Cult Killer

I just does not work. You have solid actors which can definitely deliver and s script/story which seems ok adequate but the whole movie has the overall aesthetic of a lackluster filler episode from a bad television series.

The visuals, cinematography, and overall production design lack anything close to what I would expect in a film.

The character interactions are filmed so badly it feels like a documentary with people who really don't want to be there.

The most disheartening aspect is that I like all the main actors but felt that the film falls so short of its potential. The execution and overall presentation leave much to be desired.

So, I'm not a big fan of these straight-to-video productions. But I like Antonio Banderas (generally) so I watched the trailer. What was surprising is to see Alice Eve all covered up, which intrigued me. Of all the production I've seen Ms. Eve participate in, it's guaranteed that at some point she gets basically naked. This puts here firmly in the "sex kitten" bucket of actors, which means all the has to offer is basically her looks. A horrid example is Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) where she plays an important Trek character and does it quite well - but then hey had to get her naked. It's total fan service and insulting to the audience.

So, here's Cult Killer where she plays a leading role and no where in the trailer - in which she is featured prominently - does she expose anything but her head. Interesting, me thinks, they're going to let her act.

And the girl can actually act.

Aside from an introductory bit of flamboyance in the opening scene - in which she uses her womanly wiles and ample cleavage to shill drinks from eager oglers - she keeps buttoned up and covered in black turtlenecks and overcoats the rest of the film.

What follows is a type of coming-of-age story and a redemption arc for Eve's character, where she works a serial murder case (as a private investigator to the police) and find she has all too much in common with the killer and "their" motives.

I recommend this film to give Ms. Eve her belated due. Here is a film that's "okay" and "it's been done," but to see Ms. Eve allowed to showcase her acting chops is a delight.

I wish her all the success in the world.

I started watching this for Antonio Banderas. With such a title as CULT KILLER I expected a riveting thriller with lots of suspenseful plot turns and thrilling attacks. NONE of that.

The bad; this movie just toddles along. Gently like a stream. Completely void of any real thrill or drama. Antonio Banderas has only got a supporting role, in which he is mumbling all sorts of jibberish to the leading actress ( a "determined" cop) who supposedly is THE person to solve a crime.

What we get to see is not terribly bad, it's not a B-movie for sure, but folks expecting a thriller or crime drama better pass this one by.

Having seen the movie, these titles of "The Last Girl" or "Cult Killer" (having two is not a good sign) seem absurd and are no doubt part of the reason why some reviewers give such low ratings, as their expectations were not met by reading too much into them.

Something like "Revenge of the Abused" or "The Playhouse" would have been far more suitable.

Overall the movie held my attention as it had an unusual enough premise and I wanted to see how it concluded. It could have been more of a thriller, but lacked enough plot twists and reveals for that, which is not to say there were nonesuch.

There wasn't much by way of suspense, either, as you find out too much for that too soon, and the story becomes much more of a procedural. Indeed, it struck me that this could have been a feature-length pilot for a TV series about a female (English?) private investigator and recovering alcoholic, in Ireland, who sometimes works alongside the police (Garda). However I think the marketing may have screwed it up too much for anything like that. You certainly wouldn't expect Banderas or Eve in something like that. So it seems to have come across that way perhaps more by accident than design.

Alice Eve acquits herself fairly well, and you can certainly see how her character comes to identify with the killer she is pursuing (and vice-versa), but her 'badass' scenes and the character depth she provides are undone by the couple of scenes where she comes across as a genteel English Rose, especially at the end (Oh no!"), which stood out all the more in a movie with some brutal and bloody scenes, some of which her character was involved in. This left me wondering if she was not the first choice for the role, but they couldn't afford e.g. Kate Beckinsale. She just seems slightly miscast, or perhaps the best they could get for it and ultimately, despite some aspects of her performance, as not quite right for the role, at least in hindsight.

Hennig is very good in her role opposite Eve; her character was completely on-point, but the acting honours in this one go to Banderas, who is excellent as the mentor to Eve's character.

I was split between rating it 6/7 (13/20 perhaps?) and eventually decided to go down rather than up. Probably not a movie you would go out of your way for, but it's watchable if you do - so long as your expectations are not based on the appalingly given titles.

I dare to say that Cult Killer will never be considered anything near the league of cult movies; instead, it will quickly be forgotten and fall into the void of total oblivion - and rightfully so. The production is okay, the cast is okayish too, but the story is, well, I can't put it better than a fellow reviewer did: it beats staring at the wallpaper. One could rightfully argue that there are more interesting and captivating wallpapers around that surpass Cult Killer's entertainment value, but I don't want to be too petty on the issue. What you get are super tough ladies (like in almost every movie these days) and a plot on auto-pilot. Verdict: only recommended if you have an ultra-boring wallpaper on your walls and not the ambition to change that fact and watch rather some redundant flick instead.