L'énigme

I just finished watching this and I was quite pleasantly surprised at how well done it was. Sure, both Val Kilmer and William Sadler were completely wasted and did MAYBE a DAY'S worth of work between them. But, honestly, everything about the film was solid and done with a nice slow sense of building suspense.

The one thing that I REALLY appreciated, which I feel is quite rare in these low-budget films, is that the acting was actually decent and restrained instead of amateurishly going over the top or just plain ruining it as many do. It took a little while to get going, but still overall I feel that it was well constructed. YES, the story is extremely straight forward and simple, but still done well. And, I also liked how the stronger Horror elements were done in the last act; pretty effective for what it was...

NO, they didn't give you a whole lot to go on and did not really explain very much; but, I think they gave you enough to figure out what was going on, especially in the ending credits : ) That really wasn't so much the point as just enjoying the actual outworking of the story, I would say.

So, if you are in the mood for a nice little suspenseful Thriller, you should enjoy this movie just fine. Just ignore all the petty know-it- all haters out there who expect GOD knows WHAT in their films...

I do wonder though...

... just how much DOES Val Kilmer make in these hit-and-run films that he does? Seriously, I'm DYING to know! : )

While the movie starts off pretty moody (a good thing), it does turn pretty quickly and becomes pretty ugly. Side stories that seem not to matter, characters getting disposed off and a general weird feeling make this an almost uncomfortable watch. I do like Diora Baird a lot, not only because of her looks, but neither she nor the other leading female can save this film.

Val Kilmer does his thing, which means almost nothing at all. It's not the pounds he has layered upon on his body, but the fact, that it seems, he forgot how to act. Is this really the same man, that gave a phenomenal performance as Doc in Tombstone? It's hard to believe, again not only because he doesn't look like that guy anymore. But the teenage boys playing their parts in here are as bad. So many flaws in this one, I wouldn't really know where to stop. It does look good though (photography that is).

Entirely predictable "thriller" bout a girl who goes looking for her missing brother and finds her crazy supposedly dead, pa. You know that you're in trouble when the first shot of the town where little bro disappeared is of mute, overage children sitting in swings with that frizzy hair children of the corn, damned, whatever, always seem to wear, and they run away scared when she asks for directions. Overdramatic and Overblown, the orchestral soundtrack is inappropriate and so intrusive, like It wants to be the star. Very attractive young cast, including a young Rob Lowe look-a-like, trapped in stereotypes, which they have got down, give them that. Fat Val (Kilmer) checks in for a few minutes to pick up a paycheck How desperate must he have been? Adequately decent camerawork is why it's a 3, not 2.

Firstly, I truly find it hard to accept someone reviewing this movie and giving it a 10...wrong movie I think. I gave this movie 2 stars only because I thought the idea was good but the outcome was not so good. I believe in giving young actors a chance and I felt they tried their best in a lack lustered affair.Val Kilmer, what do I say...had about 20 lines in the whole move and was so poor maybe he should have hung his boots up after the 80's comedy, Top Secret. He just didn't want to be there, his body language was about as solid as a wet paper bag. The script had so many holes in it and the basis of the storyline was "riddled" with flaws. The filming was also very D grade. No smooth transitions, no fluency. At times the camera work was trying too hard, too hard to be shot as a blockbuster instead of just being the movie it was suppose to be. It could have been a good B grader, however in my opinion it didn't even reach the perils of an F.

(2013) Riddle SUSPENSE MYSTERY THRILLER

Small town called "Riddle" which became synonymous for a missing Teller brother, ruining the entire town's reputation forever. Three years later and the family has already moved on, living on a another small town called Johnson, and while the sister's Holly Teller (Elisabeth Harnois) volunteering at the farmer's market, she managed to spot someone wearing her younger brother's runners upon her picking up some fruit from the ground. So she then decides to follows him while he was being driven away on a pick up, leading back to the small town of "Riddle" again with Val Kilmer as the town's sheriff.