Black Butterfly - Der Mörder in mir

This film tells the story of a reclusive writer, who gets into a fight in a diner. A stranger helps him out, therefore the writer offers the stranger a place to stay. Little does the writer know, things will go the wrong way, and he is soon taken prisoner in his own house.

"Black Butterfly" has a thrilling story. The tension and thrill is palpable, especially when the stranger becomes increasingly deranged. One hour into the film, there is a major twist that gets me lost for a moment, but after making sense of the twist, I find it quite clever. It is a thrilling and an enjoyable film.

I have never been accused of holding back my thoughts on reviews I've written for films or music or anything really. I feel it is ones duty, if writing a review from a Laymans perspective to be as honest and forthright as possible.

In my reviews, I do not sugarcoat or bend to please the masses if my opinions are in dire contrast to what most say or think. Also, rather then go into redundant story line explanations which are provided in the synopsis portion of the first page , I try to tell people what I like or dislike and often will oppose or agree with other people's reviews.

That said, "Black Butterfly" was much better then I had anticipated. I will elaborate. First, Rhys-Meyers and Banderas have great chemistry in this film. I think highly of both actors skills to begin with but think they would make a great pairing in another film as they worked so well off each other in BB.

The story line may seem typical at first, as is often the case in the thriller genre, but it most certainly is NOT! I never provide information on narratives or plots that may be considered a "Spoiler" but will say there are some VERY surprising moments in this film with great twists and turns that completely blind-side the viewer.

I love a film where you think you have the proverbial "Killer, cheat, thief etc" right in your cross hairs then the story completely smacks you down and leaves you wondering, "how did that happen"?

With the amount of Drek being made at breakneck speed today it's no wonder film fans abound are pleasantly surprised when a movie can actually trick you or keep you in suspense for more then five minutes throughout the entire film. Between big studio productions, self produced big name Hollywood types and Indie films we are becoming more and more frustrated with the same old C**P being fed to us and packaged as "Bold and new". This is just not the case. In general. Black Butterfly delivers all it promises to and then some.

Let's be honest....there are not many Hitchcock worthy scripts left that have not already been put on film 1000's of times. However, every now and then a very "watchable" film comes our way. This is one of those films.

I can say with confidence, this is almost two hours you will be glad you invested if your into a tricky, well done, well acted, twisty thriller that can easily be recommended to a friend.

By all means, enjoy!

This is one of those twist movies that feels forced even throughout the first viewing and I expect that a second would make it feel all the more so. The twist itself is plausible and satisfying but the house of cards required to build up to it ... is kind of a monstrosity. Still, I'd say worth seeing at least once. You've definitely seen worse.

A remake of a foreign thriller, this version is worth your while if you've read the synopsis and the story sounds appealing.

The direction is crisp. Editing and cinematography are generally excellent. The story and script are tight and twisty. The casting is excellent -- Antonio Banderas was cast instead of Nicholas Cage and we can all be thankful for that. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Piper Perabo do a great job as well, as do the supporting players.

Sadly, the sound mix is one of the worst I've ever heard, due to the poorly mixed dialog tracks and one song that is cranked too loud (and not a great song at that). The dialog volume veers wildly all throughout the movie, from barely audible mumbling to deafening shouts. I had to watch this with my controller in hand to be ready to drop or raise the volume significantly at every radical shift.

The fact that two production sound mixers are credited might point to the problem (i.e. -- the first one might have been replaced for being incompetent), but there's no excuse for not fixing it in post so the ultimate blame belongs to the post supervisor and the dozen or so producers listed in the credits who should have insisted on and sprung for a better mix. Yes, post sound is an expensive item but it's also a critical feature.

Ironically, the sound efx are top notch. It might be a small triumph, but the gun shots are the most realistic shots I've ever heard in a movie.

If you like tense commercial thrillers, check it out. Just keep the volume control handy, particularly if your neighbors are sensitive to noise.

Paul Lopez (Antonio Banderas) is a struggling hard-drinking writer. His career is troubled. His money problem is forcing him to sell his property through realtor Laura Johnson (Piper Perabo). He gets into a road rage incident with a trucker. Drifter Jack (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) comes to his aid. Paul befriends Jack and brings him back to his home.

This thriller takes a big swing. It starts out with a standard creep story which turns into Misery adjacent. I'm fine with that. It has potential especially with good actors. Then the movie takes that big swing. Looking backwards, it's not a reasonable turn. I get the wish for a shocking reveal, but it relies on too many conveniences. The final scene is an acceptance that the twist is a writer's creation. All in all, I applaud them for taking the big swing even if it doesn't completely work.