A horror movie about starring Kevin Pollack (Money Drop, USUAL SUSPECTS) and Katheryn Winnick (that episode of HOUSE MD where he talks to the girl who was raped)
The story: a serial killer is running around forcing people to choose between two horrible decisions (like losing their face or their looks, killing their mom or their dad, etc). A journalism student and her police office father race to catch the killer.
Was it good?
No. But it wasn't bad. It was just so by-the-numbers. From the concept, which felt like SEVEN-lite, to the murders (which were kinda gross but not really twisted enough like in 7), to the characters, to the dialog, to the reveals at the end (oh my -- a personal connection -- I never would have expected that!) There isn't one single beat in the movie that feels new or original or interesting. You watch it and ask "What did the writer find fascinating? What was it that drew him to want to write this?" And honestly I have no idea. It's like a movie dreamed up by a producer slapping together elements form other hit movies he didn't personally like but that were successful so what the hell.
Also there are two completely useless scenes in the movie. One has the lead actress take a shower for no reason and the second has her taking a bath for no reason. Now, I'm not one to wet blanket some old fashioned gratuitous fun, but there isn't even any gratuity in the scenes, so why have the scenes there are all? I'm not sure I've ever heard of gratuitous non-nudity before but this film has it. If you aren't going to make the scenes useful (i.e. help the story) and if you aren't going to make the fun (whoo-hoo nakedness!) then just cut them entirely. It's called editing. When you use it, it can actually help your film.
And what was Kevin Pollack doing in this? Maybe it was before he got the gig for MONEY DROP, or he owed someone a favor? It's hard to imagine the guy in USUAL SUSPECTS making this because he loved the script.
Now, that's the bad, but there is good here. Namely, the actress Katheryn Winnick. How crap is she hot. I mean, just beautiful. I'd watch her in anything. In fact, I checked IMDB and she's been in a bunch so by next week this blog might be full of her movies. Unfortunately, the story an dialog don't let her do anything that really would qualify as "good acting" but there is something about that girl that is interesting on screen. I'd be nice to see her in a better role.
Also, while the story is very by-the-numbers, for the first half it's also doing the job and pretty entertaining. You have a killer running around and people trying to stop him. If it can work for every procedural on tv it can work here too.
It's in the second half, where they start to figure out who the killer is why he is doing it and the personal connection, etc, that the movie starts to feel move like a spoof and less like a thriller. I've never understood why people who make crime movies also want this personal connection. SEVEN didn't have one. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS didn't have one. It's like they need to have every single aspect of the movie tie together, but what they forget is that it just becomes too much.
Now this could have been saved if they started the movie more from the killer's point of view, so that you plant the idea that he was building this giant trap for the protags. Of course, this would lessen (negate) some of the mystery of who he is, but it would also make the ending not be cheesey and suck.
It's not all bad, but you can do better. Personally, I'd just watch eps of CRIMINAL MINDS or even NUMBERS again over this.
*** AVOID ***
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