Shown mostly through animation and some stock footage, witnesses recount that blistering August day in 1966 when Charles Whitman, after killing his mom and wife, rode the elevator to the top of the University of Texas Tower with a considerate arsenal and held the campus hostage during 96 minutes of terror where he murdered 16 people with a high powered rifle and was finally thwarted through the actions of brave police officers and civilians. Keith Maitland's documentary is intense. frightening, and overall well mounted but seems like it could have gone further, with the animation being overdone and not nearly enough use made of actual footage.
*** 1/2 out of ****
