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The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The acting in this movie is really good.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The standard serial murder mystery elements are all here, from the intruding federal agents to the bewildered local population. The great new approach is from the context of the movie, that being a Mormon community.The victims, investigators, and probably even the murderer are all from the small deeply religious town. How that plays out during the course of the murders makes for a new and excellently entertaining approach to the old mystery formula.The ending may be a let down to some, no final ultra twist, but the film is superior for the journey.

[CONTAINS MILD SPOILER] I have heard a lot of people say that they would recommend this film for Mormons and Non-Mormons alike. I do not agree. This movie, along with most other LDS-produced movies I've seen, contains many subtle biases toward Non-Mormons that often go unnoticed by those who aren't looking for them. The main one that comes to mind is the fact that the Sheriff and his "posse" decide that the best place to find the serial killer would be the place where the "drinkers" (code for Non-Mormon) hang out- so they go to a local bar and confiscate the beer bottles in order to take fingerprints. They then took those fingerprints and scanned every last one hoping to find someone with a criminal record. Needless to say, their theory was flawed and they were not able to get anything useful. I wouldn't recommend this movie to any of my Non-Mormon friends because I wouldn't want them to think that Mormons equate drinking a beer with being a serial killer. (Although that's not a huge secret here in Utah.)I've said it before- I keep waiting for one of these movies to come out that doesn't contain anything of this nature. I'm still waiting.

Though I'm an ex-Mormon, I actually sort of like Richard Dutcher's work as a filmmaker. One thing's for sure, he got the sterility and spiritual emptiness of LDS church services and Sunday school down pat. In the Sunday school scene the teacher drones on and cannot get even the simplest comment from anyone in the class. As a murder mystery I'll admit that I hadn't figured it out before Dutcher finally reveals the killer. As a spoiler, I liked it that he had the guy who did the baptism earlier be the serial killer. I thought it was a bit of a cop out to have the killer be a fake Mormon--the inference I got is that he was never a Mormon to begin with. The killer makes a pretty good speech at the end before Dutcher kills him but what he didn't point out to the Sheriff/Bishop was that the Sheriff/Bishop obviously didn't have one whit of the "spirit of discernment" otherwise he would've never have hired a rapist to be a deputy! I have to admire Dutcher's "boldness" when it comes to his movies. He isn't cawing and always very complimentary of the Mormon Church he's a member of. He pushes the envelope about as far as he may dare and keep his good standing in the Church (since he probably is a millionaire now after LDS audiences flocked to him movies, I'm sure the Church appreciates his tithing). Obviously Dutcher isn't running his movies by any high ranking "correlation committee." I'll be interested to see how many warts he leaves on Joseph Smith in his next movie. If he maintains his semi-independent bent, he will probably offend a number of Mormons, maybe high ranking ones, that is unless he makes a vanilla, "sacred" movie about Smith. I would like to see Dutcher have a chance to make a film without any LDS themes. He's pretty capable with a camera and he should have the chance to work with some better actors than what he's had to work with in "God's Army" and "Brigham City." Wilford Brimley, the only main-line actor he's had in those films, just blew everyone else off the screen. Wilford's a good actor but it isn't saying much for the quality of the rest of the cast to end up saying he's the best one in the show. I did like the sheriff's secretary though and how she vamped herself up to work at the bar where all the jack Mormons and non-members hung out.

This independently-made film kept me fascinated long after my bedtime as I watched it on video.I thought the camera work, acting, and dialogue were excellent.Although a person could draw the conclusion that the inhabitants of fictional Brigham City are sanctimonious, close-minded people, there is no doubt about the skill of the director/producer and star Richard Dutcher of this film, a practicing Mormon himself. His performance as the widower sheriff of Brigham is nuanced and complex. He is fiercely protective of his sheltered little town--a town that until now has never known murder.It was also interesting to observe the rituals of the Mormon sabbath. Altogether, Brigham City is a welcome change from the special effects, blockbusters of recent months. People actually talk to each other. Relationships are important. The murder is solved at the conclusion. My conclusion is that Richard Dutcher's is a talent that will only get better with time. 9/10