American Crime (2004 Video) User Reviews

Boring Low Budget Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 3/10 · 27 June 2006]

The crew of a television of a small town composed of the reporter Jesse St. Claire (Rachel Leigh Cook), her lesbian supervisor Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra) and the intern cameraman Rob Latrobe (Kip Pardue) are investigating the disappearance of the stripper Diana Cox (Julie Cialini). Rob received a videotape and found the shooting of another woman, Linda Mitchell (Amy Arce), in the same video, and he is convinced that the killer stalked his victims while filming them. When Jesse vanishes without a trace, the reporter Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes) from the syndicated television show "American Crime" joins the team in their investigation.

First of all, I can not say if "American Crime" is a thriller supposed to be funny or a dark comedy. Indeed, it is a very boring low budget movie, with a promising beginning, but silly in the end story. Cary Elwes is simply awful, being a caricature of the most important character of the plot with one of the worst performances I have ever seen. Consequently, the direction is terrible, wasting what could have been a good story. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Crimes em Série" ("Crimes in Series")

good try, i guess

[jcallows · 4/10 · 11 December 2004]

When I saw the really cool and creative opening credits, I thought this movie might have a chance. Wrong! The filmmakers should've spent less time on the opening credits and more time on the rest of the movie. Throughout I was trying to figure out if the movie was supposed to be a thriller, a comedy or all of the above. After finishing watching, I'm still not sure. Although I admit that I didn't see the film entirely, missing bits and pieces of the middle where I lost interest and watched something else. When I returned, it seemed I didn't miss much. I just couldn't figure out what to make of it. It tried to have a documentary feel to it, but who interviews anyone in a car from outside the windshield? (I'm referring to those scenes where Anabelle Sciorra was talking to the camera through the windshield while driving.) It tried to have a realty-TV feel to it. It tried to be a lot of things. But in the end, it just failed to be a good film. Too bad, some really cool graphics went to waste here.

It's Not Terrible

[Scars_Remain · 5/10 · 7 May 2008]

The reason I may have enjoyed this film is because I had extremely low expectations when I decided to sit down and watch it. I liked the idea of it and enjoyed parts of it but ultimately it is a very poorly executed wannabe thriller with so many clichés that it's almost sad. It's a good time if you turn your brain off so don't expect anything too intelligent at all.

The acting isn't terrible, I've definitely seen worse and Rachael Leigh Cook is definitely easy on the eyes but there are better actors out there for sure. The story was definitely a good idea but it was executed very badly and in the end, it fell flat for me. I wanted it to work and I wanted to love it but it was nothing more than an okay film for a rainy day.

I really have nothing more to say about this one. See it if you want, but if you decide not to, you really won't miss much.

Geez!

[nightcreeper · 1/10 · 4 June 2004]

This one might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Though, it had the ultimate Bonus: Rachael Leigh Cook. I only rented this movie because I knew she's playing a part.

It starts pretty promising, because the opening credits are presented very originally! Then it just gets worse with every minute. Somehow it feels like the writer had an idea the director didn't understand. If you want to torture yourself for two hours, - go rent the thing. I'd love to make a review on it but I'm trying to forget I ever saw it. Please Rachael, if you read this: Don't do that kind of crap. You're way better than this! Not even your magic could save this one.

Leaving American Crime open for a sequel was very optimistic

[mos-13 · 1/10 · 8 May 2006]

The film started with an arty but lengthy credits intro. Next there is an implausible scene where the central characters get run off the road in the middle of nowhere and are shown a dead body by some yokels. No explanation is ever given as to why they were run off the road and they don't seem too bothered by it either.

The plot then begins to change into a reality TV style thriller which ends up being more of a poor attempt at comedy. After about half an hour the film is getting pretty desperate, I wanted all of them to die, and quickly. The main characters:

Cary Elwes: I know he's English (sort of) but this gives him no excuse to create such a ham awful character with a ridiculous accent. It's a pity as I thought he was better than this. Maybe the director found him funny. I doubt anyone else will.

