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Serial Killer Films & TV

Road Games: About a couple of hitchhikers who encounter an odd couple in France. BTW there's a serial killer on the loose, preying on hitchhikers, leaving their butchered remains to be found. There's also a crazy taxidermist in the area. Some real tension and a few shocks. Worth watching. 6/10. On Horror Channel.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2929652/
 
Saw that recently. Was pretty good. Kept me guessing till the end.
 
The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood trailer is here... and it looks interesting. In what may be a revealing twist, Kurt Russell is in it, and it almost looks to me like he's playing Stuntman Mike from Death Proof:

 
In case you were in any doubt it was Tarantino - two shots of a pair of plates pointing right in the camera.
 
Awake: A serial killer leaves his victims with marigold chains on their heads. An FBI Agent and the local Sheriff think the have the killer when a man (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) in a crashed car is found with the latest victim in the car boot. But he is suffering from amnesia. Escaping from the hospital he takes a nurse (Francesca Eastwood) hostage and a Stockholm Syndrome situation develops. While the actions of some of the characters seem incredible at times this is a tension filled thriller. The rural and small town settings where the murders take place are endowed with an eerie feel when combined with flashbacks of the discovery of the bodies. It's reminiscent of some episodes of the Hannibal TV series without being a rip off. Meyers has visions of being close to the bodies but earlier in the film we see his car being forced off the road. There is perhaps one plot twist too many but both Meyers and Eastwood put in convincing performances. Director Aleksandr Cherynaev working from a script by Elana Zeltser delivers a diverting Serial Killer film which kept me entertained until the end. 6.5/10. On Netflix.
 
Beast: A Serial Killer is stalking Jersey and has just claimed his fourth victim. Moll (Jessie Buckley) is celebrating her birthday but the event is upstaged by her sister Polly (Shannon Tarbet) announcing that she is pregnant with twins. Moll heads off to a local disco, ending up with a guy who gets forceful after they leave. Pascal (Johnny Flynn) appears and frightens him off. Subsequently Moll provides Pascal with an alibi, saying that they had danced all night and left the club together.

Moll has shadows in her own past, when she was 13 she stabbed a school bully resulting in her mother Hilary (Geraldine James) quitting her job to provide home schooling. Hilary uses this to control Moll, treating her more as a child than a 27 year old adult. She is also expected to mind her niece and look after her Alzheimer's stricken father. Given her toxic home environment Moll is eager to seek adventure with the free living Pascal who hunts and works as a handyman. He is the antithesis of her upper-middle class family who seem to be an exemplar of rich immigrants who look down on the locals and show contempt for itinerant Portuguese crop pickers.

Moll in a voiceover speaks of killer whales as she practices her smile in a mirror, reflecting on how they smash their teeth against tank walls in captivity as they try to escape. She continues in her escape and escapades with Pascal in spite of being told of his past criminal record by Clifford (Trystan Gravelle) who has feelings for Moll. More suspicion falls on Pascal and an English detective (Olwen Fouéré) interrogates Moll attempting to shift her evidence. While there is all round good acting in the film, this supporting role by Fouéré is a stand out performance.

There are many twists in this dark tale of insular Island life in this convincing tale directed and written by Michael Pearce in his feature film debut. 9/10.
Excellent film.
 
Season 2 of You. Joe has moved to LA to escape froma victim who has literally risen from her grave. H encounters many oddballs but is intent on changing his murderous habits but life isn't that easy. Enjoyable dark drama with a vein of quirky humour. On Netflix.
 
I just watched Solace, based on the review on the first page. I agree, a solid thriller.
 
On the other hand, I found Solace hilariously bad, with a career worst performance from Anthony Hopkins as a satnav.
 
Die Ontwaking (The Awakening) 2016: Set in South Africa, this horror/thriller is totally in Afrikaans. Oddly there is only one black actor in a supporting role, the rest of the detectives, suspects and victims are white. We quickly learn who the serial killer is, Abel (Gys de Villiers), suitably creepy he owns a gallery specialising in African Masks. He talks to dead people and has a penchant for cutting tattoos out of the skin of his female victims. His nemesis is a rookie detective, Ella (Juanita deVilliers), we're definitely in Thomas Harris territory here with elements of The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon all too obvious and there is even smidgen of Psycho mixed in. The narrative is about how the detectives pursue the killer and it's not at all bad with good acting from both of the de Villiers and some genuinely disturbing scenes. This is the directorial debut of Johnny Breedt who also wrote the screenplay (based on a novel by Chris Karsten). He was Production Designer on Primeval and The Last House on The Left. A bit derivative but deserves 6/10. On Netflix.
 
