The Crimson Rivers – 2000
Posted by Scott on 18 Sep 2008 at 01:41 am | Tagged as: Obscure Films
I don’t know what it says about our society that we seem inordinately fascinated with serial killer films. Perhaps it’s simply a morbid curiosity with all things evil, or maybe it’s something darker and disturbing. Who am I to say? As nutty as the Ted Bundys and David Berkowitzs of the world were, cinema always manages to concoct more and more inventive lunatics. The Saw movies, Seven and the iconic Silence of the Lambs all feature a particular brand of psycho killer. Normally reserved to Hollywood, France has taken the serial killer ball and ran with it in recent years. The Crimson Rivers offers a different twist in this extremely popular genre.
Jean Reno plays Commissioner Pierre Niemans, a Paris top-cop dispatched to the university hamlet of Guernon to investigate the torture and murder of a young professor. Guernon, nestled in a picturesque mountain valley, is home to the country’s best and brightest minds. Pierre takes little time gathering clues and piecing together the puzzle. Sixty miles away, in the town of Sarzac, Lt. Max Kerkerian (Vincent Cassel) is probing the desecration of a grave-site belonging to a little girl who was killed twenty years prior. Dogged detective work leads Max to the girl’s mother who claims her daughter wasn’t killed but rather kidnapped by “demons.”
Pierre’s and Max’s cases intertwine. The two men soon cross paths and reluctantly team-up. Two more gruesome murders occur and a link between the three victims is discovered. The evidence leads Pierre and Max to the university at Guernon where dark secrets and bizarre goings-on are revealed. As the inspectors close in on the killer they become targets of an underground elite with Nazi ties bent on perpetuating a sinister master-plan. A hair-raising finale atop the snow covered French Alps pits Pierre and Max against an unexpected enemy.
It’s great to watch two of France’s best actors, Reno and Cassel, side-by-side. They tackle the typical “buddy cop” roles but do so with equal parts humor and seriousness. Yeah, they deliver the usual clever quips, and of course don’t like each other at first, but it’s not to the absurd level of say, Rush Hour III. Director Mathieu Kassovitz keeps a winding plot from unraveling by sustaining a logical progression. There are a few left turns, but none that steer away from the central plot. However, a quick trip to the kitchen for a drink refill may leave you scrambling if you forget to press pause. An intense snowy-night foot chase and gorgeous mountain scenery add some additional flavor. Serial killer movies have become somewhat pedestrian, but The Crimson Rivers provides more than its share of thrills.
The trailer for The Crimson Rivers:
