D.C. Sniper

The most surprising thing about this amateur effort re-telling the true story of the Washington, D.C. shootings that were perpetrated by a guy shooting out of the tail light of his adapted car is that it was directed by Polish director Ulli Lommel, the guy who brought us THE TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES and THE BOGEY MAN all those years ago. I had no idea that he was still working (or even still alive) and reduced to making straight-to-DVD junk these days.

The ONLY - and I mean ONLY - good thing about this film is Ken Foree, one-time star of DAWN OF THE DEAD. Foree plays the main villain of the piece and around half the running time is made up of him ranting to the camera about various facets and flaws of modern society. Sadly, the script is atrocious so a lot of what he's coming out with is absolute nonsense, but Foree is still good value and the only reason I bothered watching this rubbish to the end.

Sadly, everything around him is terrible: the supporting cast of non-actors are wooden beyond belief (including the director himself in an unwise acting role) and the direction is amateur. The various kill scenes, although gory, are robbed of any suspense or shock value thanks to the poor way in which they're conceived and shot. D.C. SNIPER isn't the worst film I've ever seen, but it's certainly very close to the bottom of the scale.

I could sit here and give you 100 reasons on why this movie was terrible, but it seams thats already been done instead ill write down 10 things id rather do. 1. Id rather eat a brick sandwich then to even think about the fact that i had to drive down to return this movie. 2. Id rather slow roast in a oven then have to watch this Samuel Jackson wannabe act again. 3. Id rather listen to a nickelback album 3 times in a row than watch this pathetic low budget cam cording disaster. 4. Id rather eat myself from the toe up then watch the first scene. 5. I would rather grind my teeth along a chalk board for 9 minutes then have to listen to that cockroach speak again. 6. Id rather jump in a pool of lava headfirst then to even look at the front cover again. 7. Id rather put a grenade in my mouth and pull the pin then think about this movie again. 8. And last but not least id rather slowly chop my own head off with a spoon and then feed myself to a pack of wolves then even think for one more minute that this movie somehow made it overseas. Thankyou and i hope this review helped

D.C. Sniper (2010)

** (out of 4)

If the title of the movie you're watching in some way, shape or form mentions a recent serial killer then more than likely you're viewing an Ulli Lommel flick. This time out he takes on the sniper shootings that terrorized the D.C. area and we have horror legend Ken Foree (DAWN OF THE DEAD) playing the man guy behind the killings. If you're looking for a history lesson of the actual events then it's best to look somewhere else because this film is just like all the others in this non-stop cycle of "real event" films coming from Lommel. Apparently they're doing well on DVD so I guess we shouldn't expect any of them to stop anytime soon. This film, co-written by Lommel and Foree, is actually a step up from many of the previous films for a couple reasons. The first is that it appears Lommel was actually trying to make a movie instead of just swinging the camera around for no apparent reason. The film is still shot on a digital camera but it looks a lot more professional than earlier films. Another major plus is that the editing is also pretty good and the sniper killings contain some mild tension. Another reason this film works is because of the performance by Foree. It's not Oscar-worthy material but he fits the role nicely and you can certainly tell he's giving it his all. The rest of the supporting players (including Lommel) aren't that strong but none of them are too horrible. It should also be noted that this isn't a horror movie as it actually tries to come off as a political thriller. The sniper shootings contain quite a bit of blood so that might please those coming to this for violence. We get a couple supporting characters, undercover FBI guys, and their side stories really aren't that interesting. Another negative thing is that we get a lot of dialogue, which I'm sure those familiar with the recent work of Lommel will expect. This film certainly isn't going to make Lommel any new fans but those, like myself, who continue to watch everything he releases will probably agree that this here is a step up. It's certainly not perfect and not even close to being good but we at least get to see Foree in a big role.

Seeing that three consecutive reviewers gave this atrocity of a movie ten stars simply adds to the insult. I really don't know who is worse.....Uli Lommel for making it or whoever bought it for distribution. The true story of the snipers was compelling enough for the movie to have stayed true to the facts. If Lommel had wanted to make things up, he could have had a screenwriter build it from scratch. Instead he went on the cheap and exploited what was a horrible tragedy and sold it as a true account. Virginia plates on the car. No. New Jersey. A removable tail light through which Malvo shot the victims. Hardly. The snipers drove around with a visible hole cut from the trunk. Lommel never even shot any scenes outside California. And then there were the keystone cop detectives walking around the monuments (where none of the shootings occurred) watching tourists with binoculars as if that ever happened... All the while spouting patriotic drivel. This story and its victims deserved an honest movie. Lommel and the three reviewers who raved about this mess of a movie should be ashamed of themselves.

This was hands don't one of the worst movies I ever attempted to watch. I could tell from the first 20 seconds that it was going to be bad. After the first 5 minutes, this was confirmed. The best thing about this film is that it gives encouragement to aspiring filmmakers, directors, and actors. It shows that even if you're horrible a horrible actor, working for a poor director, and an awful production crew, on a gut-wrenchingly horrible film, that one day that film may be shown to millions of unsuspecting victims around the globe.

Don't waste your time. In my top 10 of Worst Movies Ever. Piece of trash.