Post by Quorthon on May 26, 2005 14:51:51 GMT -5
Suspect Zero
Thriller
2004
Color
RELEASED BY
MPAA Rating: R
Directed by: E. Elias Merhige
USA
Here’s another movie that lasted little more than a microsecond during it’s theatrical release. Another R-Rated thriller for us horror fanatics looking for such a thing. Lucky us, there’s actually something out there to watch other than “Saw” and “Malevolence.” …or the 30,000 PG-13 horror films that have been forced upon us…
Anyway… Do you remember when “Saw” was being advertised as the best movie of its kind since “Se7en?” Remember it being strongly compared to that or “Silence of the Lambs?” I remember those advertisements. They must have been about this movie, because “Saw” sure did suck. An FBI agent (Aaron Eckhart) with a (of course) troubled past is trying to solve some cross-country murder spree. Strangely enough, it seems his suspects are being targeted as victims of murder… But that’s okay, right? They might be bad people anyway. Turns out, our FBI agent is trying to find someone killing killers (Ben Kingsley). But how is the killer finding other killers to kill? Or how does he know how to directly contact our one super-special FBI agent? Because he’s psychic! Or rather, he’s what’s known as a “remote viewer.” Anyone familiar with America and Russia’s experiments with remote viewing and espionage knows what I’m talking about here—the rest of you will have to have it explained by the movie. At any rate, this is much better serial killer/thriller fare than most of what we’ve had lately. It’s done fairly classily, and acted really well. The cinematography and atmosphere also manage to come through with exceptional quality.
Here’s the breakdown:
The Good:
--The acting is pretty good, not great or anything, but really good. Better than a lot of the horror/thriller movies that Hollywood has barfed upon us lately.
--The atmosphere.
--The cinematography.
--The story is really quite good, and decently original—for once.
Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--I’m saying music here, but I didn’t really notice it.
--The violence and gore are pretty good. Even though there is little actual gore aside from people with their eyelids removed, it’s still pretty good.
The Bad:
--The beginning of the movie is a little hard to watch for someone like me who’s seen more than his share of awful Hollyood drivel dumped on viewers and called “horror.” Early on, there are moments of, “oh god, this is gonna suck. That is so cliché. An FBI agent with a troubled past, haven’t seen that before *cough*Hannibal*cough*.” But worry not, stick with it and the movie takes right off and doesn’t let down.
The Ugly:
--Seemed to me that since there were so damn many PG-13 horror/thriller films when this was released, it was completely destroyed in the box office by them. Which is extremely sad, this movie had balls and took chances, and was ignored for far weaker films or much cheaper crap like “Saw.”
Memorable Scene:
--When you actually realize the extent of evil that the heroes are hunting.
Acting: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Cinematography: 9/10
Character Development: 9/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 8/10
Nudity/Sexuality: 1/10 (one rape scene)
Violence/Gore: 7/10
Music: 6/10
Direction: 8/10
Cheesiness: 2/10
Crappiness: 0/10
Overall: 8/10
This one’s worth the time and money, definitely. Horror/thriller fans will enjoy the original story, casual viewers can take a look, but an interest in psychological thriller-type films will probably help.
Thriller
2004
Color
RELEASED BY
MPAA Rating: R
Directed by: E. Elias Merhige
USA
Here’s another movie that lasted little more than a microsecond during it’s theatrical release. Another R-Rated thriller for us horror fanatics looking for such a thing. Lucky us, there’s actually something out there to watch other than “Saw” and “Malevolence.” …or the 30,000 PG-13 horror films that have been forced upon us…
Anyway… Do you remember when “Saw” was being advertised as the best movie of its kind since “Se7en?” Remember it being strongly compared to that or “Silence of the Lambs?” I remember those advertisements. They must have been about this movie, because “Saw” sure did suck. An FBI agent (Aaron Eckhart) with a (of course) troubled past is trying to solve some cross-country murder spree. Strangely enough, it seems his suspects are being targeted as victims of murder… But that’s okay, right? They might be bad people anyway. Turns out, our FBI agent is trying to find someone killing killers (Ben Kingsley). But how is the killer finding other killers to kill? Or how does he know how to directly contact our one super-special FBI agent? Because he’s psychic! Or rather, he’s what’s known as a “remote viewer.” Anyone familiar with America and Russia’s experiments with remote viewing and espionage knows what I’m talking about here—the rest of you will have to have it explained by the movie. At any rate, this is much better serial killer/thriller fare than most of what we’ve had lately. It’s done fairly classily, and acted really well. The cinematography and atmosphere also manage to come through with exceptional quality.
Here’s the breakdown:
The Good:
--The acting is pretty good, not great or anything, but really good. Better than a lot of the horror/thriller movies that Hollywood has barfed upon us lately.
--The atmosphere.
--The cinematography.
--The story is really quite good, and decently original—for once.
Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--I’m saying music here, but I didn’t really notice it.
--The violence and gore are pretty good. Even though there is little actual gore aside from people with their eyelids removed, it’s still pretty good.
The Bad:
--The beginning of the movie is a little hard to watch for someone like me who’s seen more than his share of awful Hollyood drivel dumped on viewers and called “horror.” Early on, there are moments of, “oh god, this is gonna suck. That is so cliché. An FBI agent with a troubled past, haven’t seen that before *cough*Hannibal*cough*.” But worry not, stick with it and the movie takes right off and doesn’t let down.
The Ugly:
--Seemed to me that since there were so damn many PG-13 horror/thriller films when this was released, it was completely destroyed in the box office by them. Which is extremely sad, this movie had balls and took chances, and was ignored for far weaker films or much cheaper crap like “Saw.”
Memorable Scene:
--When you actually realize the extent of evil that the heroes are hunting.
Acting: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Cinematography: 9/10
Character Development: 9/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 8/10
Nudity/Sexuality: 1/10 (one rape scene)
Violence/Gore: 7/10
Music: 6/10
Direction: 8/10
Cheesiness: 2/10
Crappiness: 0/10
Overall: 8/10
This one’s worth the time and money, definitely. Horror/thriller fans will enjoy the original story, casual viewers can take a look, but an interest in psychological thriller-type films will probably help.
