Postmortem

In "Postmortem", Sheen plays a burnt out ex homicide detective from San Francisco who, while hiding from his past in Scotland and booze, gets caught up in a serial killer mystery. The flick is okay artistically though at times so ponderously morose and dark as to have the appearance of an old Frankenstein flick. Sheen wears out the one serious expression in his repertoire of nuanced visages; taught lipped and frowning. The flick doesn't quite make it over the bar on major plot issues such as the spent cop dealing with demons; the investigation becomes a bit convoluted; and the ending is predictable, anticlimactic, and could have been better. Etc. Nonetheless, "Postmortem" makes for an okay watch for Sheen fans, serial killers, and the idle with an appetite for macabre stuff.

Albert Pyun's directing seems to be improving with age. This is a perfectly respectable thriller, a movie that you would hesitate to call "inept" in any way - unless of course you're a personal enemy of Pyun's. However, it's also a bit too long and sluggish, and not as exciting as it should be. It jumps to life only occasionally (mainly in the chase scenes). Charlie Sheen is not very convincing as a boozing, worn-out, depressed yet brilliant writer/ex-detective; he's both too young and too clean-cut for such a role. (*1/2)

If you don't expect too much from a serial killer thriller, this movie is nice entertainment. Directed by Albert Pyun, better known for trashy made science fiction/action/martial arts movies, it introduces a disillusioned and alcohol-addicted U.S. cop (played by ex-star Charlie Sheen) to a series of brutal girl murders in the Scottish countryside. The film is nothing special, just a cop losing his mind, being suspected of being the murderer, and finally tracking down the real killer and saving the last victim from its fate. The setting is outstanding, with the dark architecture of Scottish cities and the sinister atmosphere of Hammer-Horror-like countryside. Sit back and be thrilled for 105 minutes of nice serial killer entertainment!

Having watched numerous Charlie Sheen movies, and seen more or less the same type of performances from him in each one, I was not expecting this. Charlie Sheen manages to pull off quite a watchable performance as James Magregor, a weary but hardened cop, who goes to Glasgow for some light relief from his lifestyle...?....The film itself was quite slow, but the choice of location and the addition of a few smaller actors who are barely recognisable from other films, made the look of the film quite arthouse and cult-like compared with most of Sheen's other film work. There is a lot of use of the steady-cam, which at times becomes an annoyance,but it doesn't detract from the film The director really seems to capture the tension and fear in the film, and for a film that was shot entirely in twelve days with a mostly unknown cast, that aint bad. Overall, good thriller with some great support from the excellently cast unknowns! A must see for Sheen fans!

I sat and watched this film a few nights ago with my family; every time the female police officer spoke, we couldn't stop laughing - her accent was terrible! This film made us really embarrassed to BE Scottish, the fact that we were represented like this; I think we're capable of solving murder mysteries without the help of Charlie Sheen (and his very poor performance). The dialogue is doctored for an American audience and it ruins any effect for the audience. To quote my dad - "Its just as bad as 'Plan 9 from Outer Space', except its not even funny".