The film begins in the dark, with eerie noises and a dialogue between two people; one of them turns on a bright, blinding light. Thus two men, seemingly strangers, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and young Adam (Danny Glover) appear on the screen. The two, mysteriously find themselves in a filthy toilet, each chained to a pipe and separated by a corpse, holding a gun in one hand and a tape recorder in the other.This is where the sadistic riddles of the obsessed killer will start, leading them either to salvation or death.
The film, with a screenplay by Leigh Whannell (who also plays a character) and cinematography by David Armstrong, has a strong streak of sadism and splatter.
The killer manages to haunt the two protagonists, two policemen and the various other previous victims, with disturbing puzzles that should make them appreciate life more, once they have overcome them. For example, one of the most distressing scenes, is the one where a drug addict finds himself having to quarter the body that is in his own room, in order to deactivate a device (that has been placed in his mouth) that could explode.
Even the ending, which in this case can truly be called a "surprise," was very well taken care of and does not at all fall into deja-vu.
It must be admitted, however, that certain scenes slow down the pace of the film a bit and thus could have been cut. Certain dialogues could also have been edited more, as they sometimes appear a tad superficial. Another small negative note is the fact that, too often, quotes refer to films such as The Cube and The Collector of Bones. However, the film, with set design by Julie Berghoff, deals with these cues in a fairly original way.
Charlie Clouser's music helps make this thriller-horror, one of the best American productions released in recent years.
The director, in his first feature film, despite not having a large budget, has given us a decent and successful film that certainly deserves to be seen.
Highly recommended!
The killer manages to haunt the two protagonists, two policemen and the various other previous victims, with disturbing puzzles that should make them appreciate life more, once they have overcome them. For example, one of the most distressing scenes, is the one where a drug addict finds himself having to quarter the body that is in his own room, in order to deactivate a device (that has been placed in his mouth) that could explode.
Even the ending, which in this case can truly be called a "surprise," was very well taken care of and does not at all fall into deja-vu.
It must be admitted, however, that certain scenes slow down the pace of the film a bit and thus could have been cut. Certain dialogues could also have been edited more, as they sometimes appear a tad superficial. Another small negative note is the fact that, too often, quotes refer to films such as The Cube and The Collector of Bones. However, the film, with set design by Julie Berghoff, deals with these cues in a fairly original way.
Charlie Clouser's music helps make this thriller-horror, one of the best American productions released in recent years.
The director, in his first feature film, despite not having a large budget, has given us a decent and successful film that certainly deserves to be seen.
Highly recommended!
Review by Vampira
