It’s hard not to admire the woman who grabbed her parka and headed out of a recent preview of the thriller “Untraceable” during the climax.
By then, a garden rototiller — we had been shown oh-so-subtly earlier — was revving for a slaughter. And our Penelope was in deep peril.
** RATING | Thriller
It’s not that this film about the hunt for a Portland serial killer who streams his handiwork on the Web is especially egregious.
The ever-watchable Diane Lane brings believable single-mom weariness to Jennifer Marsh, an FBI cybercrime agent. Colin Hanks — yep, of that bloodline — is likable as Griffin, her colleague in keyboard sleuthing.
And director Gregory Hoblit is known for delivering diverting thrillers that often contain fine, even breakout, performances: “Primal Fear,” with Edward Norton; last year’s “Fracture,” with Ryan Gosling. Joseph Cross’ turn as the smug, efficient killer isn’t in that league.
But by the time the movie pits Marsh against killer Owen Reilly, the murders have taken their toll and the presumed moral of a cynical script (written by Robert Fyvolent, Mark R. Brinker and Allison Burnett) has been smothered by the cruelty.
Reilly Tasers his victims, then hitches them to lethal contraptions. If you’re thinking “Saw,” then you know what I’ve seen.
The hook here is that hits from the online community decide the fate of the victims.
In an indictment of the cravenness of some cybersurfers, each new murder amasses larger audiences. Reilly blocks access to his site so that only Americans are viewing. A communal blog runs next to the video cheering on, or commenting on, the action. At one point, Reilly pontificates about audiences and their (our?) thirst for snuff video. It’s just so much blather, his but also the film’s.
As often happens when the middle-of-the-road flicks pass judgment on other forms of media, the tale loses its bearings. Learning Reilly’s motivation is meant as a thoughtful twist. It’s merely twisted.
The film teases and unnerves for 100 minutes with scenes of cold brutality. Then in a rush to the end, it tries to make it all better, or at least make it more complicated.
Any comparisons with the female heroics of “The Silence of the Lambs” are misleading.
Unlike Reilly’s online viewers, we may find ourselves bedeviled by the question, “What have we just participated in?”
Having waded long enough in the muck, the departing moviegoer mentioned above probably wasn’t worried there would be no resolution to “Untraceable.”
She just knew that as much as we might cheer on agent Marsh, she couldn’t make up for all the nastiness that had come before.
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com
“Untraceable”
R for gruesome violence, and language. 1 hour, 40 minutes. Directed by Gregory Hoblit; written by Robert Fyvolent & Marl R. Brinker and Allison Burnett; photography by Anastas Michow; starring Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Lewis. Opens today at area theaters.
