Untraceable (2008) User Reviews

Good enough to be worth your while, probably not to own.

[RetepAdam · 6/10 · 25 January 2008]

The movie had a few things going in its favor. For one, it used reasonable technology and background, so the story wasn't far-fetched. Secondly, and most importantly in my eyes, it did NOT go for shock value. It didn't try to use gore to elicit a reaction from the crowd. Not to say that some scenes weren't rough on the eyes, but it was far from a Saw or Hostel. Thirdly, it honestly kept me on the edge of my seat for a good portion of the movie. And lastly, the ending does not drag itself out. It ends at the logical point.

That having been said, this movie will not change your life. It's a little bit of a commentary on society, but moreso, it's just an entertaining movie to watch.

Untraceable (2008) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 10 February 2008]

Entertaining thriller about a crazed young computer geek who becomes the deranged moderator of his own "Kill With Me" live internet feed where he displays new victims being slowly tortured to death. The more hits he gets at his site, the faster the people featured on his webcam die. This is disturbing in making us realize what depths we've sunk to in our society, and what morbid curiosities can do. I especially liked that the 40-something Diane Lane is the star as the police woman who tries to apprehend the killer, instead of relying on the usual Jessica Alba or Sarah Michelle Gellar "honeys" of late.

*** out of ****

Same old song, and dance. Not talking about the movie.

[Mudbug711 · 6/10 · 4 February 2008]

Well, I can say one thing about this movie is that is was very original. Most of the pessimistic losers out there who are fans of 'Gorror' movies will cry, and complain that it was a rip-off of the Saw series. Yeah, yeah... whatever. In reality... THIS could ACTUALLY happen. And the saddest part, is that people would log onto the site to watch THAT happen.

This movie was a little slow... It is not an action movie, does not have any nudity, no car chases, no monsters, no sex, no love triangle, no street fighting.. so the average movie-goer will find it lame, slow, and boring. I like slower movies, lets you think as you watch. Diane Lane was good, but not super. She has had better, no... much better roles. Joseph Cross plays a really creepy bad guy, with sick twisted emotions.

The movie was not great, but is surely was not a bad film. I believe if you are a real fan of Murder mystery, police detective films, with some thriller thrown in, you would, or may like this flick. With ONLY 1 Hr. and 40 Mins. if someone complains about length, they need to get checked for A.D.D. or they need to stick to teen-age comedies like Strange Wilderness, or Meet the Spartans.

Check this movie out with an open mind, don't let the pessimists cloud your idea of this film. It is an innovative film, with a good cast, and the shots of Portland, Oregon are not bad at all. I will actually give this film a 6 1/2 out of 10.

The new computer crime of hostage taking and gruesome torture it's internet terror.

[blanbrn · 7/10 · 1 February 2008]

With the internet and cyberspace so common in everyone's life today, plus with the reported upswing of crimes like identity theft and pornography on the net in it's own way "Untraceable" is very relevant and common with today's times. "Untraceable" a crime computer thriller that's set in Portland, Oregon it involves an investigative computer unit of the FBI headed up by a single mother Jennifer Marsh(Diane Lane). Interestlingly the unit comes across a website of a creep who broadcasts live torture and killings of hostage victims in various grisly ways live over the internet. The bloody catch is the more the web surfer logs onto the sick website, the faster and quicker the victims will die in the various forms of bleed outs, fried by hot mirrors, or seasoned by sulfuric acid. The drama only gets more interesting when the computer of Jennifer is hacked into by the sicko setting up for a dramatic finish and showdown encounter. Lane gives a fine performance as a serious investigative agent, and yet no matter how grisly that many scenes are the theme of net crime and hacking overpowers and gives a strong message of awareness even over the well liked and popcorn moments of torture and nasty horror. Overall "Untraceable" is not a bad flick nothing great, yet it's enjoyable and does hold interest by making us aware of the web crime and hacking identity problem.

