Corporate Line: A female police officer (Judd), whose father was a serial killer, and is now investigating a murder finds herself the center of her own investigation when her past lovers start dying at a furious pace.
The Good: When it comes to a psychological thriller, the right mood for the film is essential. The dark tone of “Twisted” is realized within the first few shots. The foggy waterfront, the more gritty holes and haunts of San Francisco, and the gloomy musical score all serve as the story’s backdrop. Together, these elements complete a rather eerie and fairly impressive take on film noir.
This style bolsters what initially promises to be an interesting mystery. Ashley Judd does a better than usual job at playing the strong-willed homicide detective whose first case is a real doozie. As the body count of her previous one-night-stands increases, I was definitely interested in figuring out who was killing these guys. Plus, she and everyone around her seem to harbor a few deep, dark secrets. This kept the story intriguing for at least the first part of the film.
Fans of Andy Garcia and Samuel L. Jackson will probably enjoy their performances, but feel like they could have been a lot meatier if given more to do.
The Bad: Well, a psychological thriller is really only as good as its ending. And given the title, I was anticipating a great twist in the final moments. There is a twist, and it definitely is a surprise. But honestly, it comes so far from out of left field that it’s hard to believe. When the killer is revealed, you don’t get that wonderful satisfaction of having put the pieces together yourself. It’s handed to you on a dingy, unpolished platter. Some people will accept what they’re serving up while others, like me, will feel pretty cheated in the end.
The stories also have some conspicuous holes. Whether these are a result of editing the film down to a neat length or just bad storytelling is hard to tell.
In addition, you never really get to see the depth of these characters. It’s almost hard to sympathize with Judd’s character because we don’t feel like we get to know her well enough. Her vulnerabilities don’t seem as relatable to us because we barely get inside her character emotionally (except for some heavy-handed voice-overs used to play out the thoughts in her head when she seems to be losing it).
On a final note, I really hoped to be cheering on this movie for portraying a strong woman who fits just fine in a man’s world and is unashamed of her frequent casual sex encounters. Interestingly, Judd’s character assimilates to the “man’s world” more than challenges it. She indulges in impulsive behavior, fits of anger, brutality on the job, and drinking binges. Seemingly, this “bad” behavior allows for the possibility that she may, indeed, be the killer (I ain’t tellin’). However, even though the double standard of considering a sexual active woman as a slut versus a sexually active man as a stud is confronted, this movie definitely falls short of giving us the next Samantha Jones.
Frankly: “Twisted” is a slightly mangled psychological thriller. Although it has its moments, it fails to deliver anything that we haven’t seen before. Most of all, the final twist just doesn’t cut it.
+ Jeffrey Kroitsch
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