Annabella Sciorra: She is a persistently moaning Lesbian who despite being in mortal danger never believes anyone's warnings and gets in really silly situations.

Kip Pardue: Carries a camera around with him everywhere looking surprised anything and everyone. He finally copped it in the last scene. He looked surprised.

Rachael Leigh Cook: Acts the main character poorly and looks like she's wearing a wig. Little explanation as to why she leaves the film half way through. Nevertheless anyone leaving this film is a good thing.

Overall I'm bitter because once I start watching a film I always have to see it through. I probably thought it couldn't get any worse after the first few minutes and it did. I remember seeing The Last Horror Movie recently and thinking I would never see anything worse. I was wrong.

Tiresome from start to finish - avoid if you can!

[eye-sea · 1/10 · 7 October 2006]

Ever since Blair Witch Project, movies with little or no plot use a documentary style to fill up the 1 and a half hours, or so, they're given by the film company.

This piece of trash is no exception. It starts off well - the first five minutes a teeny bit scary-ish - but then drops into this very tiresome documentary mode, full of crap interviews, laced with painfully unfunny "humour" and "wit".

The guy hosting the documentary is annoying enough with what sounds like a fake British accent. And the make-up sucks. He's obviously heavily made up to look like someone he isn't. Maybe perhaps a spoof on a real TV news host! Who knows!

And the character Jesse St Clair, played by Rachael Leigh Cook, wears this badly-made blonde wig that's obviously too big for her head. The sets, the script, the plot, the make-up department, not forgetting the embarrassing acting, all make for a movie to avoid at all costs.

I had to steel myself not to get passed the first twenty minutes without whizzing through to the end.

Dire. Zero out of ten if I could give zero. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with a one!

American Crime

[Spuzzlightyear · 5/10 · 22 March 2012]

A pretty average thriller is made much more uh, interesting with Cary Elwes coming in and putting in THE most "What was he thinking?" characterisation and accent I've seen in a looooong while. The story is about a local camera crew trying to figure out who's behind the killings of local women. They receive mysterious tapes at the station, and they're of the women the killer is stalking! This gets the attention of a crime show, called "Amercian Crime" which is hosted as Elwes. OK, now, on to his character.. Try to imagine Cary Elwes imitating John Huston imitating Robert Stack, and you have a pretty good idea of where this is coming from. MAJOR scene chewing from Elwes is in place here, so much so, that, yes, it distracts from the story. So much so, we're trying to figure out if this, yes, is indeed a comedy, the way Elwes carries on. I mean, what was the director thinking? Or was indeed, a "Living In Oblivion" type of thing? (I need to see that again)

Stupid and boring

[falexandrou · 1/10 · 18 November 2006]

The movie was awful. We're talking about a very low budget movie, with no scripts and the worst cast ever. The guy who plays Al Brondin or something, is English but can't be convincing as an English man!!! The girl who plays Jessie Saint Claire, wears a wig and it's so fake. I think they bought it from a Halloween shop. Concept was kinda catchy but it was so poor, that i think even the director wouldn't watch it. It was very obvious and the end was like every other movie that wanted to be different. The director followed the "great" recipe that demands actors that can't act so that the cost is low but they're hot, so that the audience is happy. I'd never accept this movie as a thriller. Music was a big failure too. Thrillers should be all about atmosphere and music. This one suffered from the lack of inspiration. This movie sucks big time

Well-made little indie flick!

[AcidLoser69 · 7/10 · 26 February 2005]

So this wasn't top-notch entertainment, however, it was an interesting film that built to a pretty cool climax. It starts with a news team desperately looking for a story. They get a call that leads to the discovery of a dead stripper in a lake. They begin an investigation, and then suddenly VHS tapes start to pop up. They find the first one in the dead girl's suitcase. The video shows her walking around town, not noticing she is being videotaped. Suddenly we witness on that video her rape & murder. Unsure if the video is real, they continue to dive deeper into the story. Then, more tapes begin to show up in the mail that features other women, having the same thing done to them. It all starts to get really creepy, and then a video of one of the news girls (Rachel Leigh Cook) shows up. She then freaks out and quits her job. With only 2 people in the news crew left plus a man who was fired from the show "American Crime", they decide to break the case. They end up in the country at an old freaky looking house. The whole thing builds to a bizarre and suspenseful climax! In the beginning and middle of the film there is quiet a bit of humor, so B-movies fans will love this, but there are still enough deaths & a scary ending that will satisfy the average horror buff. Check it out, I think you'll be surprised!