Diane Lane get's it done again

[texrangers31 · 7/10 · 31 January 2008]

As I have stated before, I love scary movies even though I get frightened by everything. Untraceable caught my eye the first time I saw a trailer for it. The plot is very fast paced, and you will find yourself playing detective while watching. The best part of this movie is that it doesn't go for cheap scares, such as something jumping out or ominous music at key points in the film. If you can handle a little bit of gore, you should be fine. The ending won't blow you away, but you shouldn't be disappointed either. This is a solid film that isn't too scary, but it's no Muppet movie. Colin Hanks is solid as usual. The killer didn't quite meet my expectations on the creepy scale, but he is serviceable.

intriguing premise overcomes indifferent execution

[Buddy-51 · 6/10 · 7 August 2008]

Writers Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker and Allison Burnett, along with director Gregory Hoblit ("Fracture"), have come up with a humdinger of a premise for their dark thriller "Untraceable." It seems that a techno-savvy serial killer has set up a website where people can go to watch him torture and murder his victims in real time. The kicker is that the degree and speed of the torture are in direct proportion to the number of viewers logged onto the site, thus making the general public morally complicit in the crimes. The always superb Diane Lane really classes up the joint playing a cyber-cop who is not only hot on the trail of the killer, but might actually be one of his intended targets as well.

The idea for "Untraceable" is probably better than the movie itself, yet, despite its weaknesses, this is a reasonably engrossing and gripping thriller, provided one can stomach the sleaziness of the material and the too-clever-by-half "ironic" ending (the movie is at least more believable in its approach than the similarly-themed "The Condemned"). "Untraceable" certainly has some depressing things to say about our natural human propensity for sadism and voyeurism, and it raises the terrifying prospect that we will now be able to use modern technology as a means of satisfying our bloodlust with total impunity. The movie might have had a sharper moral and ethical edge to it had it featured some common-folk characters debating within and amongst themselves whether or not to log onto the site, knowing that, by doing so, they would be contributing to the death of a fellow human being. But because the writers fail to incorporate such scenes into the screenplay, the premise never gets much beyond the "intriguing idea" stage. Still, the concept is compelling enough on its own to keep "Untraceable" a few steps ahead of the psycho-thriller pack.

A Decent Police-Horror Combo Thriller

[tabuno · 7/10 · 21 January 2019]

25 January 2008. This played straight movie incorporates elements of SAW and MANHUNTER (or RED DRAGON) into a fusion film that carefully balances the creepy horror elements with an intelligent thriller. The plot is tight and there is a delicate underlying element of fear and anxiety built from the very beginning of the movie. The relationship between the two primary FBI agents this time around is much more authentic without the typical emotional cliques. The reveals are handled well. The music fits the movie and paces it well. The photography and shot angles add to the movie's intensity. Overall, this movie elevates itself and adds a new and important angle regarding the internet, mass media, and the issues of blatant exploitation and almost public lust for violence and disaster. UNTRACEABLE avoids being pandering and avoids being exploitative itself, the horror is presented not in exciting and titillating terms but more in a repulsive and rejecting manner. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't allow for the full development of the antagonist character and still appears much more two-dimensional even though he does across as a person to be reckoned with. In other words, this movie could have been significantly even more than what it accomplishes. Seven out of Ten Stars.

Great story line.... deserves a higher rating!

[mikeymex · 8/10 · 7 December 2009]

Im sorry but the ratings people have given this film totally don't represent the true value of this film. Okay I bought this film not knowing what it was and for £3 it is one of the best DVD buys i have made. The story line is unique.... displaying the internet to be a dangerous murder weapon. And the acting is pretty good.

The fact the film does not feature an a-list celeb maybe puts the film down a bit in some peoples eyes. I think everyone would be buzzing if the bad guy was someone along the lines of Kevin spacey/John Malkovich. But thats been done before! People have to learn that a good film does not have to have the cast of oceans 11 to make it a great film.

