Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Johnny Martin, Defiant Screen Entertainment.
Cast: Al Pacino, Karl Urban, Brittany Snow, Joe Anderson, Sarah Shahi
Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino (Serpico, Scent of a Women, Dick Tracy, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Godfather) gives a determined performance as Ray Archer, a decorated homicide detective, who is called in on the hunt for a vicious serial killer.
Together with criminal profiler Will Ruiney (Urban, Star Trek), they are on the trail of a sadistic murderer who leaves a trail of victims. Clues are also left to a twisted children’s game called hangman.
Joining the pair is New York Times reporter Christi Davies (Snow, Pitch Perfect) because she wants to report on the crime spree. Finding out the truth leaves scars. In order to stop the murders, the trio must play along with the killer’s evil game.
Not surprisingly, the detectives find themselves in one hazardous situation after another. Pursuing the killer with a fearless female journalist in tow doesn’t result in them losing their resolve. The psychopath is organised, killings are planned … it’s a game board and numbers are among the clues.
Working homicide for 36 years, Archer was asked to come out of retirement after the pair’s badge numbers were found carved near the first victim’s body. Ruiney is emotionally preoccupied, in this case by the unsolved murder of his wife, while Archer is single-minded in his direction, speaking with an odd, unfamiliar accent.
