User reviews

With a great cast list, I jumped at this film with enthusiasm. This was met with a complete underutilisation of some of my favourite actors. For what it was Jeffrey Dean Morgan played his limited role well, Sam Worthing over acted his role making him less convincing and Chloe Moretz was vastly underused.

The plot is difficult to follow and some scenes seem completely unnecessary and others feel as though there needs to be more detail. The story overall suffers from a lack of telling and too much showing. The main plot itself was rather predicable and ultimately let me shaking my head in disapproval. Putting this aside there were some parts of the film that made it interesting and the overall story was good in premise.

I suppose I don't want to hate this film, because it has so much potential. It left me feeling disappointed, but as a point of reference of something done badly that could be brilliant, this is the perfect case.

I was very excited to see this film when I heard they were making a movie based on the true events in 'the Texas killing fields'. I thought it might be reminiscent of 'Zodiac' which was superbly done (in my opinion).

I really wanted to like this movie. It has good actors, and the chance of a great storyline. Unfortunately, that did not help this movie in the least.

First of all, the storyline is confusing. It seems as if we (the audience) are dropped into the middle of a situation and forced to figure out where we are, what's going on etc...

The main characters who are the detectives- Det. Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) seem to have a history together, but what it is, I have no idea. The storytelling (again) is so poor and disjointed that we (the audience) are left to ponder that situation as well. Quickly, we are also introduced to a little girl named Anne (Chloë Grace Moretz), who actually does the best acting of anyone in the entire film.

Now, I am getting myself confused just writing this review. Back to the point...I found this movie confusing, disjointed, lacking a clear direction. I could barely understand a word that came out of Sam Worthington's mouth because his fake southern accent was...criminal. ;-) The story left so many holes, no real explanations of the horrors that have and continue to go on since the 1970's. It just did not tie everything in together in a logical sense.

I saw on CBS, that the real detectives that have been working this case, hope that with the release of the movie 'The Texas Killing Fields' some new leads will come to light. After seeing this movie, I highly doubt that, which really is a shame.

Should you watch this movie? Well, I wouldn't, but I know you will be curious to see it just like I was.

In Little Texas, Texas, Detectives Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) are investigating a series of murders of women by a serial-killer. When they leave the crime scene where a body was found, Brian brings the girl Ann Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz) that is on probation to the house of her dysfunctional family and delivers the neglected Ann to her careless mother.

Then they are called by Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain), who is Mike's ex-wife, to help her to investigating a case of missing woman, but the case is outside their jurisdiction. However, they join Pam in her investigation while the family man Brian tries to help Ann and protect the girl against the abusive friends of her mother. Mike follows a clue that leads to two local criminals while Brian follows a different line of investigation and finds that the bodies were dumped in an area called "The Killing Fields". When Ann is kidnapped by the serial-killer, Brian seeks her out alone in the dangerous land.

"Texas Killing Fields" is an underrated and gritty detective story. The screenplay could be improved since the situation of two different groups of killers is confused but later the plot becomes clearer and the viewer is able to understand the big picture.

The locations in the bayous show an American reality that is not well- explored in Amereican films.The cast has great actors and actresses and the performances are excellent. Ami Canaan Mann is the daughter of Michael Mann and this is her second feature. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Em Busca de um Assassino" ("Chasing a Killer")

OK.

Mumbling, yes. about as much as Run Baby Run. Archetypal characters, well, tick, but then this is the US.

Personally, I liked it. I didn't expect to, but it was OK. They did a 'Coen brothers-y' thing, not really explaining the back story.

OK. Maybe the two male leads have similar attitudes to women and to their abusers as I do, so maybe that biases me, but I don't think that's all.

I think this has a body. Brains, guts, and a spine. The minor parts are well cast and directed, and the three leads rock.

I'm a bit surprised how slated this has been on IMDb.

I liked it, OK? So sue me....

