Cruel and Unusual (2002)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This film seemed atmospheric and tense, but it was a little boring and the ending was anticlimactic. The music came across as intrusive and annoying - there was no point of the high pitched electric guitars used in dramatic scenes. Smoking scenes were just too much and they became distracting.This might be recommended for thriller fans only, but people who are not in to this genre will become very bored, as this is a slow-burn type of thriller. It's mostly a drama with the brother slowly and slowly starting to suspect that the serial killer is dangerous.Between the two there is a lot of talking scenes, and at times there is tension. There is also a erotica, between his sister and the killer, towards the middle-end of the film. I believe the whole romance between the two was forced.The film has the annoying cliché where the main character thinks a person is crazy and his friends don't believe it (here, it's the sister), even though the main character is always right.The ending was awful. I hated how it just abruptly ended. Who stabbed who? There was some bad editing there.

Possibly the worst movie I have ever watched - it feels and sounds like it was written, directed and produced by a committee of talentless sixteen year old boys who think that by generating a sense of menace they have achieved enough and need do no more. In fairness, the actors do the best they can. The music was dreadful, the scenes of a guitar-playing, angst-ridden youth practicing with his electric guitar were comically clichéd. The characters were without depth. Themes which might have been explored were treated like like footnotes - Kate's childhood and abusive father, the first victim's apparent death-wish. No attempt was made to understand or explain the principal character. Even the beautiful location was grossly under-used.The only positive note is that it made me realize how much worse other films could be.

The movie had a good concept, about a serial killer on the move. It avoids excessive bloodshed and sensational mastermind manuevers and honks which plagues most serial killer flicks. This killer adopts the identity of the last victim, who is a prof on sabbatical going to man a lonely lighthouse and write a book. So our killer, Berenger ends up in a lonely fishing village with a troubled youth on parole and his independent fisher-woman sister. There is some interesting tension and not so innocent honks while he is there. He controls and influences the impressionable and weak youth while putting the make on his sister. But it fizzled out, like they established a good mood and couldn't figure out a way to end it. Also, the feedback acid guitar soundtrack, based on the kids guitar playing, was pointless and annoying. It had potential, but let me down.

This film is one of those direct to video movie. They get a middle weight name like Tom, and try to sell it using his name. Well this isn't that bad like most direct of video movie, actual it's ok. Tom is a good actor, and the script is ok. It's not a high budget, and they got a scene that looks like one of those West Coast Canadian Rock video's. (ie Chalk Circle) Well, rent it, it won't kill you. 6/10