This is a weird movie. The best thing you can say about it is that it's fairly original, especially the scenes taking place inside dream landscapes. Such moments in film are hard to capture but I found them well realised here, and pretty believable. The structure of the film is rather predictable, and there's a gritty vibe running through it the same as in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Detectives, including a surprisingly decent Vince Vaughn, are on the trail of a supremely sick serial killer, played to the hilt by a highly disturbing Vincent D'Onofrio. This guy has a fetish for kidnapping and trapping women in glass tanks that slowly fill with water, drowning them.
Eventually, the guy is caught, only to go into a coma. Thanks to a sci-fi element, scientists are able to enter the man's consciousness and now they need to find out where a girl is hidden and the film runs with that premise. For a start, the imagination here is way out. The serial killer's mind is full of sickening imagery, and there's a central torture sequence that turned my stomach. Strong sauce indeed. Then there's a cast who actually do the material justice – including Dylan Baker's twitchy scientist, Jake Weber's serious fed and best of all Jennifer Lopez, as the smart, sassy and fearless heroine.
The film is suspenseful and twisted, as thrillers should be, and it kept me gripped until the very end. Looking back, I see it as one of the most atypical Hollywood films out there – and it benefits from this status. Recommended.
Eventually, the guy is caught, only to go into a coma. Thanks to a sci-fi element, scientists are able to enter the man's consciousness and now they need to find out where a girl is hidden and the film runs with that premise. For a start, the imagination here is way out. The serial killer's mind is full of sickening imagery, and there's a central torture sequence that turned my stomach. Strong sauce indeed. Then there's a cast who actually do the material justice – including Dylan Baker's twitchy scientist, Jake Weber's serious fed and best of all Jennifer Lopez, as the smart, sassy and fearless heroine.
The film is suspenseful and twisted, as thrillers should be, and it kept me gripped until the very end. Looking back, I see it as one of the most atypical Hollywood films out there – and it benefits from this status. Recommended.