Just finished watching it and here is what I thought

[SoulEater · 4/10 · 6 February 2005]

I understand why this movie was released direct to video. It was just plain not very good. I work at a video store and try to take home the smaller titles that released each week but this one was just bad. From the way the movie is presented and put together to the extraordinarily lack luster ending it just never lured me in. In fact I could have gone my entire life without having seen it and been better off for it. I will agree that Cary Elwes performance was pretty good but that is about it. Do not rent it in any video store as it is not worth the price of admission. any how that is what I think.

-Curiosity didn't just kill the cat, it ripped it's head off and stump ****ed the remains.

Not too bad

[vincent-100 · 13 September 2004]

This one was released straight to video, and for good reason. Yet it's still better than your average made-for-TV movie. The concept is pretty good, but the way it was put together was not. The performances were poor all round, save for Cary Elwes who puts together a delightfully eccentric character in Albert Bodine. It's worth a watch just for Elwes' role. I'm still waiting for him to do something great - I believe he is capable. The plot was good. I enjoy murder mysteries, and this one had me thinking at one point it could be any one of them after seeming obvious at first. In the end, a bit unsatisfactory, but certainly not on the worst list. Not much more to say, but I have to fill 10 lines. What else? What's so special about Rachael Leigh Cook? In this movie: nothing. Watch Annabella Sciorri, though, for future star power.

Far better than a 5/10

[travis-j-rodgers · 8/10 · 19 March 2005]

Tells the tale of group of news crew members who stumble on to a string of murders that are related by the fact that the murderer seems to be stalking and recording his victims prior to slaying them. I won't spoil any more of the movie, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by this film.

This movie does precisely what a thriller ought to do. It builds slowly, occasionally relieving the tension, but only momentarily. The high point of the tension is surely the conclusion, and it seems to provide the movie with some replay value. I had no complaints with the cinematography nor editing. The acting was at least adequate, with Elwes being quite funny and dynamic (as opposed to his recent performance in Saw).

While there are no scream out loud scary moments in the film, there is a strong sense of tension that builds as the movie progresses. Definitely worth a look. And while I don't work at a video store like the other reviewer, I do rent a ton of films, including the obscure films. This is far and away one of the better rentals.

Enough to give one pause...or fast forward

[billyfish · 6/10 · 2 January 2005]

Well, I joke, but this really wasn't that bad of a movie, especially in the made-for-TV market. Cary Elwes' performance alone is worth sitting through the film. His quirky, neurotic documentarian wanna-be character is fun to watch, and you spend the first several minutes saying to yourself, "He looks a LOT like Cary Elwes, but..." The rest of the cast is solid if unremarkable, and the scenes that are supposed to be creepy are indeed so. What I liked about the ending was that it didn't tie everything up into a neat little package and drop it into our mail slot as the murderer did with his videotapes. The only thing you're sure of at the end is who WASN'T the murderer, because all the prime suspects are either incarcerated or dead...or are they? It's a fun twist on the murder mystery, with stories within stories, and the whole thing framed by documentary-style monologues and interviews.

Horrible Acting and worse plot

[mcnitschke · 2/10 · 5 June 2008]

This was, quite possibly, the worst film I have ever seen. The acting is completely over-the-top, and the story line is ridiculous. I had to work very hard to actually be able to sit through the entire film! It's as if the filmmaker was coming up with the plot as he was taping the movie. It starts off promising, but takes a very long time to go anywhere and eventually doesn't! The movie is really not interesting for any portion of the story. This is another case of a filmmaker trying too hard. One thing is clear, this movie doesn't really have a plot and it is not suspenseful or scary. There is no point to this movie. Don't waste your time with this one.

