"Lookout" director Scott Frank's "A Walk Among the Tombstones" qualifies as a gripping but rather creepy thriller. Audiences didn't embrace this atmospheric murder mystery when Universal released it. This $28 million production coined $26 million domestically and another $26 million internationally, for a grand haul of $53 million. Presumably, audiences must have imagined that it would be like his far-fetched but entertaining "Taken" franchise. Actually, while he earned far less money than the "Taken" movies, "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is far more interesting with its offbeat anti-hero and its two warped murderers. Writer & director Scott Frank adapted Lawrence Block's thriller and created a number of compelling characters as well as sinister villains for his yarn about two enigmatic individuals who like to abduct women off the street in broad daylight, haul them away their van, and then carve them up for the sadistic pleasure that they derive from doing it. Squeamish spectators are warned in advance to approach this one with discretion. The villains contact people close to these unfortunate women and offer to return them for a ransom, but they refuse to hold up their end of the bargain. They kidnap a drug dealer's girlfriend, chop her up into brick-sized packages, and leave her in the trunk of an abandoned car.
Far from being an invincible champion like Bryan Mills in the "Taken" franchise, Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson of "Non-Stop") is a former NYPD detective with an alcohol problem. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous and Scott incorporates material from AA into his screenplay, particularly in a graveyard stand-off scene. It seems Scudder was minding his own business sitting in a bar when three killers barged in and blew away the bartender. When they saw him, the killers cut loose on Scudder. Scudder returned fire, pursued them into the street, and kept blasting away until he had killed them all. During this fracas, an innocent bystander—a seven year old girl--took one of Scudder's stray slugs through her eye and died instantly. Although he received a departmental commendation, Scudder quit the force after this incident. Since he has quit the force and joined Alcohols Anonymous, Scudder makes his living as an unlicensed private eye.
Peter Kristo (Boyd Holbrook), the brother of Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens), approaches Scudder because he knows him from his AA meetings. Kenny needs help because two men have kidnapped his wife and he cannot go to the authorities. While he searches for these two homicidal fiends, Scudder befriends a homeless African-American urchin, TJ (Brian 'Astro' Bradley), and the kid serves as a gopher. Mind you, this suspenseful New York City saga is unconventional and somewhat off the beaten path that Neeson has taken since he became an action-hero in the first "Taken" movie. One of the creepiest characters is an accomplice who works as a grounds keeper at a cemetery. Scudder and he meet on the roof of a building where the grounds keeper raises birds. The grounds keeper tells Scudder how he meet the two men who had somehow acquired DEA files on certain drug dealers. After their conversation, the frightened grounds keeper, clearly fearing reprisal from the killers, steps off the roof and plunges to his death. Lenser Mihai Malaimare Jr. captures the grit and grime of the urban sprawl of jungle. The only drawback to "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is that you know the protagonist isn't going to die because Block has written so many novels about him. The two killers that he pursues are pure evil. Our hero is a vulnerable guy, and his ultimate fight with the villains in their basement is chilling.
Far from being an invincible champion like Bryan Mills in the "Taken" franchise, Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson of "Non-Stop") is a former NYPD detective with an alcohol problem. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous and Scott incorporates material from AA into his screenplay, particularly in a graveyard stand-off scene. It seems Scudder was minding his own business sitting in a bar when three killers barged in and blew away the bartender. When they saw him, the killers cut loose on Scudder. Scudder returned fire, pursued them into the street, and kept blasting away until he had killed them all. During this fracas, an innocent bystander—a seven year old girl--took one of Scudder's stray slugs through her eye and died instantly. Although he received a departmental commendation, Scudder quit the force after this incident. Since he has quit the force and joined Alcohols Anonymous, Scudder makes his living as an unlicensed private eye.
Peter Kristo (Boyd Holbrook), the brother of Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens), approaches Scudder because he knows him from his AA meetings. Kenny needs help because two men have kidnapped his wife and he cannot go to the authorities. While he searches for these two homicidal fiends, Scudder befriends a homeless African-American urchin, TJ (Brian 'Astro' Bradley), and the kid serves as a gopher. Mind you, this suspenseful New York City saga is unconventional and somewhat off the beaten path that Neeson has taken since he became an action-hero in the first "Taken" movie. One of the creepiest characters is an accomplice who works as a grounds keeper at a cemetery. Scudder and he meet on the roof of a building where the grounds keeper raises birds. The grounds keeper tells Scudder how he meet the two men who had somehow acquired DEA files on certain drug dealers. After their conversation, the frightened grounds keeper, clearly fearing reprisal from the killers, steps off the roof and plunges to his death. Lenser Mihai Malaimare Jr. captures the grit and grime of the urban sprawl of jungle. The only drawback to "A Walk Among the Tombstones" is that you know the protagonist isn't going to die because Block has written so many novels about him. The two killers that he pursues are pure evil. Our hero is a vulnerable guy, and his ultimate fight with the villains in their basement is chilling.