Sunday, January 23, 2011
Michael Allen
Director: Chris Jones.
Writers: Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe.
Interview with a Serial Killer was originally released in 1993 as White Angel. There was a second release with Ingram Entertainment in 2001 and now Echo Bridge Entertainment is distributing this film on DVD January 25th, 2011. Peter Firth (The Hunt for Red October) stars as Leslie Steckler, a man with a murderous fetish for blondes. Steckler shows more dark personality traits by forcing a true crime novelist (Harriet Robinson) to document his tragedies. Writer Ellen Carter has a bloody past of her own and this latest film release has aged well, by holding the focus on the tense writing.
Neon sunglasses, leg warmers, and high riding jeans set this film squarely in the '90s. The writing of murder and intriguing, twisted motivations is universally appealing and crosses time periods. Also, squaring one murderer up against another is an unusual pairing and unlike Freddy vs. Jason (not even in the same league), there are some thrills here.
The black widow Carter uses passive murderous devices such as poison, until more direct means become necessary e.g. gunfire and shovellings to the head. You see, Carter must protect her life from a vicious serial killer. This second killer demands a novel of his misdealings and his goal is almost realized through coercion, blackmail, and subtle threats.
One of the ways that Interview with a Serial Killer works is because of the equal strength of both the protagonists. And really there is not a single central character here, as both vie for bloody screen time. The power shifting puts the edge in one character's hands. Later, the dominant character shifts and the constant outdoing of the other brings both characters closer than Carter wants.
The acting in the film is excellent, while the constant use of one set is a little stifling. The use of a videocamera to record murders in progress is a directing technique which adds some staticky chills. Also, this creative use of the camera also distances the viewer and the killer from the victim, with much of the bloodshed occurring off screen. This is 1993 and horror violence has not found its exhibitionist streak, unlike 2010-11.
Interview with a Serial Killer is a tension fueled murder mystery. Easily recommendable, horror fans could find some value in this well-written story. The conclusion also unfolds in a satisfying way, with writers Chris Jones (Urban Ghost Story) and Genevive Jolliffe showing that neither murderer ever actually had the upper hand. Check this one out January 25th, from Echo Bridge Entertainment.
Overall: 7 out of 10 (-1 for overuse of a central set, -1 for some poor musical choices, one track sounds like it comes from Bride of Frankenstein 1935, -1 for keeping much of the action off the screen).
Interview with a Serial Killer can be ordered direct from Echo Bridge Entertainment below:
IWASK at Echo Bridge w/Synopsis
Only $6.99 through Amazon:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA
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Posted in: 1990s,chris jones,echo bridge entertainment,genevieve jolliffe,harriet robinson,movie poster,movie review,peter firth,serial killer movie review,united kingdom,white angel
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