*Spoilers ahead*
Have you ever noticed that nobody is ever "on the fence" about serial killer movies? People either like it or hate it, with very little middle ground.
The trouble with serial killer movies is that it has become a very specific genre. In order to make a good one, the killer's motif has to be interesting and original. Among my favorites are Kevin Spacey's John Doe in "Seven", who killed his victims according to the seven deadly sins; Peter Foley in "Copycat", who copied real-life serial killers in an order pre-determined by one of Sigourney Weaver's speeches; and the killer in "Blink", whose goal it was to murder everyone who received any part of his dead girlfriend (who was an organ donor).
The interesting thing about "Suspect Zero" is that this particular killer had no pattern. He simply traveled from state to state, abducting and killing his victims (mostly children or adolescents) and burying them at his remote house in the Western United States.
Some might question my sanity, but I actually bought the "remote viewing" angle that Ben Kingsley's character was so adept at. Remote viewing is a subject that has been mentioned in other series, such as USA's "The Dead Zone", and on the now defunct (and highly underrated) series "John Doe". He COULD let the proper authorities know that there is a killer out there who has killed in every state in the country, with no conceivable pattern. But with his precarious mental state, who would believe him? The only way to prove that he is right is to draw attention to himself by killing three other serial killers in full view of the FBI; the fact that two of the three murdered killers weren't even known to be killers until well after their death gave weight to O'Ryan's (Kingsley's) abilities.
Aaron Eckhart gave a very good performance as disgraced FBI agent Thomas Mackelway, who has been shunted to the Albuquerque office after going way outside the law to apprehend serial killer Raymond Starkey (the third of O'Ryan's victims). I found the fact that O'Ryan latched onto him a little too convenient, as well as the fact that Mackelway is a fledgeling "remote viewer" himself, but I understand that it was necessary in order to keep the movie from bogging down.
Most of the other characters were pretty ordinary, including Carrie-Anne Moss as Mackelway's former-and-now-suddenly-current partner/love interest. Hers was the kind of role that could have been played by any of two dozen current Hollywood actresses, but it's good to see that she's trying to finally leave Trinity behind her.
Another convenience - O'Ryan leads Mackelway to the killer trucker's hideaway, within minutes of the killer showing up in his truck. A chase ensues, which ends with both vehicles crashing, and Mackelway chasing the killer down on foot and then, with the images of all the victims flashing through his head, beating him to death. I found the fact that we never even got a good look at Suspect Zero's face a little disappointing as well.
The final scene, where O'Ryan begs Mackelway to kill him and end his suffering, is very powerful. One can only imagine what it must be like to be "plugged in" to serial killers' minds for decades; the images of evil and perversion have to be enough to drive most men mad. The whole movie, which one thought was building up to the actual catching of Suspect Zero, was actually building up to this, the playing out of O'Ryan's final "vision". He had seen his death in his mind for years, and there was no escaping it.
This was the third serial killer-type movie I have seen this year - the other two, "Twisted" and "Taking Lives", rank dead last on my list of 2004 movies so far. But "Suspect Zero", despite its inconsistencies and sudden conviences, ranks very near the top for me, because when you combine an interesting story line, suspenseful and disturbing imagery, and a spectacular performance by Ben Kingsley (truthfully, the only kind of performance he EVER gives), i found myself entertained right up to the final credits.
My score: 9 1/2 out of 10.
Have you ever noticed that nobody is ever "on the fence" about serial killer movies? People either like it or hate it, with very little middle ground.
The trouble with serial killer movies is that it has become a very specific genre. In order to make a good one, the killer's motif has to be interesting and original. Among my favorites are Kevin Spacey's John Doe in "Seven", who killed his victims according to the seven deadly sins; Peter Foley in "Copycat", who copied real-life serial killers in an order pre-determined by one of Sigourney Weaver's speeches; and the killer in "Blink", whose goal it was to murder everyone who received any part of his dead girlfriend (who was an organ donor).
The interesting thing about "Suspect Zero" is that this particular killer had no pattern. He simply traveled from state to state, abducting and killing his victims (mostly children or adolescents) and burying them at his remote house in the Western United States.
Some might question my sanity, but I actually bought the "remote viewing" angle that Ben Kingsley's character was so adept at. Remote viewing is a subject that has been mentioned in other series, such as USA's "The Dead Zone", and on the now defunct (and highly underrated) series "John Doe". He COULD let the proper authorities know that there is a killer out there who has killed in every state in the country, with no conceivable pattern. But with his precarious mental state, who would believe him? The only way to prove that he is right is to draw attention to himself by killing three other serial killers in full view of the FBI; the fact that two of the three murdered killers weren't even known to be killers until well after their death gave weight to O'Ryan's (Kingsley's) abilities.
Aaron Eckhart gave a very good performance as disgraced FBI agent Thomas Mackelway, who has been shunted to the Albuquerque office after going way outside the law to apprehend serial killer Raymond Starkey (the third of O'Ryan's victims). I found the fact that O'Ryan latched onto him a little too convenient, as well as the fact that Mackelway is a fledgeling "remote viewer" himself, but I understand that it was necessary in order to keep the movie from bogging down.
Most of the other characters were pretty ordinary, including Carrie-Anne Moss as Mackelway's former-and-now-suddenly-current partner/love interest. Hers was the kind of role that could have been played by any of two dozen current Hollywood actresses, but it's good to see that she's trying to finally leave Trinity behind her.
Another convenience - O'Ryan leads Mackelway to the killer trucker's hideaway, within minutes of the killer showing up in his truck. A chase ensues, which ends with both vehicles crashing, and Mackelway chasing the killer down on foot and then, with the images of all the victims flashing through his head, beating him to death. I found the fact that we never even got a good look at Suspect Zero's face a little disappointing as well.
The final scene, where O'Ryan begs Mackelway to kill him and end his suffering, is very powerful. One can only imagine what it must be like to be "plugged in" to serial killers' minds for decades; the images of evil and perversion have to be enough to drive most men mad. The whole movie, which one thought was building up to the actual catching of Suspect Zero, was actually building up to this, the playing out of O'Ryan's final "vision". He had seen his death in his mind for years, and there was no escaping it.
This was the third serial killer-type movie I have seen this year - the other two, "Twisted" and "Taking Lives", rank dead last on my list of 2004 movies so far. But "Suspect Zero", despite its inconsistencies and sudden conviences, ranks very near the top for me, because when you combine an interesting story line, suspenseful and disturbing imagery, and a spectacular performance by Ben Kingsley (truthfully, the only kind of performance he EVER gives), i found myself entertained right up to the final credits.
My score: 9 1/2 out of 10.