ntj-film

So, after a particularly intense viewing experience, I decided I was going to kick back and try to relax with a little bit of that ol' found-footage nonsense, apparently featuring killers in clown masks waving chainsaws around.

Well, I guess I have no one to blame for this miserable waste of 70 minutes but myself, so I'll just make this short n' sweet.

There's absolutely no reason for this movie to be found-footage, other then the obvious, which is to keep the budget low.

The story is basically nonexistent, it's as if someone saw "The Strangers" and thought "let make something like that, with the change I found in my couch".

The movie also features, what can only be described in the most generous of terms, as something resembling a score, because off course it does!

Lastly, it's simply bereft of tension, scares or any elements that would justified it having been made in the first place.

I'm all for people picking up a camera and attempt their hand at moviemaking, but try striving toward expressing an original thought or at the very least have a semblance of an idea, before calling Action.

This little slow-burn thriller represents an exercise in minimalist "down to the bone" filmmaking.

In essence it's a chamber piece featuring featuring two men and a mysterious conflict that exists between them, which seemingly plays out in a very basic and straightforward manner.

It imperative that a movie as deceptively threadbare as this one has the capacity to deliver a decent twist that can remedy the rather slow moving proceedings that went before it and offer the audience a sense of catharsis. Luckily this one does, and it's a whopper, making the whole experience that much more gratifying.

I don't wanna elaborate on the specifics of the ending, only saying that while it is incredibly satisfying, the incident that led to one of the men's predicament was incredibly hard to watch and left me with a mental image that I'd rather have been without. All I'm saying is animal lovers should proceed cautiously.

The movie is a tad long at a hour and a half and could have easily been trimmed by some ten minutes to make it an even tighter experience, but all in all it's still a very efficient film featuring a strong script, great performances and a great twist ending to tie it all together.

Inspired by horrifying crimes of infamous Belgian serial killer and child molester Marc Dutroux, "Maldoror" uses that case as a cornerstone to concoct a wholly fictionalised police procedural around, one that follows a young, hotheaded cop whose obsessive nature regarding the case threatens to destroy not only his career but but his entire life as well.

This film just flew by, even with a runtime two and a half hours I found myself fully engaged all the way through (it could have been longer for all I cared) The entire production as a whole is also a triumph, the grimy locations, disintegrating cityscape, disheveled characters and the ever greyed sky above it all sets an amazing backdrop for the dark and depressing story playing out on the screen.

Additionally the performances from the actors are all equally great, so why not a higher rating for this film?

Well, there's some very obvious script problems plaguing this movie, which along with a basic lack of originality or subtlety in regard to the material, severely compromise its many appealing qualities.

The movie starts off with incredibly momentum only to squander a lot of that goodwill when the second half takes a turn down a slightly more ludicrous path, stocking up on needless melodrama and questionable character attributes along the way, which doesn't really take away the watchability in the here and now, but does leave a bit of a sour taste when the movie is over.

But this is still a great watch for crime fans and while the material may seem dark and to some even distasteful (child abduction, pedophilia) I found it to be handled in a way in which it shouldn't be too difficult for the more mainstream audience members to watch along.

So, if you're able to ignore the aforementioned points of criticism, It's ultimately a very effective thriller that awaits you.