High hopes quickly deflated

[mithrandir2-2 · 4/10 · 16 March 2005]

With such an impressive cast, I had high hopes that this movie would be an edge-of-your-seat thriller. But sadly it never reached its potential. The story was poorly written, with gaping plot holes, inane dialog and absurd characters. The directing was sophomoric, reminiscent of a music video or weak commercial, leaving me with the impression that a different director might have presented the writer's ideas more effectively. And the acting was mediocre at best, with the exception of Elwes, who was simply awful (I've been a fan of his since The Princess Bride, and it was his name that convinced me to rent the movie, so this was a huge disappointment--particularly on the heels of Saw, which truly was an edge-of-your-seat thriller).

I honestly can't recommend this movie to anyone, not even die hard fans of any of the cast. It's too much of a waste of time.

Good plot and suspenseful but a let-down...

[aimeeyoung · 4/10 · 9 February 2005]

When the movie began and the names of the cast came up on screen, I was amazed that with several well known actors and actresses that this was a straight-to-video release. The movie had a pretty good plot and was fairly suspenseful. There were also a couple of twists that I didn't see coming. The acting could have been better, especially from Cary Elwes, who gave a totally disappointing performance in 'Saw'. We watched 'Saw' in theaters and myself and several others in the theater were actually in tears from laughing at him by the end of the movie. But I digress. His character Albert Bodine was too over-the-top with the English accent and mannerisms to be believable and several parts of this movie actually had me shaking my head in disbelief and with embarrassment for him. The whole film was a guessing game, however, up until the very end. You really don't know who the culprit is, and I suppose you aren't supposed to find out. The ending stank, in my opinion. Definitely wouldn't have paid to see this in the theater and probably could have spent my money better on something else rather than renting it.

Honest, but unfocused, effort

[jeremyemmet · 25 August 2005]

What I loved most about this movie was its willingness to avoid shock-gore for effect. It's remarkably rare these days for a thriller/horror movie to rely on mood and camera work to achieve suspense instead of graphic violence. This movie covers similar territory to Cary Elwes' other recent thriller "Saw", but focuses instead on the characters and mood. Even Elwes' somewhat stilted performance feels more natural here, appropriately fitting an aspiring, but inexperienced, TV journalist. Kip Pardue, Annabella Sciorra, and Rachael Leigh Cook fill out a cast of journalists quite literally caught up in their latest story about a serial killer. The film borrows liberally from 'Scream' and 'Blair Witch Project', but brings it's own odd combination of story techniques, which doesn't quite work. The film's aspirations are noble, and I enjoyed it thanks to the fact that it didn't follow typical formulas when the opportunity to do so arose repeatedly during the story. I'm always willing to forgive a few weaknesses for an ambitious work that doesn't take the easy formulaic answer. American Crime is an original film, and while you're guessing constantly, it's unlikely you'll have figured much out before the end.

Lacks real acting...

[shockley_m · 1/10 · 9 March 2005]

OK, I saw the movie "Saw" and really thought Cary Elwes (sp) performance was up to par until the final scene. But his performance in this movie is dreadful. I hated him the whole movie and thanked my lucky stars he didn't "narrate" the whole thing. The ending did stink. Rachel Leigh Cook was a disappointment as well. For her status I expected a lot more. She's virtually non-existent in the movie. I recommend something scarier as well. Only a few suspenseful moments in the movie and by suspenseful I really mean disorganized. I saw the preview for this movie on other Lions Gate films and was tricked into renting it. so if you see it as a preview and think "Hey that might be neat." Forget it. If you have $3 to waste go ahead, but save your money for something else.