A modest, if unspectacular low-key offbeat crime thriller that seems to focus on its bleak noir atmospherics and rustic sense of place (being filmed in New Orleans creating such an alienating environment from its bayous), and less so on its moody characters and narrative depth of its investigation. Things just seem to happen, with little to no reasoning behind it. Conventional storytelling enlivened by its edgy moments of suspense. Texas cop Mike Souder is paired up with out-of-town New York detective Brian Heigh where they're dealing with a local murder, but Heigh finds himself looking into another case involving a serial killer who murders his lady victims in the killing fields a wasteland outside Texas City. Director Ami Canaan Mann (yep the daughter of Michael Mann) in her debut feature creates a slick look with her prowling camera and gets strong performances from the likes of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Worthington, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jessica Chastain. Even the minor support give fine turns; Sheryl Lee, James Herbert and an unsettling Stephen Graham. However it's the four main leads that really carry this. Morgan's turn as the New York copper is the film's heart and conscience, but that's not taking anything away from Worthington and Chastain. Worthington probably gives the best performance of his career as the hard-bitten Texan detective and Chastain really does hold her own as a fellow officer. However it's Moretz who really surprises in a tender, but spirited performance as the street kid of the town tramp. She's definitely a talent. You can't take anything away from the cast, as they don't limit themselves to the material's shortcomings. The story is supposedly inspired by true events, but never does it go into any great detail and this can be its downfall. As what transpires can feel forced and rushed leading to something predictably anti-climatic due to the red herrings being too obvious. Still Mann keeps you interested with her technical techniques, but also giving it a contemplatively humane touch amongst its slow pace and brooding circumstances. A fair, if compelling straight-to-DVD enterprise.

"You don't know how close to the edge you are".

The movie itself is really on the verge of being really good. But it never quite reaches that top. Still it is a wonderful acted and photographed movie. The story keeps you on your toes (or the edge of your seat from time to time), though you sometimes wish there would be a clearer and easier to follow narrative. On the other hand you could argue that that is the strong point of the movie.

Being based on real events, this obviously had some high expectations to fill (read there was some notion from the real detectives, who were hoping to get new clues on happenings in that area, though I can't confirm if that is true or not). And it shouldn't matter or make a difference on what you think of the movie. Either you like it or you don't. No matter what is really going on. You can't put that kind of pressure on a low budget movie like this one.

I was sort of hanging for this film, great cast, story line that can make for great viewing, and I like the setting of the story as well. And after another lackluster year when it comes to entertainment on the big screen, I thought this could be great!

Well sadly to say it is messy, when it comes to this kind of cop film, you need direction, some one that can tell the story at a good pace, connect all the dots, get you engrossed in the mood of the film, make you sit and wait for more clues and so on, but this film lacks all of that.

Sure the acting is solid, but I expected that with the good cast, but it just does not flow at a good pace, it jumps over some dots that should be connected to make you feel you are part of the characters, and that's where this film is messy, hence my score of 5, sort of sits in the middle.

Nothing special, but not bad either, 5 out of 5 for this one.

Detectives Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are investigating mutilated bodies dumped in a marsh known as the Killing Fields. They pick up Anne Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is under probation and is suppose to be home but she doesn't get along with her troubled mother Lucie (Sheryl Lee). Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain) is a police investigator from the neighboring jurisdiction and Mike's ex-wife.

It has some grimy hard-boiled police drama. It's not breaking any new grounds. The actors try to do good work. Other than Worthington, I like all the actors. It has a moody backwoods sense. It's slow and disjointed at times. Directed by Ami Canaan Mann daughter of the famous Michael Mann, this is a good starting point but is not good enough to guarantee future greatness. She has an interesting eye but there is not enough tension for much of the movie.

