Untraceable
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| Untraceable | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Gregory Hoblit |
| Written by | Mark Brinker Allison Burnett Robert Fyvolent |
| Starring | Diane Lane Colin Hanks Billy Burke Joseph Cross Mary Beth Hurt |
| Distributed by | Screen Gems |
| Release date(s) | January 25, 2008 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35,000,000[1] |
| Gross revenue | $59,526,723[1] |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Untraceable is a 2008 thriller starring Diane Lane, Joseph Cross, Billy Burke, and Colin Hanks. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and is distributed by Screen Gems. The film is a social commentary on Internet schadenfreude.[2]
Set in Portland, Oregon, the film involves a serial killer who rigs contraptions that kill his victims based on the number of hits received by a website ("www.killwithme.com") that features a live streaming video of the victim. Millions of people log on, hastening the victims' violent deaths. Lane plays the protagonist, a cybercop named Jennifer Marsh, who pieces the mystery together, at great risk to the personal well-being of herself and her family.
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[edit] Plot
Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is a widowed single parent living in a suburban Portland home with her daughter Annie Haskins (Perla Haney-Jardine). By night, she works in the FBI's cybercrime division with Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks), fighting identity theft and similar crimes. One night, an anonymous tip leads them to a website called killwithme.com. The site features a streaming video of a kitten being tortured and killed.
After the kitten's death, killwithme's webmaster (Joseph Cross) "graduates" to human victims and makes their deaths directly correlate with the number of hits the site receives. At a press conference, the public is urged to avoid killwithme, but, as Marsh feared, this only increases the site's popularity. The videos are recorded in the killer's basement and his various victims include a helicopter pilot (by injecting anticoagulant), a newscaster (heat lamps) and Dowd (slowly increasing concentration of sulfuric acid solution in which he is submerged).
At first it seems the victims were randomly chosen, but it turns out that there is more to the story. The first two victims were chosen because they were part of filming or presenting the suicide of a junior college teacher. The teacher's unstable, techno-prodigy son broke down and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. When released, he decides to prove a point (that the public is insatiable for the suffering of others), as well as wreak vengeance on those he feels have exploited his father's tragedy. Dowd was killed because he came close to the truth of who the murderer was and Marsh, who figures this out, is soon targeted as well.
Marsh escapes her death-by-mulcher by swinging out of the way while dangling from the ceiling. She ends up breaking free and gunning down the murderer just as the other cops show up, Marsh kills Owen on his own website.
[edit] Cast
- Diane Lane as Jennifer Marsh
- Colin Hanks as Griffin Dowd
- Billy Burke as Eric Box
- Joseph Cross as Owen Reilly
- Mary Beth Hurt as Stella Marsh
- Perla Haney-Jardine as Annie Haskins
[edit] Reception
Untraceable opened on January 25, 2008 to generally negative reviews, receiving a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 106 reviews.[3] Several critics viewed the film as hypocritical for indulging in the "torture porn" it condemns.[4][5][6][7] It also met criticism for its climax which was seen as devolving into horror film clichés.[4][8] Some criticism has also made mention that the film's plot recycles the premise of the television series Millennium (season 2, episode 13 - "The Mikado") as well as the "Party Girl' episode of the series Without a Trace (season 3, episode 15). Lane, however, was praised for her performance in the film.[9][10] The film opened poorly, with an opening weekend of $11.3 million, below the $35 million budget. It was a moderate financial loss as it has so far made $50.9 million worldwide. [1]
[edit] Production
The film was shot in and around Portland, Oregon. A temporary studio was constructed in Clackamas, Oregon where all non-location photography was done, mostly interiors, including the FBI's cyber division, Marsh's house, the FBI building elevator, several basements, etc. A scene set on the east end of the Broadway Bridge was shot both on the actual bridge as well as at the studio. A faux diner was built underneath the Broadway bridge, which was used in the movie. The construction of this set took less than twelve hours. The birthday party for Haney-Jardine's character was filmed in the roller skating rink of Oaks Amusement Park.
[edit] DVD release
On May 13, 2008, Untraceable was released on DVD. The DVD included an audio commentary and four featurettes.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Untraceable (2008). Box Office Mojo, LLC (March 2, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
- ^ Murray, Rebecca (2008-01-23). Diane Lane Talks About 'Untraceable'. About.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Untraceable at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ a b 'Untraceable': Film revels in torture porn it condemns. Northwest Herald (2008-01-24). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Long, Tom (2008-01-25). Grisly 'Untraceable' embodies what it pretends to expose. The Detroit News. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Neman, Daniel (2008-01-25). Torture porn genre gets 'Untraceable' treatment. inRich.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Newman, Bruce (2008-01-24). 'Untraceable': Streaming horror. San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Mastrantonio, Rilio (2008-01-25). Untraceable. Hollywood Snitch. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Hornaday, Ann (2008-01-25). 'Untraceable': Snared In Its Own Sordid Trap. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
- ^ Diane Lane helps add life when script grows cold. NewsOK (2008-01-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
