The Ungodly starts as amateur filmmaker Mickey Gravatski (Wes Bentley) shoots serial killer James Lamac (Mark Borkowski) on camera killing a woman, Mickey wants to use his power over James to his advantage & blackmails James into being the star of a documentary about real life serial killers. At first Mickey thinks that he has a strong hold over James but James isn't stupid & manages to find out where Mickey lives & kidnaps his mother. With the life of his mother in the balance Mickey has to do exactly what James wants & is forced to film his horrendous crimes, Mickey can't take it anymore & decides to use his wits to corner James more & regain the upper hand in the ever increasingly twisted relationship...
This Spanish American co-production was executive produced, co-written & directed by Thomas Dunn, more widely known in the US under the title The Perfect Witness it really doesn't matter what title you see it under as it's crap. I guess the makers were going for an edgy little crime thriller in a very gritty, documentary style which I just found as dull as dishwater & throughly boring. Far too predictable with some gaping logic holes like when Mickey eventually turned his tape over to the police didn't he realise he would get into trouble for not handing it over sooner? What did he intend to do with the footage that he shot of James? As a serial killer wouldn't Mickey have been in trouble for not turning him in? What about the other people James murdered? The script portrays Mickey as a caring guy who loves his mother & wants to do the right thing but surely hiding evidence & letting a serial killer walk around free is a direct contradiction? Also why does James let Mickey get so close? If James is so careful why introduce Mickey to his family? Why does James make Mickey film his crimes? Anyone? Can anyone say that the script deals with this fundamental questions? The script takes itself very seriously & you get the feeling the makers were deadly serious about the whole affair but it just didn't work for me, the character's are poor, the whole thing is predictable, it's boring & at one hour & forty minutes long it outstays it's welcome long before the final credits roll. I suspect that the makers attempted to try & get inside the mind of a serial killer but it's all clichéd stuff & not that interesting, James was abused as a child & has lots of little prophetic sayings but very little else, no menace, no personality & no believability for me.
Certainly not a horror film The Ungodly is much more of a gritty thriller that is neither gritty nor thrilling. At all. What is up with the bizarre totally random scene in the elevator? There's no proper special effects of gore, like most recent low budget flicks just some blood splatter on the floor or on people's faces or on the wall or, well, you know what I mean.
Apparently filmed in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, it looks sort of cheap although, again, I think because of the documentary style I think it was intentional & an artistic choice. The acting is bad, I didn't buy anyone for a single second. James needed a much stronger actor while Mickey was very middle of the road & neither her nor there.
The Ungodly is crap as far as I am concerned, it doesn't get into the mind of a serial killer & is totally boring & lacks any excitement or blood or gore or intrigue or mystery. You know what? Just watch something else instead.
This Spanish American co-production was executive produced, co-written & directed by Thomas Dunn, more widely known in the US under the title The Perfect Witness it really doesn't matter what title you see it under as it's crap. I guess the makers were going for an edgy little crime thriller in a very gritty, documentary style which I just found as dull as dishwater & throughly boring. Far too predictable with some gaping logic holes like when Mickey eventually turned his tape over to the police didn't he realise he would get into trouble for not handing it over sooner? What did he intend to do with the footage that he shot of James? As a serial killer wouldn't Mickey have been in trouble for not turning him in? What about the other people James murdered? The script portrays Mickey as a caring guy who loves his mother & wants to do the right thing but surely hiding evidence & letting a serial killer walk around free is a direct contradiction? Also why does James let Mickey get so close? If James is so careful why introduce Mickey to his family? Why does James make Mickey film his crimes? Anyone? Can anyone say that the script deals with this fundamental questions? The script takes itself very seriously & you get the feeling the makers were deadly serious about the whole affair but it just didn't work for me, the character's are poor, the whole thing is predictable, it's boring & at one hour & forty minutes long it outstays it's welcome long before the final credits roll. I suspect that the makers attempted to try & get inside the mind of a serial killer but it's all clichéd stuff & not that interesting, James was abused as a child & has lots of little prophetic sayings but very little else, no menace, no personality & no believability for me.
Certainly not a horror film The Ungodly is much more of a gritty thriller that is neither gritty nor thrilling. At all. What is up with the bizarre totally random scene in the elevator? There's no proper special effects of gore, like most recent low budget flicks just some blood splatter on the floor or on people's faces or on the wall or, well, you know what I mean.
Apparently filmed in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, it looks sort of cheap although, again, I think because of the documentary style I think it was intentional & an artistic choice. The acting is bad, I didn't buy anyone for a single second. James needed a much stronger actor while Mickey was very middle of the road & neither her nor there.
The Ungodly is crap as far as I am concerned, it doesn't get into the mind of a serial killer & is totally boring & lacks any excitement or blood or gore or intrigue or mystery. You know what? Just watch something else instead.