl Malden (as MacDonald’s father-in-law, Freddy) takes on a bigger part in the second episode (and as film historian and filmmaker Daniel Kremer expresses in his commentary, the evolution of Freddy and Jeffrey’s relationship is at the center of this miniseries) but, without knowing all the facts of the case, it’s disappointing when Eva Marie Saint (as MacDonald’s mother-in-law, Mildred) doesn’t see a similar uptick in scenes but rather has her role diminished in part 2.

As for “special guest star” Andy Griffith, he doesn’t appear in part 1 at all and his character is talked about more than he appears onscreen in part 2.

Highlights of the series include how the show avoids passing judgement at first. While part 2 comes down harder against MacDonald, part 1 shows the holes in his story while also highlighting the mistakes that were made by the military police at the crime scene, so it’s not immediately clear which direction the series is going to go.

The flashbacks are also very well done in this series, as they’re more memories than flashbacks. That means they’re always colored by the person whose having the memory, so in Freddy’s case his memories are more rosy, whereas Mildred’s show more of an awareness of tension in the MacDonald marriage, though not enough to alarm her at the time. Wendy Schell also deserves praise for her performance as Collette in the flashbacks – a difficult role given how little is known about Collette and Jeffrey’s relationship. Despite that, Schell is able to suggest a lot without stepping too far into conjecture.

Bonus Features:

For a three hour commentary, Kremer handles the runtime well and came prepared to fill the time. Starting with a discussion of Errol Morris’ book, A Wilderness of Error — which has since been turned into a docuseries and offers a different view on the MacDonald case — Kremer also talks about how the theme of perversion runs through director David Greene’s films, the interview MacDonald gave on The Dick Cavett Show that inspired the interview he gives in the miniseries, and Gil Mellé’s electronic score.

Final Verdict: Fatal Vision is probably more for true crime fans than it is for someone who came to the show as a fan of its impressive cast, but it’s always great to see more TV movies and shows coming out on Blu-ray.

Fatal Vision is available on Blu-ray now from Kino Lorber.