Benjamin O’Ryan
(Ben Kingsley) is a man with remote viewing powers who hunts
serial killers in order to track down the elusive Suspect Zero, a
serial killer who hunts the entire country and has yet to be
noticed.
CRITIQUE
Suspect Zero
has two things that give it its originality – a serial killer who is
hunting other serial killers and the killer’s use of Remote Viewing in
order to track his prey. Everything else we have seen before. A
disgraced FBI Agent (Aaron Eckhart) who harbors a terrible secret?
Check. A partner and/or love interest that the Agent is at odds with.
Double Check (Carrie-Anne Moss plays his partner AND former lover.) A
highly intelligent murderer who, when not tracking his prey, creates
elaborate puzzles to bate the Agent with until they are able to come
face to face in the final act? Check.
All the cliché
pieces of the puzzle are here. But Suspect Zero is not a bad
film; it’s just a film that has been done so many times in the past
that even the twist of a killer who hunts killers isn’t that fresh or
exciting. While director Merhige (2001’s Shadow of the Vampire)
does give the film an interesting visual style, the film lacks the
tension that is necessary to make serial killer thrillers work.
Thankfully Merhige doesn’t try and overcompensate by trying to gross
out the audience with its array of mutilated corpses and other
potential gross-out points.
What does make the
film work, however, is Ben Kingsley’s performance. Benjamin O’Ryan is
a man who has had a switch flipped in his brain forcing him to see the
darkest side of humanity, a switch he cannot flip off. We are able to
pity him, even though we know the horrible crimes he is committing.
It’s just a shame that the other characters in the film lack the depth
that O’Ryan has.
In the end,
Suspect Zero is just a mediocre film. If you try and look at the
film logically, it’ll make your head hurt. However, if you can shut
your mind off and just roll with it, the film can be fairly
entertaining.
THE VIDEO
The anamorphic
video transfer looks nice. There is no noticeable grain, and the black
levels and colors are consistent, even through the many different
styles that are employed in the film.
THE AUDIO
The film is
presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. The mix is standard, nothing
special to speak of. The use of all speakers is fine, but nothing
noteworthy.
THE EXTRAS
Commentary by
Director E. Elias Merhige:
Director Merhige’s commentary is very dry and boring. Instead of bring
in some insight into the choices he made for the film, he seems to be
reading a book based on the film. Not worth your time.
What We See When We
Close Our Eyes:
This four-part documentary looks at the history of remote viewing as
it was used by the government in the 70’s through the 90’s. This is
pretty interesting, though the first part ends rather abruptly.
Remote Viewing
Demonstration:
Director Merhige remote views for us, I guess. It’s impossible to
tell if what is happening is real or just staged.
Alternate Ending:
Not really an “alternate” ending, but rather an extended ending in
which we come back to Aaron Eckhart’s world a year later to discover
that he has taken over Ben Kingsley’s role of Remote Viewing serial
killer.
FINAL THOUGHT
The presentation of
Suspect Zero, much like the movie itself, is mediocre. With a
fairly worthless commentary track, a remote viewing demonstration that
doesn’t seem at all believable, and a four-part documentary about
remote viewing (and not including anything about the making of the
film,) the extras seem a little lacking.
