 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: WAZ aka The Killing Gene • Year: 2007 • Country: UK • Director: Tom Shankland • Main cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Melissa George, Ashley Walters • Runtime: 104 minutes • Production company: Vertigo Films, UK Film Council, Ingenious Film Partners • TRAILER |
A personal advise, never pass a straight to video release or tv movie, because then you might find yourself missing some interesting stories. I like TV films, good things can come in small packages, they don’t need to be big boxes with the coolest wrapping paper and lots of fancy “I wish you like it” stickers. Okay, you most of the times might swallow a lot of unwatchable crap, but every now and then you can find some hidden gems that make your day. And out there are more of these gems than you actually can imagine.
So last night, after wondering for a while what to watch, I decided to give a chance to WAZ (also known as The Killing Gene). I’ve had that movie in my shelves for a while and it’s this kind of films that you never feel in the mood to go for. I don’t know why. But at the end I went for it, and that’s a decision not to regret. Still, my opinions are very divided, because it has some of the best and the worst aspects of a movie.
Following the fame of other films with the same phylosophy, WAZ aka The Killing Gene is a police thriller where the case becomes very creepy and sordid. Because of it’s tension, the way the hints appear, the creepy photography and of course the sick murdering acts, this movie can be very often compared with other sick thrillers like Resurrection (1999) (a personal favorite of mine, although not so many people share my opinion) or David Fincher’s masterpiece Seven (1995), along as many others like the SAW franchise. I found the writing of the film very interesting, a good idea and a very effective introduction of the characters and the scenes. But not everything is gold here, because the direction, edition, soundtrack and some other technical aspects of the film are not in the same level as the potential of the movie demands. This is Tom Shankland’s first feature film, basicly a TV director, who evidently had a too big project in his hands. Lots of big acting names who gave good performances but they couldn’t save a movie that was marked to fail. Stellan Skarsgård, who is always excelent, here he feels lost in his character. Melissa George, who has a extense carreer in horror films, can’t imprint the power that her rookie cop character needs. And excelent actors like Selma Blair or Tom Hardy, although they perform their supporting roles with big passion, they stay as a mere anecdote.
I think this is a movie with a big potential that sadly went nowhere. But still, if you don’t get too upset by quite bad technical lacks and mistakes, it’s not so bad. I am a junkie for interesting stories, specially thrillers and creepy scenarios, and this one certainly is. But it disappoints, sadly. Too bad, what a waste.
RATE: 6/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804552