It's difficult to understand why this film was made. And I don't mean that as a commentary on the overall quality of the movie at all. Yes it is a pretty straightforward serial killer/crime drama containing average (and some below average) piece of acting. At the end of the movie however, the question remains, why was this made? If the purpose was to introduce us to the geography of the fields, there are better mediums to do that. If the purpose was to tell a gripping tale of mystery and suspense, that doesn't happen either. If it wanted to make us empathize with the very real plight of detective work in grim everyday condition, it doesn't go there. And lastly if the purpose was to throw some light on the case itself or to enable us to identify with the horrors that the victims faced, the movie simply ignores it. So, why was this film made? The story is told listlessly, almost as if the director has no interest in telling it. Sam Worthington is a cliché of hothead cop characters and the good cop bad cop routine he plays out with Jeffery Dean Morgan adds nothing to the cinematic experience. The character of Chloë Grace Moretz tries too hard to portray the role written for in the script. At the end she comes out as irritating, something I am sure the director did not intended to portray. It's not her fault though, her skill is flawless, she simply doesn't know what she is doing and why. Jessica Chastain looks beautiful and handles her limited role quiet well. That is not to say that this film is bad, it is just so average in everything it does that it all boils down to the purpose of making it.

Texas Killing Fields is directed by Ami Canaan Mann and written by Don Ferrarone. It stars Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Clarke, Annabeth Gish and Stephen Graham. Music is by Dickon Hinchliffe and cinematography by Stuart Dryburgh. Film is based around real events involving the many murders of women whose bodies have been found in a desolate area of road and wasteland between Houston and Galveston.

Ami Canaan Mann is the daughter of Michael Mann, one of the masters of modern day crime story movies, so it's not very surprising to see Ami, for her sophomore production, venture into murky waters. Texas Killing Fields is a bayou noir, where although the title hints at human devastation unbound, it's actually a slow burning skin itcher more concerned with the people investigating crime than that of the perpetrators. How the sorry events affect all who come in to contact with the crimes at the film's core, is what drives Texas Killing Fields on. Sadly the screenplay takes on board too much and nearly derails an otherwise very good movie.

If it comes down to atmosphere and technical smarts in achieving such? Then this is one of the finest of recent times. There's a constant sense of broody foreboding throughout, the haunting landscapes are all gnarly and spectre like, the whole area literally stinks of death and misery. Even when the story is away from the fields of the title, there's a mood of despair filtering out from Mann and Dryburgh's lenses, the hot Texas weather draining every ounce of sweat from the emotionally troubled detectives. All of the atmosphere is helped considerably by Hinchliffe's music, which piggybacks the misery with ominous bluesy tones.

Unfortunately all this deft atmospheric craft can't stop the screenplay from being annoying. A sub-plot involving Worthington and Chastain as ex husband and wife is as pointless as it gets, which simultaneously wastes Chastain in the process. The makers have chosen to actually have suspects front and centre for the crimes on screen (unlike the real life cases, most of which remain unsolved), well they intend to keep it mysterious, but anyone paying attention will catch on quickly enough. There's also problems with the sound mix, which at times is appalling, rendering some crucial dialogue exchanges as inaudible.

Cast are good, especially Morgan and Moretz, and Mann shows a good hand at action sequences to compliment her astute mood setting skills. But this still feels like a misfire, and subsequent critical appraisals and internet rating systems have it as just above average. That's a little unfair, there's much for the neo-noir/crime movie crowd to get enthralled by here, but Mann may need to sharpen up her story telling whiles to fully bloom her undoubted potential. 6.5/10

In the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders.

The casting on this film is perfect -- Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the flawless Chloe Moretz. The directing and cinematography are great, with the dark, gritty feel that one would expect from your better serial killer films. And the story, despite being disjointed, is a pretty good one.

That being said, I have a major problem with this film -- it is fiction. My understanding is that the police involved with the real case were hoping this film would promote the true unsolved murders in the "Texas killing fields". Well, I am sure they must be disappointed. The story is fake, the solution is fake... they even changed the name of the city.

