Ermordet am 16. Juli

Don't believe the reviews that say there are many unanswered questions or plot holes. Those people obviously weren't paying attention. Everything comes together at the end. Pay special attention to the medical records that the investigator finds and reads at the closed hospital. What she reads explains everything. Also, listen to the conversation with the housekeeper. That provides the motive for the doctor/father. It's worth watching. Not Oscar worthy, but good investigative work that solves the case.

When the Bough Breaks sets an all-time record for unresolved loose ends: scars on the back, birth defects, numbers on the palms, role of the full-time ice cream clown, and on and on. Of course, there are suggestions of untold stories that parallel and bisect the story. But there's enough here to feed a decade-long TV series. (Oops. There goes my chance to make a killing on the spin-offs.)

There are signs of a heart beat in the characters of Audrey Macleah and Jordan/Jenny--but the pulse is weak.

On July, 4th in Houston, a teenager finds a human hand in the sewer. Captain Swaggert (Martin Sheen) is investigating the discovery of seven hands, each one precisely severed and with a number tattooed on the palm, along many years but without any lead. The highly qualified Special Investigator Audrey Macleah (Ally Walker) is assigned to join the team and give support to the investigation. When the police department receives a call from a medical doctor in an institution, Audrey visits him and the doctor introduces the autistic boy Jordan Thomas (Tara Subkoff) to her, disclosing seven hands that the boy had drawn on the wall. Audrey dedicates her attention to Jordan and discovers that he is connected to the serial-killer.

"When the Bough Breaks" is a surprisingly solid thriller, with a well developed dark story and a good conclusion. Ally Walker has a great performance in the role of a professional with many specializations, but also with a trauma from her childhood. Tara Subkoff is also amazing with her double-role. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Assassinatos Macabros" ("Macabre Murders")

When the severed hands of children are found in a drain after a storm, a police profiler (Ally Walker) is brought in to investigate and uncovers a link with a severely autistic boy (Tara Subkoff) who had been incarcerated since he was 4 years-old.

An indie thriller that seems to be similar to many made in the mid 1990s that followed in the wake of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1990). It does contain some good and effective suspenseful moments, but there are way too many holes in the plot and unresolved issues which will leave the viewer more confused than when they started.

A cheap knockoff of Silence of the Lambs with nowhere near the depravity, horror, or intrigue it hopes to emulate. The movie quickly shifts its focus onto Ally Walker's character, which would be fine if it wasn't at the expense of everyone else. Martin Sheen is relegated to a side note after about 20 minutes and Ron Perlman is only just in the movie. Everyone just seems to be standing around doing nothing while the new hotshot investigator plays mum to a young boy in a mental ward. There's far too much time spent with this boy and this is where the story falls down. Also, the casting of the boy is an unnecessary distraction so easily avoided. The story comes across as ill-thought-out and scatty. Ally walker's character is claustrophobic in sewers big enough to drive a car through, but not in a locked basement or mental wardroom? Why is the boy even locked away like a prisoner? Why has it taken the discovery of several child victim body parts for the police to take proper notice of several missing children? The initial suspect is swiftly disposed of once he can't be used to mislead the audience and the conclusion to the movie borders on the ridiculous. In the end, it feels a long way off from its beginnings.