The Ugly (1997) by Scott Reynolds

Director: Scott Reynolds

Year: 1997

Country: New Zealand

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Serial Killer

Plot:

Arriving at his holding cell, a psychologist tries to dig into the mind of a serial killer condemned to be executed and starts to go through his memories to learn how and why he did what he did, eventually uncovering the dark secret behind his rampage, and tries to help him.

Review:

Overall, this was an intriguing if somewhat flawed genre effort. When this one works the best is when it's focusing on the interactions between the two of them in the interrogation room, as everything feels quite unnerving and chilling with how they play off each other. With the entire presentation appearing as if he's the poor, pitiable loner who's trying to get women to notice him only to go too far in that regard and brutally kill them when rejected or when he can get away with everything, it soon becomes a case where he's not to be trusted being with her as the series of manipulations and mind games start to make themselves known. It's unclear whether he's telling the truth or simply telling her what she wants to know so he can get something out of it, as the manipulation is never quite clear in the midst of the various flashbacks, it all trigger.

With that in place, the film's struggles with how to place the series of flashbacks involving his crime spree, which are a bit of a mixed bag. The idea behind some of the stalking scenes is quite nice, with the montage of shots involving him stalking unsuspecting victims and taking them out after a brief struggle and brutally killing them, including some of the more detailed attempts to do so as well. The fact that the majority of these scenes are accomplished with an appallingly obvious series of kills focusing on the unrealistic ink-colored blood rather than more traditional coloring, which is immensely offputting once everything becomes clear, that's a choice that continues throughout the film. While it seems like a solid choice at first, which gives this a touch of inhumanity to what's going on, it becomes rather underwhelming and irritating the more it carries on.

Likewise, there are a lot of issues with the presentation of the killer's backstory, which, while it might've been quite intriguing and original back then, becomes a nearly intolerable cliche now. The idea of a serial killer who had a troubled childhood and was bullied at school, had a mother who was abusive to him as a kid, and hears voices in his head telling him to kill isn't all that interesting nowadays when it's incredibly common to see this kind of setup utilized so a lot of the flashbacks to his childhood looking at these factors isn't all that interesting to see play out. Even though it's possible to still enjoy what's going on as a means of getting into his head and understanding what he's about, as a whole, this now becomes a bit more flimsy and obvious about the experience leading up to everything. Much like the hit-or-miss aspects of the film, this might or might not be that big of a deal, though.

Overview: ***/5

A really likable if flawed take on the genre, there’s enough to like here that it’s immensely likable for what it is while being let down by the other issues present, which are somewhat personal factors anyway. Those with an appreciation for this kind of approach or who are curious about it will have a lot to like, while most others out there might want to heed caution.