Director: Tom Shankland
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18
Watched on Sky+ Monday 27th July 2009.
PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.
This is a very gritty, dark and very gory horror/thriller. There are scenes reminiscent of the Saw films, but it is much darker than them. I’ll admit to being somewhat shocked by this tale of murder and revenge mainly because of the raw emotion shown on the screen. It’s certainly not for the feint hearted.
Eddie Argo is a tough uncompromising detective, hard bitten by too many years on the job. He is called to the murder of a pregnant woman who has, what turns out to be, part of an equation carved into her skin. There he meets his new partner, rookie detective Helen Westcott. A series of killings ensue, each giving more of the formula and each related to a rape and murder that Eddie knows more about than he is prepared to tell…
The film had a great plot, but it is one you have to sit and watch as its quite complex. Several great performances, particularly from Stellan Skarsgård as Eddie Argo, Melissa George as Helen Westcott and Selma Blair as Jean Lerner. Honourable mentions go to Tom Hardy as the psychotic Pierre Jackson and Sally Hawkins as Elly Carpenter. Filmed in both Northern Ireland and New York, the gritty backdrops chosen for filming fitted the story perfectly. Over all, as I said at the start, not one for the feint hearted, a very dark tale of revenge pretty well done, but not perfect. I found, at times the story got bogged down and didn’t flow as well as it did at other points.
My score: 6.5/10
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18
Watched on Sky+ Monday 27th July 2009.
PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.
This is a very gritty, dark and very gory horror/thriller. There are scenes reminiscent of the Saw films, but it is much darker than them. I’ll admit to being somewhat shocked by this tale of murder and revenge mainly because of the raw emotion shown on the screen. It’s certainly not for the feint hearted.
Eddie Argo is a tough uncompromising detective, hard bitten by too many years on the job. He is called to the murder of a pregnant woman who has, what turns out to be, part of an equation carved into her skin. There he meets his new partner, rookie detective Helen Westcott. A series of killings ensue, each giving more of the formula and each related to a rape and murder that Eddie knows more about than he is prepared to tell…
The film had a great plot, but it is one you have to sit and watch as its quite complex. Several great performances, particularly from Stellan Skarsgård as Eddie Argo, Melissa George as Helen Westcott and Selma Blair as Jean Lerner. Honourable mentions go to Tom Hardy as the psychotic Pierre Jackson and Sally Hawkins as Elly Carpenter. Filmed in both Northern Ireland and New York, the gritty backdrops chosen for filming fitted the story perfectly. Over all, as I said at the start, not one for the feint hearted, a very dark tale of revenge pretty well done, but not perfect. I found, at times the story got bogged down and didn’t flow as well as it did at other points.
My score: 6.5/10
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