Untraceable

Untraceable is the maximum that the skilled genre craftsman Gregory Hoblit could get out of such a dime-a-dozen, unoriginal screenplay. Untraceable is a conventional, mainstream crime thriller, upgraded with the cruelty of the low-budget, fan-based morbid fun of the Saw series. Diane Lane is cool and the suspense works, especially in the climax. If you watch this movie with zero expectations, it will give you no reason to be disappointed. (02.06.2008)

Although it is a standard and narratively simple genre film, where the murders are mostly copied from the famous Saw franchise, I quite liked the idea of filming the entire thing with one camera and presenting it on the internet with a very interesting-looking website. After a long time, there’s something at least somewhat original within the genre. Of course, narratively it is a typical linear chase of a killer, but paradoxically, the biggest surprise is how clearly the story is laid out. There’s no wild twist, no switching to the other side of the barricade, or the horrifying realization that it is actually one way or another. Some people will appreciate it, others won't. (11.08.2008)

As generic and mediocre as it gets. This film has an interesting and promising premise, but the routine direction fails to extract anything worth remembering from it. The atmosphere is weak, the actors are dull and the overall picture is not half as gloomy and unpleasant as, say, the imaginative Saw. Another one of those many thrillers that will vanish from your head before the DVD has cooled down. (20.11.2012)