Resurrection (1999)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Here's yet another serial killer thriller, adding itself to the genre which has been all the rage in a post-SEVEN world. RESURRECTION has an interesting religious killer to recommend it, as well as lots of grisly gratuitous carnage and an above-average performance from Christopher Lambert, but is let down by a perfunctory script and a story which has too few surprises. Director Russell Mulcahy - teaming with Lambert again after HIGHLANDER - seems too engrossed in creating a slick "stylish" film instead of telling a proper story which is where the film falls down.The roving camera-work quickly becomes tiring, giving the appearance that the cameraman was drunk rather than making the film disturbing and disorientating as I believe was the intention. Now I know I do moan about static cameras in earlier films but this just takes the biscuit and is far more headache-inducing than THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was, at least in the latter it had a reason and fit the context. On the plus side, RESURRECTION has an excellent pacing which makes the near-two hour running time fly by, and a surprisingly subtle score which adds to the film's atmosphere. Once again the colour palette primarily used is a dark grey one (a must after SEVEN) but this has the added bonus of making the film very easy on the eye - even during the gory murder scenes.Speaking of gore, this is a surprisingly unpleasant and gruesome little picture. The grue comes from the scenes in which the bodies of the murder victims are discovered missing various limbs (arms, legs, heads, etc) with blood usually splattered all around the vicinity. Shots of the naked headless corpse of an old overweight man are designed to shock and are creepily effective. Similarly, a scene where Lambert discovers a body still barely alive and is splashed with crimson gore is something you're not prepared for, so only strong stomachs need apply.I've always been a fan of Lambert (despite the fact most of his films are pretty bad) and his performance here is a strong one. His character is a dark and moody one with an inner torment (he failed to save his son from being run over, as per usual for these kind of flicks) and Lambert manages to create a strong screen presence out of him. Leland Orser is also good as the twitchy partner while the familiar Robert Joy makes for a very creepy killer. The supporting cast of unknowns also do their jobs well. While RESURRECTION offers no new twists to the serial killer genre, it remains a highly watchable dark thriller with some very disturbing bits (the image of the resurrected body is unforgettable) for those who like that sort of thing.

Resurrection is your average thriller movie about a killer, who wants to build his own Jesus corpse by collecting body parts from his victims. Christopher Lambert plays the main role as the cop who tries to catch the killer. Be it on purpose or accidentally, his performance is rather bad.It's the supporting actors that safe the movie. Leland Orser plays his part very good. Better than his jokes ^^. And then we have Gerald Demus. The villain and evil mastermind. He is such a genius that he can even pretend to be an FBI Agent and talk to them about the case. The "Agent" helps Lambert with advice and is quite likable. His superior intellect helps him keep his calm even when he gets arrested, because he knows that they don't have any evidence. So I really liked that part.But then you have detectives throwing up all the time, victims peeing at themselves because of electro shocks and newborn babies hanging around. Not necessary! And what about Lambert? Apparently no one likes him in the office. Except Orser. Yet after they take away from him the case everyone is nice and friendly and takes him along to the investigations and before you know it he is the one in charge again.His character is also somewhat shallow. They show a scene where he lost his child and some of the problems he has with his wife, but you can't bring yourself to really care about it. It's merely filler and doesn't help to carry the story.To sum it up, the movie is about average. Nothing you will regret watching once. But you will forget about it the moment it's over.

If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Resurrection was made in the late 80's/early 90's, when crap sold as film in Hollywood.I don't understand why people like Christopher Lambert. He speaks like he's reading off of cue cards and turns into a fountain whenever he has to emote. He was easily the movie's weakest aspect. The other actors were OK, nothing horrible.It's easy to see where the majority of the budget went: the special effects. The killings look pretty professional, but hardly make up for the film's dullness.I wouldn't go as far as to say Resurrection is a carbon copy of Se7en, but it certainly bears a certain resemblance to it. Centering on a religious-minded murderer on a modern crusade, the detectives investigating his work have to rely on Bible passages and Christian history to piece together the killer's puzzle. Resurrection, however, is bereft of Se7en's clever storytelling, cinematography, acting...well, everything that makes it good. Instead, Resurrection lies to the audience and uses the Scooby Doo method of mystery to surprise it.In conclusion, Resurrection was about as bad as I expected it to be. I almost feel bad for criticizing this movie since I knew it would be bad going in, but...sue me.

there are many that don't see the "similarities" between this movie and Se7en. They are there: the killers dialog is pretty much the same as it was in Se7en "it seems I underestimated you" "im too smart for my own good" "it wont happen again." Christopher Lambert is playing the Morgan Freeman role and Leland Orlsan (sp?) is playing the Brad Pitt character. One of the other Resurrection "scenes" i remember watching and thinking "ive seen this before in se7en" was when Lambert and his partner were talking about catching this killer and Lambert's partner went on a Brad Pitt/se7en rant about him "jerking off with peanut butter" or something and telling him he was a "nut job" etc. and Lambert taking the Morgan Freeman role and saying "he admired the intellect not the actions" of the killer and all that wise talk. on to more important things... if you liked se7en, you will be pleasantly surprised with this one. this was one of those movies that is really good in its own sense that no one has ever seen. the acting was borderline, thanks mostly to Lambert. The story was intriguing and the screenplay was surprising. It's better than most the serial killer recycled movies they got out there now.