Post-Soprano Job

[jkhuysmans0 · 4/10 · 30 December 2007]

Unfortunately, Sciorra, Pardue, and Leigh Cook would have been better served to make an adult film. I feel especially bad for Sciorra. If you happen to be reading this and you are a lovely, intelligent Italo-American female considering a move at professional acting in the film and television industry, be glad that you're spared the quandary of the Sporano's audition -that type of career suicide ended with episode 20, season 7. You might still end up in the same career place as Drea DeMateo and Annabella Sciorra, pretending not hear the cell phone blasting off in your pocket (which was never cut out of the shoot) as you blow an episode of Apeture on the Voom HD channel (the former) or "filming" an entirely unoriginal quasi experimental piece of video like American Crime in the hills of LA (Sciorra, the later). But hey, nevertheless at least you ARE working, right? There are a few vaguely interesting shots here and there, but, assuming you are not an aspiring director of softcore, American Crime, beyond the opening credits, is not an effort the average consumer of art films is interested in consuming. Also, don't expect your kids to watch this picture without putting themselves at risk for developing a lofty idea about making a bad and unnecessary movie with the prosumer video equipment you bought to tape their after-school soccer games.

If you're interested in how video can achieve successful images in a feature length film check out: Sex Lies and Video Tape, Able Ferrara's, The New Rose Motel and Dangerous Game, Wayne Wang's, The Center of the World, (the lead in which is brilliantly played by the venerable Peter Sarsgaard and is shot entirely in video, before it was blown up to 35mm), Tesis, and Lance Weiler's, The Last Broadcast (this film plays and looks great, and I don't think it was ever transfered to a film print at all). In any one of those movies, you'll discover all the ideas you find in American Crime only better executed with more adequate visuals and sounds.

Waste Of Time

[Kellen_Sinclair · 1/10 · 13 February 2005]

WARNING WARNING DO NOT RENT!! OK Rachael Leigh Cook is a very goodlooking girl however that fact is not enough carrying American CRIME. It should be called American WASTE OF TIME. THe movie starts off with something mildly interesting but as the movie begins to unravel I began fighting off sleep.The plot was decent(although tried a million ties before) but the way the movie was shot was pathetic and the acting from Kip nobody was horrible. Cary Elwes was OK for like the first 10 minutes after that he just made me feel sick.If anyone likes watching a long boring horrible acting film with a worse ending then this flick is for you.

Low expectations + Rachael Leigh Cook = OK thriller

[bleeder1979 · 7/10 · 25 October 2004]

After watching a spate of terrible, terrible 'thrillers', I vowed to avoid the section for this genre at my local video store. Recently, I 'accidently' stumbled back into this area where i noticed 'American Crime' and for some reason (Rachael Leigh Cook) I decided to rent it.

I spent the journey home chastising myself for letting the video store con me out of more money for yet another stupid, formulaic and boring so called 'thriller'.

As usually happens when you have such low expectations about a movie, I was surprised to find I actually enjoyed it. 'American Crime' has three things going for it:

1) Rachael Leigh Cook (even though she is sporting an unflattering blonde wig)

2) The movie is actually creepy.

3) It almost manages to avoid the formulaic 'thriller' ending.

An unrecognizable Cary Elwes is also good as a down on this luck crime investigator/TV presenter.

Don't get me wrong, this is no great movie and I don't want to raise anyone's expectations, but as thrillers go its not too bad.

Flawed story rescued by nice performances

[MBunge · 5/10 · 30 April 2010]

American Crime is a film that takes on two different genres in two different mediums, so it's not surprising that it ends up trying to be two different things at the same time. But outside of a little too much dramatic license and a very arbitrary ending, this movie manages to be fairly entertaining, even though it never quite settles on how it's trying to entertain you.

These filmmakers try to meld together the "real video" movie with a take on the true crime documentaries that infest television today. A young reporter named Jesse (Rachael Lee Cook), a young intern named Rob (Kip Pardue) and a producer from KCQN-TV named Jane (Anabella Sciorra) stumble upon a disturbing video tape while investigating the seemingly simple disappearance of a stripper. The tape shows someone stalking the stripper and includes images of another woman being stalked and killed. Then Jesse, Rob and Jane get another video of the stripper being stalked and killed, with images of Jesse being filmed without her knowledge on the tape as well. Then Jesse literally stumbles upon the dead body of the stripper. This stuff is clearing trying to invoke the atmosphere of films like The Blair Witch Project and Video X, with supposedly real video of actual events making up the story. But though Rob is constantly filming everything and we get flashes of pseudo-real video throughout the film, it is largely shot like a regular movie.