Now, here is the thing... if you are going to call this film "Texas Killing Fields" and then make it about nothing related to the case, the least you can do is put a featurette on the DVD. I know two former detectives who are willing to talk about the case. I know some family members of victims who have a story to tell. If one of the goals was to promote the real case (in order to get it solved), the people behind this movie did not do even the most basic of things to accomplish this goal.

If I pretend that this movie was not very loosely based on a true story, I can be more praising. Like I said, it looks great and the cast is phenomenal. Moretz never fails to impress, and I think Morgan should be an A-lister in the world of Hollywood. He impressed me in "The Resident" and again here.

While I have not read other reviews, I suspect there is a running theme to talk about the director's father, maybe saying things like "being in his shadow". I hope these sort of comments are few and far between. Ami Mann holds her own, and whether she was a famous director's daughter or not, she has the skills and is blazing her own trail.

Originally scheduled for the director Danny Boyle in 2008, but when the British-born filmmaker abandoned the project a year later, based on the murders of young women in a Texan oil field known to the locals as the 'Killing Field,' Ami Canaan Mann, the daughter of the acclaimed director Michael, took over the directorial helm of the Sam Worthington vehicle the 'Texas Killing Fields'. Mann's feature-film debut is a flat, slow police procedural drama that fails to utilize the acting talent at hand and instead relies entirely upon a stale script. 'Texas Killing Fields' would make for a barely competent television drama, but as a theatrical release, it falls incredibly short of being engaging entertainment for the big-screen.

Detective Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) is a local Texan police officer who believes extensively in only working on cases in his own town's jurisdiction, while his partner Detective Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a former New York City police officer who can't but help others in their time of need. Whether it is a young girl named Anne (Chloe Moretz) who resides with an abusive family, or Det. Souder's former wife Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain), who polices a nearby community in which a Texan oil field known as the killing fields is situated. When Pam requests the help of Heigh in the recent disappearance and murder of women within the confines of the killing fields, he reluctantly obliges, despite the objections of his partner due to their own case against two low-life pimps who are systematically kidnapping and forcing teenage girls into a life of prostitution. What follows, is two differing journeys as both men attempt to bring the guilty to justice through their own, loose methods.

Sam Worthington's Detective Souder is a brash, uncompromising individual who rarely comforts, but always intimidates, even when he is simply taking a statement from a young, teenage victim. It is briefly suggested that this distance and animosity originates from a rough upbringing, but it is never explored in any suitable detail, and Souder instantly comes across as an unlikeable character that is unable to redeem the glaring flaws in his personality by the conclusion of the picture. The same can also be said for Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance as a likable and hard-working detective, despite a good performance from Morgan, he is entirely clichéd in his traits and comes across as a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out. The only encouraging performance of the piece comes from the surprisingly mature Chloe Moretz, who at only fourteen years of age has already established herself as young, up and coming actress.

Aside from the acting and the lack of characterisation, the other glaring flaw of 'Texas Killing Fields' is the complex narrative at the heart of the picture, while Souder is investigating Rule (Jason Clarke) and Levon (Jon Eyez) over the kidnapping and forced prostitution of runaway teenage girls, Heigh is helping Detective Stall investigate the killing fields, and the story of a neglected teenager in Little Anne is also thrown in their for good measure. With so many different narrative streams taking place all at once it is easy to become confused about what is exactly taking place on-screen, who is being interviewed and what criminal case they are actually discussing or investigating. On more than one occasion the editing compliments this confusion by cutting needlessly to a scene or character unrelated to the previous sequence without any standing or context. This constant juxtaposition between cases also ceases any emotional connection to any of the characters or their plights.

Ami Mann had the potential, the actors and the setting to create a film which would transcend the typical crime-thriller picture and instead impose another strong character piece with an engaging narrative upon this cinematic year, however instead she has come away with an almost amateur looking motion picture which does nothing to compliment the genre. While the Louisianan outback masquerades beautifully for the desolate Texan fields, the rest of the film is quite horrible to observe, it is a boring, slow, predictable, one-dimensional crime-thriller that should have never been commissioned for theatrical distribution.

