Corporate line:
Directed by Gregory Hoblit (“Fracture”), “Untraceable” follows F.B.I. cybercrimes specialist Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) as she attempts to track down a serial killer who brazenly displays his murderous deeds on the Internet. Aided by fellow agent Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks) and local detective Eric Box (Billy Burke), Marsh tenaciously hunts for the elusive criminal in rainy Pacific Northwest settings, but as she closes in on her target, he deviously finds ways to get closer to her, all the while killing his victims in increasingly faster fashion. Clearly referencing a number of renowned thrillers–most notably the “Saw” films, “Seven”, and “Silence of the Lambs”–“Untraceable” is far from an original cinematic exercise. However, Lane’s steely, smart, and beautiful heroine ably anchors the film, which also benefits from its appropriately gloomy Portland, Oregon, backdrop. As with any effective suspense movie, the thrill is in the chase, with the cold-blooded killer proving to be quite adept at disguising his real location, even as his disturbingly popular site remains prominently on the web (hence the picture’s title).
The review:
There are a tons of movies that could be written around a cyber-killer–none have been good so far and “Untraceable” doesn’t change that. It’s almost laughable to have a guy kill and do it more viciously depending upon the number of people come to his site. Diane Lane should have known what she was getting herself into. “Untraceable” is little more than a movie made in hope of making money on YouTube fans. Director Hoblit tries hard to keep upping the ante of how to kill and torture people, but like most of the “Saw” movies it grows weaker instead of stronger.
“Untraceable” is unwatchable.
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