Give it a watch and tell me what you think...definitely deserves a higher rating!

It was pretty decent

[leonmessyb · 6/10 · 19 July 2022]

Very clever villain and some really interesting strategies and manoeuvres to capture his victims. The plot is a bit cliche once revealed. However, there's enough to keep you engaged and it is at least watchable. I feel some bits could have been better and some decisions by characters seemed questionable but overall a decent film.

Rental at best

[huiyt · 4/10 · 24 January 2008]

Movie was slow moving in general, the plot was simplistic and is a smash between the Saw series and a CSI episode, but potentially less entertaining than either of the two. There was gore and disturbing content which in my opinion may have been inappropriate for the story. It could have been just as powerful without the disturbing pseudo-snuff film scenes as a police film and the suspense could be maximized, or the director should have made the call to make it more like a Saw movie, maintain the disturbing content and bring that fan base in. The target in my opinion was broad, drew in viewers who will be disappointed. Overall, if the movie moved a little quicker, or was potentially less graphic it might have earned a 6. To sum it all up, it was 20 minutes longer than it should have been and was misguided. Potentially worth a rental but even questionable in that case.

Unbeatable

[KoolCatReviews · 7/10 · 19 June 2022]

Some how you can't beat 2000s suspence horrors. We some times take them for granted but they are a whole genre on there own really. Even though the Internet has come along way and makes this seem a little bit dated it dies make up for in the nostalgia front. The broody setting of settle just give me those 2000 vibes. This movie stands out enough to make it worth a watch and honestly very enjoyable. There are one or two moments that exposes the plot but other than that is a soild film.

A Nutshell Review: Untraceable

[DICK STEEL · 6/10 · 9 April 2008]

So I thought I'd take a break from the Festival and get down to some regular screening of what some would deem as the usual products from the usual assembly line. Untraceable became that movie, because the poster here had Ebert giving it a positive rating, but everyone else I heard had panned it. Directed by Gregory Hoblit, who was at the helm of one of my favourite movies Frequency, I thought I'd give it a shot.

The premise was interesting enough to appeal to geeks, at least some parts of it. A serial killer with the technical know-how sets up a site, and uses the power of the internet as well as the voyeuristic nature of the online denizens to aid in the kills, meaning the more hits the site receives during an online, live execution, the faster the victim will die. Needless to say should he slap an ad on the site, it'll rake him enough dough to retire. And the police can't do anything about it because of bureaucratic red tape in terms of jurisdictions, and of course, the killer being a gifted cracker.

In the veins of torture porn movies, it does showcase some rather sick though innovative ways of brutally dispatching someone, although it doesn't resort to ramping up the gore element unnecessarily. There were some nifty visual effects and makeup, but for those weaned on the Saw franchise and its wannabes, then Untraceable doesn't provide anything new. So goes the usual cliché storyline of cops, led by Diane Lane's FBI Agent Jennifer Marsh, Colin Hanks' Agent Griffin Dowd and Portland Detective Eric Box (BIlly Burke), going after the elusive killer whose only presence is online, until it becomes personal and hits closer to home with the obvious plot development involving family and friends.

But unlike its title, there's nothing much untraceable about this hunter and prey game, and provides you with very little connection or psychological challenge in outwitting, outlasting and outplaying each other. It doesn't attempt to build up the great "unknown" about the killer in a whodunnit fashion, and only weaves through a connection of convenience. However, Untraceable does have genuinely tension building moments, and you do find yourself sitting at the edge of your seat during certain segments, but that's about it, as the rest of the time, it's just plain sailing in expected waters.

I felt that while it had some message to say about online netizens and anonymous chatter in general, it doesn't quite achieve what it had set out to do. You get to see snapshots of essentially a chatroom with its mindless discussions and terrible shorthand with typos, which probably is something you'd be accustomed to should you visit any chatroom anyway. Also, Hollywood still couldn't get away from designing some really snazzy login menus and user interfaces that end users in the real world will probably drool over, or laugh at its cumbersomeness.