But American Crime also introduces us to the story of Jesse, Rob and Jane as though they are the subject of TV show called "American Crime" hosted by Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes), a character who starts out annoying the snot out of you but slowly grows on you like moss or a fungus. Here the filmmakers combine elements of all three distinct levels of the TV crime documentary. They have the snooty and somewhat prissy narrator who is common on cable TV crime documentaries, along with the talking head interviews that dominate network TV crime docs and the sensationalistic, tabloidy video of the syndicated real crime TV show.

Eventually, more tapes of women being stalked show up and Albert Bodine ceases to be a narrator of events that have already happened. He shows up in town to investigate what's happening with Rob and Jane, Jesse already having fled in fear. Albert, Rob and Jane, despite neither liking nor respecting respect each other, join together to find out who's killing these woman and what's behind these mysterious video tapes. And…okay, I have to admit. The plot kind of falls apart after that. There's some Scooby-Doo-ish investigating and they end up in the country at big empty house and some things happen that don't make much sense in the context of the rest of the story or even in their own right.

Weirdly unsatisfying ending aside, this is a decent film. It's more than a bit uneven, sometimes being very much a horror/suspense story and other times forgetting it's trying to scare you and turning into an indy movie about drama in the workplace. But the scary scenes are relatively disturbing, the workplace drama is real enough to be intriguing and American Crimes shifts from one theme to the other smoothly enough, mixing them together like peanut butter and chocolate.

The best thing about this movie is probably the performances. Rachael Lee Cook is generic as Jesse, but the other three lead characters are all appealing while not being that likable. Rob is really annoying, but in an honest way. Kip Pardue captures an essence of youth with Rob being so caught up in his dreams of being a great documentarian that he has absolutely no sense of himself or how he behaves. Albert is really, really aggravating at first. I mean, you really hate when he shows up and starts yapping away. It seems like Elwes is putting on a very mannered and pretentious performance, but as the story goes along you see it's actually Albert who putting on that facade to cover up who he actually is. Jane isn't annoying, but she is very sympathetic. Annabella Sciorra shows us that Jane's bad behavior isn't due to a lack of self-reflection like Rob or self-deception like Albert. Jane's an unhappy, lonely woman who feels trapped in her life and is clumsily trying to find her way out.

This is also a visually creative movie. It has one of the best opening credit sequences I've ever seen and it effectively blends that "real video" look with traditional camera work. It's able to evoke that "this is what's happening" feel even when the images are like a normal film.

There are too many times when the movie cheats and things happen in a way they couldn't happen in reality, like many a crappy horror flick. And again, the filmmakers may have thought they came up with a very smart and provocative ending…but they didn't. You can tell what they're trying to do, but they don't come close to doing it.

Even with its flaws, if you can go with the flow and follow along as American Crime swerves from one thing to another, I think you'll enjoy it.

This one's sure to keep audiences guessing right up to the end...

[se7endaze · 6/10 · 27 June 2005]

A series of gruesome murders has brought terror to a small town, and they are made all the more horrible by the method by which they are documented. The killer stalks his victims with a video camera, recording their every move before he strikes; he then sends a tape of the killing to his next victim. Jessie St. Clair (Racheal Leigh Cook) is a young reporter who sees her shot at a big break and goes for it, launching an investigation into the murder of a topless dancer; she is assisted by her cameraman Rob (Kip Pardue) and her producer Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra). But before Jessie gets any closer to the truth, she receives a videotape in the mail, and she knows she's next on the killer's list. As tensions mount and the murderer closes in, the whole crew begins to suspect one another; the arrival of solitary reporter Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes), sent by the nationally syndicated show "AMERICAN CRIME", only serves to heighten their misgivings. This stylish, suspenseful thriller boasts the excellent digital cinematography of director Dan Mintz, and is sure to keep audiences guessing right up to the end.

