Film Reviews

Untraceable

• Rating:
• Director: Gregory Hoblit
• Starring: Billy Burke
• Details: USA / 100mins (18)

Another one that can be chugged in the rip-off of a rip-off category, Untraceable's plot centres on FBI 'cyber controller' Jenny Marsh (Lane), who is investigating a website where victims are tortured and killed, in correspondence with how many people log on to view - thus making millions of Americans technical accomplices in some sadistic murders. Naturally, things get increasingly personal for our heroine, as she struggles to unmask the nutcase who uses his genius intellect and warped logic to make a point... of some sort. Untraceable is the type of film that is rendered barely-watchable by the calibre of star and director, but all the more disappointing for a cliche-ridden and derivative script. You can almost envision the pitch; 'it's kind of like 'Silence of the Lambs', but it's got some of that cool Saw shit that the public just seem to love so damn much', throw in some heavy handed 'we need to look out for ourselves' metaphorical bullcrap and hey presto - box office glory. Needless to say, the problems are vast and plentiful, from phoned-in acting (Blanks, Hanks) to atrociously drawn characterisation (the villain is so smart, it's stupid), all the way back to the contrived and inexcusably banal script, where conventions are adhered to with Nazi-like precision. Despite all of this, Untraceable is still nowhere near as bad as the likes of Saw and Captivity, and this is down to workmanlike direction from the usually capable Hoblit, and a predictably strong lead turn from Lane. Hoblit is the kind of director who excels in the ocular end of filmmaking, and who regularly delivers watchable-if-unspectacular films (Fracture) from high concepts (Frequency), while Lane is simply a beautiful and stunningly talented actress masquerading as a movie star - give her a good script and you might as well start polishing the Oscar. But while both offer us moments of genuine flair and engrossment, they are simply too few-and-far-between to warrant the price of a cinema ticket. It brings nothing new to the table, yet still leaves a bad taste in the mouth; watch Silence of the Lambs on your laptop instead.

Review by Mike Sheridan