HORSEMEN

In a small snowbound town, recently widowed detective Aidan (Dennis Quaid) is called out by local cops when a body is found at the neck of the woods. He's led to the scene of the crime as one cop quips that Aidan's background in forensic dentistry should hold him in good stead: the body has had it's teeth torn out one by one.

Shortly afterwards, Aidan is called to a house where a mother of three has been strung up by fish-hooks and tortured to death. The dead woman's eldest daughter, Kristin (Ziyi Zhang), begs Aidan to catch the killer - something his determined expression suggests he will endeavour to do.

While trying to find time to raise his two petulant sons Sean (Liam James) and Alex (Lou Taylor Pucci) and perhaps even take them to the odd football game, the murders keep on coming and before long Aidan becomes obsessed with what little clues he has to go on.

While affording Sean a rare bit of attention one morning, Aidan peruses photographs of the crime scenes - with the words "come and see" scrawled in blood on the walls - and suddenly realises where he's seen that phrase before. No, not Elem Klimov's superb 1985 war film of that name, but in the bible. Specifically, Revelations 6, which warns of the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

This, Aidan tells colleagues Stingray (Clifton Collins Jr) and Krupa (Chelcie Ross), ties in with his theory that there were four people conducting the murders - three torturing and one, the ringleader, filming the atrocities from the corner of each room.

Resident priest Whiteleather (Paul Dooley) confirms Aidan's fears that the ringleader is most likely the antichrist ... or Jesus. Or maybe neither ...

Piecing together the backgrounds of the four victims to date, who seemingly represent War, Famine, Pestilence and Death, Aidan is alarmed to discover that his own family circumstances run at uncanny parallels to those who have been slain.

That is, if Aidan has a family left. Sean grows increasingly distant to his father as work consumes Aidan, while Alex has simply never forgiven his Dad for not being there for him while his mother died of cancer.

The plot thickens when Kristin comes forward as a suspect, showing an ever-so-slightly deranged disposition ...

HORSEMEN is a fine-looking film, making good use of its snowy exterior locations and stylishly muted colour schemes. Although framed rather tightly, it's often a visually impressive piece with some striking set-pieces that throw in bright fires and HD city lights by night.

Performances are generally strong, with Quaid offering another of his ever-reliable low-rent Harrison Ford-type portrayals of a flawed father. He broods through the entire film, keeping his performance just low-key enough to give Pucci a chance to shine against him.

Elsewhere, Collins Jr is memorable as quirky cop Stingray, while it's always a pleasure to see Peter Stormare on screen - here in a cameo as creepy Spitz.

Those are the positive aspects of the film. Unfortunately, there are negative aspects ...

The main problem with HORSEMEN is that it treads on all-too-familiar ground. It wants to be another SE7EN or THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, while throwing in elements of SAW for good measure. But Dave Callaham's script is far too by-the-numbers to get away with comfortably joining this already over-populated genre. The dialogue is hackneyed, characters are two-dimensional and dramatic threads have all been seen before. Oh, and if you like a film with a good twist ending, then this is not it.

Because you will surely have guessed the killer's identity by the halfway mark.

Former music video director Jonas Akerlund (probably most well-known for his controversial visual take on The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up") directs in a clichéd manner that echoes everything from INSOMNIA and SE7EN, to UNTRACEABLE and beyond. Although the film may frequently look good, it has no visual style of it's own - it's borrowing lighting and editing techniques from scenes that David Fincher shot well over a decade ago.

Although the pace of the film is none too flagging, the film never really gets going. Again, performances and visuals cannot be blamed for this. It's solely down to Akerlund's flat direction and Callaham's predictable screenplay.

Copping out even in the gore stakes, this is a tired and uninspired addition to the already saturated serial killer flick that will soon be forgotten. Even the religious aspects of the script are under-developed and clumsily explained by smaller characters.

As mentioned above, the so-called twist is the final nail in the coffin of this attractive but brainless film.

Presented in anamorphic 1.78:1, the screener disc from Icon Home Entertainment was a no-frills affair with no extras or even menus.

If picture quality is indicative of the official disc, it's a strong presentation with nice sharp detail and bright clear images.

English 2.0 audio was clear and consistent throughout.

Due out on 19th October 2009, the film is also scheduled to come out that day on Blu-ray.

Review by Stu Willis