Bloodline: Starts off like a typical slasher film, nurse coming off shift killed in a shower. However it is quickly obvious that no ordinary killer is at work. Flashback to 3 months before, Evan Cole (Seann William Scott) is a school counselor, many of the students he sees have abusive parents or other relatives. At home stress is building up as his new born baby is crying continuously, depriving him and his wife Lauren (Mariela Garriga) of sleep. After a student is badly beaten, Evan decides to take action. From the casual way he drops his kit bag in his car boot it's obvious that he's done this before and so the tormentors begin to pay.

A particularly gory film with Evan struck full in the face by the blood from a victim's severed jugular vein, he frenziedly stabs others. Most of the killings take place in an empty art deco house, in a vast room, blue shadows, the prey tied to a chair. Some interesting twists and reveals keep the interest going as the tally rises. Good acting by Scott, he looks suitably driven as he drives through the night streets to deal with his quarry. Directed and co-written by Henry Jacobson. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
I thought you were on about the howlingly bad Audrey Hepburn film for a second, there! A horror story of a different kind...
 
Lost Girls: Based on the Long Island serial killings. The story centres around Mari Gilbert (Amy Ryan) mother of missing Sex Worker Shannan. Mari's relentless campaign forced the police chief (Gabriel Byrne) to conduct a search for her daughter and to seek the serial killer(s) responsible for killing up to 16 women. Best acting plaudits though go to Thomasin McKenzie as Sheree Gilbert. Reed Birney is suitably creepy as a suspect. Terrible incompetence and dereliction of duty by the police is revealed. Directed by Liz Garbus. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
Twin Murders: The Silence of the White City: Twenty years after Ortiz is imprisoned for a series of killings a copycat killer emerges, or is Ortiz innocent? like the originals, the victims are killed in pairs, left at historical sites around Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country. The killings are based on ancient ritual killings which took place in Neolithic, Celtic, Roman and Medieval times in the area. Ortiz was an archaeologist who presented a Fortean style TV show and was turned in by his twin brother. A troubled detective. Unai, is assigned to the case, his assistant has a drug problem and he has a crush on his boss. Should be an easy case to solve! Some really horrifying scenes where the killer uses bees to dispatch his victims. Many chases, in old churches, along roofs through museums. Many suspects and red herrings including the father of one victim who keeps animal eyes preserved in jars, charming chappie. It has some really interesting materiel but is a tad too melodramatic and would have benefited from a ten minute cut in its running (chase) time. Directed by Daniel Calparsoro with a screenplay by Roger Danes, adapted from the novel by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
Mr Frideswide would like this!

He might also like this, another Basque one with a Fortean touch.

The Invisible Guardian: Spanish Serial Killer film with a Fortean twist set in the Basque Province of Navarra. Amaia Salazar is a detective inspector in Pamplona who is posted to her home town to investigate the killings of young women. The town is in a mountain valley where local myths and superstitions live on, including that of Basajaun (Lord of the Forest) a Basque Big Foot. Some think Basajaun is responsible for the murders others see him as a protector. In Spanish, English and Basque, subtitled. On Netflix. 7/10
 
Nice! bu6t no - he's an archaeologist so it's a specific niche of films that are of interest from that point of view. Although in general he watches many more than I do.

Can you help me with a film name? Not a hollywood blockbuster, a good indy film I think. Two Vatican exorcists/debunkers are called in by a country vicar who has been hearing "voices" from under his church. Recent as in last couple of years.

I've got more details but don't want to Give Away The Plot so those could be sent in a PM if you need them?
 
Nice! bu6t no - he's an archaeologist so it's a specific niche of films that are of interest from that point of view. Although in general he watches many more than I do.

Can you help me with a film name? Not a hollywood blockbuster, a good indy film I think. Two Vatican exorcists/debunkers are called in by a country vicar who has been hearing "voices" from under his church. Recent as in last couple of years.