OK...Let's keep on trying

[jpschapira · 5/10 · 19 June 2005]

I thought this was another movie when I was preparing to watch it, so I was going to skip it. But in the beginning sequence I saw some names (not Kip Pardue, because I already knew he was in it); Rachael Leigh Cook (one of the most beautiful women on earth) and Cary Elwes. The director (Dan Mitz)…Didn't know him, neither the writers (Jack Moore, Jeff Ritchie). Anyway, I got into it.

What I found out as I watched it is that is one of those, I don't know if independent or low-budget projects that try to bring some different and original stuff to the table. In that sense, the film reminded me to "My little eye". In a way, "American Crime" is not as good "My little eye", but it's not my intention to compare them or anything. As it happens with these projects, they're not always perfect. The film is flawed, and suffers from script problems, music, cinematography and direction.

Writers propose an interesting enough premise to keep one focused for the entire ride, but before you realize, they're not giving any background to the actions of their characters, not even to the killer. It's OK, it's not an obligation to do that, but in this picture you start getting lost in the plot, because you just stop knowing who's who, what's what, why is everything happening in the first place. Big problems right there that remain unnoticed because of the outstanding screen presence given by the cast. I imagine these situations played by a lousy cast of actors…I would have been awful.

I must say, first, that Kip Pardue (Rob Latrobe) it's a good actor. If I didn't find him good enough in "Driven", it was for the character he was playing; it was a very clichéd and easy character. But I saw him in other movies, and the kid can do it. Rachael Leigh Cook (Jesse St. Claire) lies between the best young actresses of her generation. Totally underestimated by the industry, she has stepped the lines of independent projects, giving always proofs of the unnoticed talent she is. In other cases, she has taken regular films to the top because of her performances ("Josie and the Pussycats", "Texas Rangers" "Tangled"). This performance is just one more proof. Anabella Sciorra (Jane Berger) is the weakest element of the cast, but that doesn't mean she's bad. Her character hasn't got the depth the others have, and she seems unimportant most of the time. And Cary Elwes (Albert Bodine) as a British investigator with personality problems…He's in top form, with an excellent accent and faces you'll remember.

Going back to flaws, Dan Mitz makes mistakes in his own direction and cinematography. This is fault of the script, and it all combines to a major flaw. What can we follow when we're first watching a TV show (American Crime) hosted by one guy, that tells events occurred in real life, supposedly with footage taken from cameras, with personal interviews and people names…But what we see is filmed like a common movie, no cameras, and seems real, not to be shown by the TV show. The crimes in the show are about a guy that follows young women, taping them, and then kills them. Well, the characters get involved and are eventually being chased…And what about the show that was telling everything? At the end, when we have forgotten about the show, another guy talks as if the show was ending. Come on! We also get the actors presented in TV way at the end; looking at the camera.

Then we have an easy music, not very trapping. There are these loud sounds with string sounds, but this is not scary anymore, because we can't know what will scare us. There's the obligated "cornfield chase" scene, decently edited by Todd Miller, who had proved his skills in "Joy Ride".

As a consolation price, we can only think the characters knew they were being filmed, and that they were in one of those arranged shows, that pretend to be real, but actually never are; and everybody knows what happens.

Great film

[Irelander · 10 September 2005]

This is a great movie for what it is. The story I like, the docu-cam feel helps, RLC is in it and she's looking well, shame she's gone blonde.

The highlight of the film, and why I like it so much is Cary Elwes... his part in this was great, the comic relief of watching him lose it is fantastic, he does go over the top, but not as much as he did in Saw which, I liked him in.

No to give away any thing from the end, but I liked the fact that the whole film wasn't 100% explained... much better than a crazy yeah dumb twist like in Saw.

for a lighthearted horror with toned down gore and a peeping tom killer then give it a go. If not then rent out Red Eye that was also a great show.

Enjoy the show!