Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"The boy is in pieces under the bed."

2004 R / Thriller Suspense Directed by: E. Elias Merhige Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Carrie-Anne Moss, Ben Kingsley

Tagline

Who's next?

Summary Capsule

There's a serial killer of serial killers out there... and that's when it gets wacky.

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Justin's Rating: And this is why I'm never leaving home again. Ever.
Justin's Review: When you dare take off your rose-colored sunglasses and give the world an honest, hard look, you have to admit that this is a pretty brutal place in which to live.

"We are able to keep on living our daily lives with a measure of mental slight-of-hand, overlooking the bad and not dwelling on it for too long."

It’s a world filled with death, despair and corruption of every sort, and the more you look at it, the more it can really freak you out. This is why everybody pretty much chooses one of three options when dealing with our harsh world: grasp on to a higher ideal and purpose for everything, let it overwhelm and drown you, or ignore it altogether. I can safely say that a majority of people go for option three. We know, in the back part of our minds, how messed-up everything is. But we are able to keep on living our daily lives with a measure of mental slight-of-hand, overlooking the bad and not dwelling on it for too long. The veneer of society helps: death is kept clean, neat, out-of-sight… but some people have to deal with it more than others. Cops. Morticians. Clergy. Doctors. FBI Serial Killer Profilers.

Okie dokie, that was way too heavy of an opening paragraph, but that sort of weight is natural after viewing a serial killer film, such as Suspect Zero. It’s not a perfect movie and is definitely guilty of plodding along like a dog reluctantly going back into its kennel, but the filmmakers knew how to write a compelling story.

Any good storyteller will tell you that, in order to draw audiences in, you need to have more than one hook. An initial hook exists to quickly snatch the imaginations and attentions of the audience — think the couple opening minutes of any drama on TV, or the opening prologue of a novel — but too many stories are simply content to coast from that one hook until the end of the story. A great story will hide its second (and third, and fourth) hooks deeper within, stunning its audience by giving the plot a good yank to the left (or right, depending on your political leanings).

Suspect Zero has about three main hooks to it, but the only one I’ll mention is the one they pretty much tell you in the film’s description. An FBI agent (Aaron Eckhart) stumbles onto the aftermaths of a mysterious guy (Ben Kingsley) who’s the Batman of the serial killer world: he’s tracking down these horrible people and butchering them himself. A serial killer of serial killers. Viola! Hook One!

As the story trundles along (taking it’s sweet freakin’ time, I might add), the two men who are dedicated to taking down these degenerates got me looking at the world all hard again. Serial killer movies are more effective at disturbing audiences because while the film might not be based on reality, there are serial killers definitely out there. And monsters in human guises that actually exist are far more terrifying than a monster in a monster suit who kills only in Pretend Land.

While all of the movie’s hooks are big and compelling enough to warrant a viewing, the filling between these events are what holds it back from becoming a must-see. It is not tight, snappy writing populated by characters that leap into our imaginations. It’s a small cast filling dead air with dreamlike explorations that more often lack impact than strike home. Mixed bag of assorted sweets and cockroaches, in other words.

So, it’s okay to see this or skip it. Just leave the sunglasses on your bedside table if you do.

Cops are often impressed with the civilian population's number drawing skills "We are SO far from my car right now..." Dennys and death

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

No.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

The original 1995 draft by Zak Penn circulated around Hollywood for seven years before finally being made. After several drafts were rejected, the original draft, with several revisions by Billy Ray, was used for shooting.

Serial killers are people who, on multiple occasions spread over time, murder victims who are generally unknown to them beforehand. The FBI claims that, at any one time, there are 35 uncaptured serial killers in the US.

Groovy Quotes

Piper: Ever see a 50 foot shark?
Thomas Mackelway: I'm sorry?
Piper: A 50 foot shark. You ever seen one?
Thomas Mackelway: No.
Piper: Doesn't mean there aren't any.

Thomas Mackelway: Where's the boy?
Benjamin O'Ryan: The boy is in pieces under the bed.

Benjamin O'Ryan: I know what you're thinking. "Pain is coming. Will I take it like a man?" Well, let me put you at ease. You won't. None of them do. Men, women, children, they all weep, they all beg, they piss themselves, they attempt negotiation. You wouldn't believe how many men I've seen lying right where you're lying right now, grown men with wives amd children at home, offering all kinds of sexual gratification for a five-minute reprieve. It's pathetic!

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Se7en
• Silence of the Lambs
• Kiss the Girls