Choose (2011)

Directed by: Marcus Graves | 83 minutes | drama, horror, thriller, crime | Actors: Katheryn Winnick, Kevin Pollak, Nicholas Tucci, Bruce Dern, Richart Short, Alexi Wasser, Lenny von Dohlen, Cady Huffman, Billy Kay, Billy Magnussen, Tom Cleary, Shana Dowdeswell, John Rothman, Cathy Ladman, David Iacono, Kate Nauta Henry Baker, James Riordan, Oliver Solomon, Jason Good, Trip Langley, Patrick Noonan, Barbara Ann Davison, Lisa McCullough

Moralistic killers in movies always have something interesting. Not because they are necessarily more realistic or more frightening in their behavior, but the viewer can do a little more with them. In a way you can put yourself in these people’s shoes a bit more and you can even get a certain admiration for their methodology and perseverance. The killer in ‘Se7en’ is a good example. He intrigues not only because of his moralistic reasons, but also because of the way in which he manages to effortlessly manipulate the heroes in the film through his great intellect and knowledge of human nature. The Jigsaw killer from the ‘Saw’ movies is another manipulative moralist, just like the killer from Bill Paxton’s directorial debut ‘Frailty’, although the latter had a slightly more religious component. The killer in ‘Choose’ also seems to be such an intelligent killer on a mission when in the first scene a girl is given the choice by this sadistic killer to kill her mother or father. If she doesn’t choose, they both die.

It is, of course, an impossible choice, and it is completely inhumane for her to have to carry out the judgment herself. Even though her choice will leave her with at least one parent, it is a trauma she will never get rid of. It is a horrifying scene but the question is what exactly the killer wants to show with this. It is probable that some choices should not or cannot be made. Is that the lesson: that you should not present certain choices to people? But when the killer’s true motives become clear – which can be guessed quickly, by the way – it turns out to be not so much a choice, but more an inhumane wish or decision. The choices that the killer presents to the rest of his victims are also not real brain teasers in the sense that the decisions say something essential about a person or the way in which he makes choices. It is all lead for old iron and besides, the killer eventually does what he wants.

An interesting case is shown in an institution where a deranged doctor was researching the way people make choices: a boy who should spend many more years in the institution is asked if he would kill a puppy in order to immediately to go outside. He refuses. “But what if I told you he would be killed in the shelter anyway?” asks the researcher. That makes it a bit more difficult. It is also interesting to investigate choices that say something about the possible egoism or altruism of humans. Does he always want to save himself in the end? ‘Choose’, however, turns out not to be really interested in these kinds of questions, and gets bogged down in a predictable plot with an uninteresting murderer who mainly wants revenge and has few “higher” motives.

Unfortunately, the other murders in the film are a bit disappointing in terms of tension, and also in terms of gore they have little creamy to offer. The actors do their best, with lead actress Katheryn Winnick still reasonably succeeding in creating a character that the viewer can and wants to identify with. Veteran Kevin Pollak seems to be operating a bit on autopilot as a detective and the protagonist’s father, but he’s also quite countered by the silly script that keeps him very passive and on the sidelines, even when his daughter clearly indicates she’s being stalked. be by the killer. Eventually he becomes more active but it is all a bit too late.

The music is atmospheric, as is often the camera work and lighting, which make scenes more exciting than they “should” be. Stereotypical scenes in which the heroine takes a bath, takes a shower, opens and closes the medicine cabinet (with mirror), or walks up a flight of stairs in the dark, are often quite effective. It’s a shame that this usually ends in an anticlimax, but the setup is good.

‘Choose’ has an interesting concept in itself, but unfortunately the makers don’t really know what to do with it and opt for the easy and predictable way out in the motivation of the killer and the design of the research. The sometimes wooden dialogue and characters that just don’t take shape finish the picture in a negative sense. The starting point is nice, the film starts exciting enough, and music and camera work create quite a bit of atmosphere, but unfortunately it’s not enough to recommend the film. If you have the choice: let ‘Choose’ pass you by.