Dr. Karen Schumacher is a psychologist who works for the police; she has been tasked with studying the profile of a serial killer (Simon Cartwright), who was captured and committed to a criminal asylum about six years ago. The doctor will conduct a series of interviews in which she will analyze the patient's condition and draw up a psychiatric report. The interview with Simon reveals a rather distorted image, greatly disturbed by the figure of his obsessive and violent mother (who comes from a failed marriage and had to raise a child in difficult conditions); when a girl of the same age enters his life, his mother abruptly sends her away, fearing she may interfere between them. Simon manages to meet her in secret from his mother, but she discovers them and dissuades the girl from any future relationship with her son. In addition, disturbing presences take over which, according to Simon, interact in his life and suggest who to eliminate: they are the spirits of the people he has killed, who return to torment him and demand more blood. Karen also becomes involved in her patient's lucid madness and charisma and observes another reality around her. In the end, she understands that Simon's pleasure in killing stems from all the abuse and teasing he suffered since childhood from his schoolmates, his mother, his co-workers... or so she believed, because the “presences” also want Karen dead!
A truly impressive directorial debut for New Zealander Scott Reynolds; despite the poor script (seen and reviewed in dozens of films about serial killers), he manages to develop a story in which fantasy and reality merge, in which past and present mix like pieces of a puzzle, in which poetry and cruelty carry equal weight. The characters created by the director (who also wrote the screenplay) are simple, yet they intersect beautifully thanks to his ability to describe the living conditions of the individual protagonists. A symptomatic scene is when Simon, after eliminating one of his victims, looks for a place to hide her; he finds a dog in poor condition along the road and takes it to a veterinarian, leaving the corpse in the back seat of the car...
A good soundtrack and some truly effective special effects (even if the blood sometimes looks green) complement this little gem of minor cinema (where by “minor” I mean in terms of international importance) from 1997, which is nonetheless full of enthusiasm and a desire to surprise.
Check it out and you won't regret it.
Review by Maxena
