El Llamado

Set in the wintry rural wasteland of Canada, 'The Calling' could be the bastard child of 'Fargo' and 'Omen'. The film begins with depressed, alcoholic, pill-popping Sheriff Hazel roused from her suicidal daydreams when the mutilated corpse of an elderly female acquaintance is discovered After Hazel learns several other mutilated remains have been scattered around the frozen countryside, she begins to suspect a deranged predator might be on the prowl in her precinct. Scoffed at by her superior, she marshals the small town's oddball duo of police officers and their perky receptionist to catch themselves a serial killer. Before too long, Hazel and her team are sipping strong black coffee in their cruisers and detecting like big city gumshoes.

The script reveals some glaring holes as Hazel's investigations uncover an occult connection linking the killings. Thankfully, decent acting papers over some of these threadbare patches. When a few of the loose ends are tied up at the conclusion, the killer turns out to be a routine lunatic, and the rationale for his murderous activities is the standard silliness for this genre of film.