What really plummeted the movie to B-grade movie territory is the ending. No worries, no spoilers here, but really, it ended with plenty of bravado and the cheese was just too thick to swallow. Seriously, watching Diane Lane did whatever she did, sent my eyeballs rolling upwards sky high. Promising premise which didn't allow for its plot to keep pace.

Had much more potential

[jakethesnake-42007 · 5/10 · 27 April 2021]

Prime example of a movie with a great premise but overall falls flat. The premise is good and it hooks you right away it's a mixture between saw and silence of the lambs and maybe that's where the film suffers. The acting is good in the film to. The main flaw is the premise is good but it works at times and then it doesn't at other times. If the film was just a psychological thriller it would of been way better but instead the film doesn't know if it's a horror slasher film or a psychological thriller. Overall the film is not bad it's an ok film but there's nothing special about it.

Sick killer, good cop, and disappointing ending.

[jessieong · 6/10 · 26 January 2008]

This film is too intense for most audiences. I was very glad I did not take my wife with me to see it. I teach computer networking, there is no way the killer in this movie could possibly do all the things he did. The film uses the unknown of how networks are managed to create fear for the public. Believe me, the FBI Internet police would have a lot more capability than this killer.

Diane Lane is one of my favorites. I wish she would choose her roles better.

Lastly, I was very disappointed with the ending of the movie. This movie did not have near the appeal of Silence of the Lambs.

Underrated

[Dragoneyed363 · 8/10 · 5 June 2008]

That is the one word I will tell you perfectly sums up and describes my opinions towards this awesome film and it's bogus reception. Untraceable was a suspenseful thriller with great action, fun death strategies, and wonderful acting, that has a ridiculous amount of unappreciative reviews and hate aimed at it in all the areas that a lot of people have no problems with in other movies.

Diane Lane was a great actress in this film. As I have said, the performances are excellent, and she of course gives the best and she made the movie totally believable and enjoyable. While there were of course flaws, I found the story line and the movie itself to be great entertainment. I found myself yelling at the screen and telling the people in the film what to do, and I am not that interested in a film unless it manages to get my adrenaline up, which I find as a positive factor in few cases whilst viewing a movie.

There were things I found predictable, and of course the film gets a little out of hand at times, which as I said, it's not flawless, but it wasn't meant to be, and most of the time I was so interested in the movie that I wasn't making any presumptions or criticizing the faults. This was a wonderful film, that is under appreciated and if you haven't seen it, I recommend you do if you are capable of being lenient on these sorts of films.

Another Below-Average Typical Thriller

[Chrysanthepop · 15 May 2008]

While it has some effective cinematography and nice-to-look-at high-tech, 'Untraceable' is nothing but a typical snuff thriller. The characters are all clichéd, unintelligent and, with the exception of Hanks's Griffin and Diane's Jennifer they lack dimension. The plot is predictable and uninteresting. The story suffers from too many plot holes. The ending is funny (though the director's intention was clearly something other than drawing laughter from the viewer). It's very funny how the director portrays all American internet surfers to be thirsty for a glimpse of torturous death. Among the plus points, Diane Lane performs well (but her character is the typical crime-fighting single mom/widow which one has seen in n number of movies. Colin Hanks gives a natural performance but one wonders why an actor of his calibre chose to play a less significant role in a below-average thriller. The same question applies to Ms. Lane. Billy Burke is abysmally wooden and his dialogue delivery is laughable especially when he swears. The swearing, while adding to another movie stereotype where the coppers swear a lot, feels too forced. Joseph Cross horribly plays the typical teen psycho. There's really nothing else to say. 'Untraceable' has nothing to offer. The only thriller concerning snuff movies that is of high quality is Amenabar's 'Tesis' and 'Untraceable' is nowhere near that.

