Schumacher's wrenchingly horrible journey into the snuff movie
underworld has the mangled shred of an interesting idea in the final
reel when Cage turns vigilante avenger, and a decent performance from
Gandolfini. Otherwise it's shockingly callous and unpleasant, a
tasteless combination of lurid thriller trappings (Stormare's
jaw-droppingly abysmal turn as an evil velvet-clad producer armed
with a crossbow), and heart-of-darkness pretentiousness from Se7en
scribe Andrew Kevin Walker. Any sympathy for the girl victimised and
tortured to make the snuff movie is transferred to the actress playing
her, as with Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Has this director no shame?
