Ugh ... another film that was too good to be true
C Wahlman | Merrillville, IN | 07/08/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I wanted to like this movie. I like horror, psychological suspense films, especially films that also incorporate Christianity (i.e. Lost Souls), but this was something else.
I found the premise to be truly innovative: theology student Kevin is attempting to finish his thesis about the nature of good and evil, when a terrorizing killer, the Riddle Killer (aka RK), selects Kevin as his new victim. "RK" wants Kevin to confess his greatest sin--a sin born of a traumatic childhood Kevin has tried to forget. And even when Kevin "confesses," RK dismisses it as not being his true sin. But what else could Kevin possibly be hiding? His childhood friend Samantha and police psychologist Jennifer have to figure it out before its too late.
Even with some reviews and descriptions of this film giving away a lot more, I was still intrigued. But the film itself has little to do with Christianity, there are few slight references thrown in (so if your apprehension with this film is the possibility of it being too preachy, don't worry you are safe from that). The bad acting made the bad script look worse. Kevin's childhood was too strange and not even explained well until the end. And this explanation seemed a little too easy summed up for my taste. In fact, I think that is why I dislike this movie so much. It is supposed to be intense with so much going on, nothing makes sense, and then suddenly you are told everything so concisely. The plot moves on to wrap up everything else, and then poof! happy ending! 90 minutes devoted to development and red herrings + 10 minutes to divulge everything + 5 minutes of a really stupid ending = 105 minutes of bad film.
I like complex films that make you think, and this film had all the makings of a great thriller. But the execution of a poorly written script and too much non-intriguing intrigue that was not explored sufficiently makes this movie a waste of time. Maybe I will try the book to see if that is a satisfying story."