This is how thrillers should be written and directed

[alexjaymain · 6/10 · 10 June 2022]

This is a good solid overall movie, not the greatest movie of all time but not the worst. Story is interesting and compelling. Half way though the story seems to loose steam but then it brings you right back into the action. Acting is 6.5/10. I would definitely recommend this movie to those people that scroll and scroll looking for something to watch, this is entertaining and well written, so why not give up 90 minutes to watch a good film? Very strong 6.

Mildly engaging but full of Clichés and Plot Holes

[kingp_35 · 5/10 · 22 April 2008]

Director Gregory Hoblit (of Primal fear fame) gives us a mildly engaging Horror/Thriller that could have been so much more. The premise of Untraceable is interesting and important in today's society but the execution is laboured and very disappointing. The plot focuses on a crazed killer who creates a website called www.killwithme.com where he streams live videos of people being killed in ever increasingly creative and torturous ways. The morbid curiosity of humans is the driving force behind the killings as the more people who log onto the website the quicker the person dies. This plot line should have allowed the director all manner of possibilities to explore current societal problems, but instead we are dealt a run of the mill film filled with all the usual clichés and a bucket load of plot holes.

Thumbs up

[seanroger-82963 · 7/10 · 10 August 2020]

I enjoyed watching this movie. I think it was credible for the most part. The plot was decent, not too many head scratching moments explained by excessive scene editing/cutting. I recommend this movie. It's a great reminder not to open links in emails from people that you don't know.

Intense

[Ide-Clair · 7/10 · 21 September 2020]

The premise is excellent...it grabs you. The scenes are too graphic for me, though... I am not able to watch the torture of people or animals, and I had to mute the volume and turn away from the screen many times.

Sure, it's thrilling - but also terribly irresponsible.

[Yagamei · 6/10 · 5 April 2008]

I liked this film, I'll admit that right off the bat. Though I'm not an advocate of the seminal "torture porn" subgenre that has emerged in recent years, I felt that the creativity of the torture methods is worth noting. The use of killing methods that evoke a bodily response from the viewer (we know what it's like to be sunburnt, we've all stumbled with acid in grade 9 science) makes for a truly terrifying set of spectacles. And on top of that, the acting is pretty solid - solid enough that you'll feel like you're watching an episode of Law and Order, albeit one that takes pleasure in emphasizing its gorier set pieces.

So, why a 6? Because this film is hopelessly irresponsible in its depiction of modern internet culture and technology. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this film was made by a panel of conservative old men in white slacks and collared golf shirts; many of whom believe that, in light of the occasional depravity (I have no doubt that Saddam Hussein's YouTube hanging inspired this narrative), all the youth of today wants to do is watch people suffer.

This narrative assumes that the "YouTube Generation" (as much as I hate that connotation to begin with) consists of a legion of voyeuristic savages whose primal curiosity of the forbidden outweighs their capacity for morality. When people in Film Studies programs around the World write essays on this film (If I can even give it that kind of credit), they will be getting a very, VERY flawed message. For the most part, the only insight YouTube provides us is into the playful, sometimes imaginative minds of todays teens - whose postings are overwhelmingly harmless. The recent streaming video explosion is not the CAUSE of our fascination with death, it is at best just another MEDIUM to expose a tendency that has existed as part of the human condition for as long as we've been around.

Beware foolish moves by victims....

[nitestar95 · 1/10 · 18 May 2008]

It really is a shame that anyone likes this movie, and tells their friends that it's a good one. But, like so many slasher movies, it's for the idiots to watch. I fell for a recommendation from a co-worker, and rented this POS. The victims do everything that a killer could ask them to do, in order for him to trap them. I wonder if real serial killers check people's high school I.Q. tests to find stupid victims; the way many of these movies are written, it seems like it's probably a good idea. Much like poking the sleeping monster with a stick to see if it's dead or just sleeping, this movie relies on having stupid characters do stupid things in order for the killer to succeed. Sad.

Untraceable

[rajdoctor · 6/10 · 22 March 2008]

I had seen the trailer of this movie so many times, that for the sheer interest of the theme I went to see this movie.