I've got more details but don't want to Give Away The Plot so those could be sent in a PM if you need them?

Sounds like The Borderlands, from 2013. Was Gordon Kennedy in it?
 
Nice! bu6t no - he's an archaeologist so it's a specific niche of films that are of interest from that point of view. Although in general he watches many more than I do.

Can you help me with a film name? Not a hollywood blockbuster, a good indy film I think. Two Vatican exorcists/debunkers are called in by a country vicar who has been hearing "voices" from under his church. Recent as in last couple of years.

I've got more details but don't want to Give Away The Plot so those could be sent in a PM if you need them?

It does sound like Borderlands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borderlands_(2013_film)
 
Borderlands! That's the badger!

2013? doesn't time fly...

I really enjoyed it. Want to add it to Mr F's list. Thank you both :)
 
Criminal Minds, S15, Ep7, Rusty: Involves the Mandela Effect and a crazed killer decapitating people urged on by a Demonic Goatman.
 
Hangman (2015): A serial killer who invades homes, hangs and stabs his victims, we see this in an opening sequence. Then a family goes on holidays, leave their car parked at the airport. The killer breaks in, accesses their home address from the GPS, burgles their house and sets up cameras, moves into the attic. Mind games follow as he gaslights the family, moving things, turning them against each other. There is gore and violence in the film but the psychological horror is much more effective. Written and Directed by Adam Mason. 6/10.
 
Night Hunter: Detective Henry Cavill teams up with vigilante Ben KIngsley to solve the mystery of a serial killer who abducts and deafens women before killing them. Thanks to Kingsley they have rescued captives and captured a suspect but the prisoner, Brendan Fletcher, appears to be mentally disabled. Someone is striking from the outside with carbombs, kidnappings and lethal booby-traps . Perhaps a tad convoluted with many twists and a major plot reveal. Some good scenes of a basement dungeon with Christmas songs playing, gunbattles in a dimly lit warehouse. The tension builds as profiler Alexandara Daddario trys to get Fletcher to talk. Writer/Director David Raymond delivers a satisfying if over-complicated thriller. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
The Invisible Guardian: Spanish Serial Killer film with a Fortean twist set in the Basque Province of Navarra. Amaia Salazar is a detective inspector in Pamplona who is posted to her home town to investigate the killings of young women. The town is in a mountain valley where local myths and superstitions live on, including that of Basajaun (Lord of the Forest) a Basque Big Foot. Some think Basajaun is responsible for the murders others see him as a protector. In Spanish, English and Basque, subtitled. On Netflix. 7/10

The Legend Of The Bones: Inspector Salazar is back. In this connected sequel Amala is investigating a series of murders where women are killed and an arm cut off, the killers then commit suicide. Someone is taunting the inspector, the killers leave her notes with the word Tartallo, a fabled killer of Christians. In a parallel case churches are being desecrated, bones left, it seems to be connected to the persecution of the Cagots by the RCC and The Inquisition. The Cagot community practiced Folk Magic and were accused of being witches. We see flashbacks of Cagots being burned. Salazar has her own problems: her mother is violently insane; her aunt reads Tarot Cards and sees doom approaching; she has a newly born baby. Another Fortean tale set in the Basque Country, CSI labs in old cavernous buildings, bones found in a cave, dark foretrs. An Opus Dei priest/psychiatrist who believes real evil is at work in the area. Based on a novel by Dolores Redondo, second in the Baztan Trilogy. Director Fernando González Molina working from a screenplay by Luiso Berdejo delivers an engaging dark thriller. In Spanish, English and Basque, subtitled. On Netflix. 8/10.
 
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I have just watched 'The Voices'. Ryan Reynolds is a mentally ill guy just tryna get along but his cat and dog keep telling him to kill people.
It is quite frankly not that good. Neither funny enough to be dark humour nor grim enough to be horror. But it is worth it for the animals, especially the cat. You just know that's how cats would talk to you.
 
Based on a novel by Dolores Redondo, second in the Baztan Trilogy. Director Fernando González Molina working from a screenplay by Luiso Berdejo delivers an engaging dark thriller.

I bought the book! and it's fab! going to avoid teh film(s) until I've read aol three :)
 
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