Review of Duress

For most of its running time, "Duress" seems like a low-budget, flatly-photographed, dime-a-dozen serial killer thriller, with the only novelty being the stunt casting of Greek pop idol Sakis Rouvas as the nasty killer. Rouvas is more than acceptable in the role, after you get used to him, but what really distinguishes this film from most of the others of its ilk is its thoroughly twisted, amoral, and sick twist ending. I don't want to spoil anything here, but if you prefer movies where good triumphs over evil, or at least some characters are redeemed at the end, you might want to try something else. I was shocked on at least two separate occasions, and I was reminded of a Pauline Kael quote (about the Richard Gere thriller "Internal Affairs", but it applies here as well): "you may find yourself breaking into a grin when you recommend it to friends". You have been warned. **1/2 out of 4.