The story is about the FBI squad agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) who is ruthless in breaking the internet codes of any sites and tracing the culprit down within seconds. She faces challenge when a website – KillWithMe – goes online. The idea is that the more people visit the site the faster a person will die who is shown via online stream on internet. Even after 2 episodes, the site remains untraceable - the third person to be picked is one of Jennifer's team member Griffin (Colin Hanks) and later Jennifer herself is kidnapped for live stream of her death. It is half-way through the movie the person Owen Reilly (Joseph Cross) behind the crimes is shown. As expected in the end Owen is killed. There is also a male lead in the movie, Detective Eric Box (Billy Burke) – I think it was an unnecessary character for this movie.

Diane Lane has acted very well as the agent and a mother. Joseph Cross as the psycho internet dude looks lethal.

Director Gregory Hoblit has done a commendable job, much better than the last year's release Fracture. The movie maintains to keep the audience interest in the events unfolding at a rapid pace.

It is so amazing to see the the lethal villain of every movie becomes a little bid dumb in the end – I do not know why? Anyways the movie was interesting; no harm if you have time to kill on hand. There are a few gory scenes in the movie, so be prepared for it.

(Stars 6 out of 10)

Predictable an just plain bad

[hendry-robert · 2/10 · 11 May 2008]

I don't understand how this movie could acquire so many positive reviews. The fact is this movie is utterly predictable from the very first opening scene to the ending credits. Storyline, acting, and the music all serving up a feeling of I have seen and heard this many times before.

The film portrays the internet as a place where surfers only enjoy seeing other people suffer. I guess to anyone not familiar or has used the internet would watch this movie and then happily advocate internet controls which would basically be a system controlled by government. Of course this is something to be resisted because the Internet has become the last bastion of free speech.

I couldn't wait for this movie to end simply because I knew exactly how it was going to and indeed did pan out. I must also say that it wouldn't have mattered which character bought the farm in this movie because I couldn't care less about any of them.

The message in this movie is that we have become a society with zero morals (which could in fact be correct)but the sickest of all are the internet users where the only joy they will get is to watch humans suffering live on TV or the internet. I believe this is an extremely cynical point of view and what this movie actually promotes is what it portrays to be against.

The only thing this movie will do is simply add to the frenzy of calls to have the internet controlled by government who will duly oblige given the chance. Well they are already trying to get it done by spreading fear of identity theft and in general the gullible masses are now beginning to believe that the moment they input their credit card details in to a computer their immediately a victim of identity theft. But as well all know, or at least all of us who use the internet for many reasons including and what I consider to be the most important of all and that is to seek out the truth when it comes to news the internet is in fact the last bastion of free speech, well in Europe it most definitely is.

My negative review isn't because I fear this movie is shocking enough to have governments reaching for the control switch. In fact the movie isn't shocking at all. Its just a plain bad movie from start to finish. If you like predictable poorly written scripts and movies with no character depth and sanitised death scenes you will like this. To me it stank to high heaven of a made for TV movie

Unwatchable

[momtion · 1/10 · 3 February 2008]

Dreadful-- abosolutley dreadful. That describes "Untraceable," a serial killer film starring Diane Lane as the FBI agent out to catch a murderer. It's an interesting premise-- a killer who uses the Internet to torture and kill his victims-- but aside from that this movie is not worth anyone's while. There are moments where the acting is so histrionic and melodramatic you can't help but laugh. Some of the characters are underdeveloped, inclduing, in my opinion, the main character, and the script wasn't exactly up to snuff.

But the kiss of death for "Untraceable" is its predictability. Assuming you're a half-smart person, you can tell who the victims will be, where the killer will not be, etc. The movie also ends somewhat abruptly, and the closing shot is utterly stupid and does not fit in with the scene.

Say this for the methods of torture-- they are creative. But watching this movie is much like getting tortured within itself.