Was it a little hard to follow? Yes. But IMDB has inception rated something like 8.8 and that is one of the most ridiculously hard to follow movies of all time. I struggled to follow many movies. I wish producers and directors would not view movies as a challenge to viewers.

Nevertheless, I thought this was a compelling story, well acted, well choreographed, don't get the IMDb rating.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

Based on true events, this crime drama relates the story of two cops (Dean Morgan and Worthington) down in the Texan bayous who are investigating a series of grim murders of young women that tie back to the titular area.

Shambolic and often incomprehensible, producer Michael Mann's daughter, director Ami Canaan Mann, clearly proves talent isn't genetic. A real shame as despite decent performances from four capable actors, poor camera work and muddled writing completely sink it. The film attempts to go for a gritty, down to earth, often grungy look, befitting the subject, but it instead comes off as on par with a student film, with plenty of lazy, near continuous hand-held cam, bland video quality and tacky lighting. Honestly, it felt more like a cheap reconstruction for 'interchangeable crime documentary show #2383845', and strips a lot of mood and tension out of a film that so badly wants to have style and a sinister ambiance. Having a poor sound mix doesn't help out either.

However, Dom Ferrarone's script is the even bigger offender here; it literally has no idea what it wants to be. By turns, it's a drama, a psychological suspense flick, a social indictment on poverty in the area, a family story, a biopic, a morality tale and even a faux- documentary. Its focus is so all over the map that not only can it be frustrating to follow as the investigation always seems to be interrupted by other aspects, leading to an erratic flow of time and poor pacing, but the characters suffer. None of them are interesting, well fleshed out or even that relateable, which should be a 'no-duh' for this sort of film. Biopics/historical films live and die by the humanization of the figures presented, and sadly, this is more like 'Wyatt Earp' or 'For Great Glory' in this regard, where every one is flat. Only difference is those films at least felt coherent and not chopped up like this one.

Frankly, I'm going to just wrap this up and just say that 'T.K.F' may be one of the worst biopics and crime films I have ever seen, and considering I'm a period junkie, that's saying a lot. This is one pony Daddy Mann shouldn't have bought for his little angel, and instead, shipped to the glue factory.

Well, Michael Mann and family... he was the producer and asstd family members did the heavy lifting. Under his guidance perhaps... and it shows in certain scenes.

The movie drops you into a situation without much background, with characters that have baggage. A confusing bunch of crimes and a smorgasbord of lowlifes and likely suspects.

The first half is somewhat slow and the second half comes out of the gate hard and fast.

Michael Mann fans should see this one.

Apparently this is based on true events which occurred several decades prior spanning for a long time. This film has more so the feel of an episode of CSI or any police crime drama thriller type we have seen before. Also somewhat reminded of True Detective but this was obviously made before that. It starts off slow, picks up the pacing and interest a little in the middle then doesn't exactly reach to great heights as it should have.

Chloë Grace Moretz is possibly the standout in a very early tome portraying a troubled teen. The highlight and climax involves her being ultimately kidnapped with the lead cop (Sam Worthington) finding the killer in the house and ultimately taking them down. The reveal of the killer was far too predictable and rather anti climatic. In the end, this film wasn't anything special and was rather average.

This film might not ever find its audience but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great film. There was something so unnerving about this film. It had its flaws but that was overlapped by an amazing cast and acting. Disregard the negative reviews and give it a chance if you want a crime thriller with deep. Sam Worthington's performance was intense. He bought an underlining perspective to his role. A character bonded by this upbringing and an intuition about the nature of "The Killing Fields". Even if the film was only loosely based on the book it still gave a horrific tale of a place where nothing grows. Not sure what happened with Danny Boyle. Not even sure if he would have brought much to this particular story. He is still one of my favorite directors but this would have been a disaster.