Customer Reviews

American Crime

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This movie has been royally panned by most of the reviewers. It is not the sort of movie that appeals to the average person looking for a slasher film or murder mystery. It will not appeal to someone who looks for a simple linear development and pat ending. The people reviewing it were most likely looking for that kind of movie, and did not get what they anticipated. So it makes sense they would be dissatisfied.

I am not a fan of your traditional action style slasher flicks. I will confess that I picked it up because I wanted to gawk at Rachael Leigh Cook. However, I found it to be very interesting. It is an amalgum--a parody of the sleazy(typical)television reporting we get today as well as a murder mystery/horror film.

One reviewer comments that you couldn't recognize Cary Elwes for all the make up. I must say that is one of the major things I loved about the film. Throughout the film I was especially impressed with the actor portraying the British television personality. It must have been close to the end of the film that I wondered when Cary Elwes was going to show up. I was floored when it dawned on me that Elwes was the British journalist. His quirky, against-type performance was outstanding. In Hollywood lore the quickest way to an Oscar is playing against type

On a visceral level there were times when I was a little frightened. But what got me was the various themes presented that provided food for thought. There were parts of the film that were confusing and the ending did not let you see the killer, but tying all the strings together is not something I require in a movie or novel.

I am more than pleased that the divine Miss Cook led me to a thoughtful, off-beat viewing experience.

In theory, there is an entertaining, and perhaps campy, satiric crime drama buried in "American Crime." At a very minimum, the film setup leaves you expecting a clever narrative device. This would, at least, have distinguished the film from the thousands of other movies that go directly to DVD. But any cleverness is soon forgotten in this blustery, overacted piece of nonsense. Too serious to be real "dumb" fun, too ridiculous to be taken as a straight thriller, and too silly to be seen as a media savvy satire--there really isn't much that works in "American Crime." It's a bit of a shame, too. With this cast and concept, a more focused screenplay and tighter direction could have made an effective little picture.

I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of "American Crime." Shot in the documentary style of "true crime" TV expose shows, the film tracks a possible serial killer. Seeing the film footage being reported on an actual TV program is a great idea and an interesting approach, you are lured into thinking that the film might really have a novel point of view. However, we soon step away from this concept and into "real life" scenarios. What is interesting, though, is that these scenes are also being filmed by characters within them. This movie, then, might have been unique had all the footage used been shot from a camera within the story (ALA the clever filmic technique of "The Blair Witch Project"). This seems to have been too much work, too, and any notions of the interesting narrative device enhancing the story are abandoned when regular camerawork soon takes over everything.

The story itself is a rather overheated bit of fluff. Rachael Leigh Cook, Kip Pardue and Annabella Sciorra play a local TV news crew on the track of a big story--a serial killer no one believes is real. Battling ineffective law enforcement and each other, they start to attract the attention of the killer. Cook becomes so freaked out that she may be targeted, she promptly abandons her job and life and moves away. In steps Cary Elwes as an "American Crime" correspondent to cover the story for national broadcast. Playing somewhat comically (which may or may not be intentional), these three spend the rest of the film seeking the truth and possibly putting themselves into harm's way. Seriously, several times I hoped the professional and intelligent combo of Scooby and Shaggy would help these morons investigate the crime more effectively. That's how silly it is!

Through it all, Elwes overacts (a common trait)--but, at least, it can be amusing at times. And I'll take my amusement where I can in this film. Like I said, the film seems to aspire to comment on the hypocrisy and complicity of TV programs in creating fame-seeking murderers--but the link is not well established (even though it's an easy target). So the film fails at satire, in addition to everything else. A silly disappointment that had the potential to be clever, but was too lazy to follow through with anything original. KGHarris, 02/07.

AMERICAN CRIME is one of those low budget films that goes directly to DVD for very good reasons: it obviously wouldn't have gathered an audience in theaters even among fans of scary movies. So why take it from the shelf to rent? Well, with stars like Annabella Sciorra, Cary Elwes, Kip Pardue, and Rachel Leigh Cook it would seem SOMEONE had faith in the project...

From the opening titles sequence there is a suggestion that this film may be a parody. Even when the film starts its grisly story it is done in a semi-documentary fashion with film clips, overrides, whiteouts, choppy editing, but when the narrator is a crime investigator in bad makeup and silly character demeanor (Elwes) then there is a question as to whether director Dan Mintz and writers Jack Moore and Jeff Ritchie had anything on their minds other than setting the audience up for a sequel to a film that simply doesn't merit one.

Story? Serial killings are videotaped, deemed fake porno by the police, but thought to be clues by the staff of the local Kansas TV News station - Sciorra, Cook, and Pardue. Elwes nerdy American Crime reporter enters the picture and it all goes downhill form there. Yes, there are some scary moments in dark houses filled with odd TV screens retrofilming actions, and there are the requisite bloated body shots that beg indulgence. But the worst aspect of the film is that it has no ending except for a setup for a sequel. No spoilers here: there is nothing to spoil!

So why give it three stars? The idea of a filmed parody of how the media handles crime - making its own case for blurry truth and blame and leaving the facts to blow in the wind - is a good one: witness the current media blitz for the Blake, Peterson, and Jackson trials. But that thread of an idea gets diluted by the product that results from this mess of a film. It could have been significant - especially with actors of this quality who try their best to make it all work. Grady Harp, March 05

0 stars! I just watched this movie and it was one of the kind that you really want to just stop watching, but since you paid money to rent it, keep watching, thinking it might get better. I wish I would've taken it out because the acting was terrible and the movie was one of the worst I've ever seen.

Normally I don't write reviews but after reading all the horrible reviews for this movie( the highest being only 3 stars), I feel I should express my opnion, perhaps? I watched this movie on StarMovies, and I really really enjoyed it.
It's true that the script was very weird and not put together properly, so at the end I couldn't really get what form the movie was in.. and it's also true that the film does not have a proper ending and is extremely unsatisfying in that department.
However, in some weird way, I enjoyed it immensly. It wasn't boring. Atleast, I didn't think it was. There was good suspense. The actors were not doing a bad job! they were perfectly good to me. It was different. That was what I liked about it most. It was not predictable, there was a nice mysterious atmosphere to it. Some cheesy but satisfying ideas.It might not have been a great movie, but I felt it was very entertaining! And it was scary! Isn't that all that matters? The choice of material for the "crime" was very interesting. the film was enough to make me terrified of flashing red lights on camcorders for a long time.'
And you might say that's just because I get scared easily. Or just that I don't know anything about movies and I'm by no means an expert. You'd be right, though.But I liked it, and if I need to be an expert to dislike this movie, then that means this movie isn't really as bad as it's made out to be. I'll just say this: either this movie really deserves different opinions, or I'm stupid and the movie sucked. If it's the latter, you should just ignore this review.
That's all, and a good day. >_<

I like this film a lot. It is not so much a horror film as a satirical spoof about serial killers and mass media intrusion (with the media driving the killers and the killers driving the media) but it still works as a thriller. It has labyrinthine depths and a very dry sense of humour. This film should appeal to fans of indie movies and art films. It has a great central performance by Cary Elwes with one of the strongest cinema characters of recent years. A charming cast, immaculately done, for me this is one of the best films of the last decade.

I bought this DVD thinking it was "An American Crime," which I discovered was due out 01-19-07. Nonetheless, this "American Crime" movie had me on the edge of my chair. Great film (of this type).

I must say that "American Crime", for all its flaws, did bring a smile to my face. "American Crime" is a movie about a serial killer who films his victims before and sometimes while he kills them. Employees of a news station discover the tapes made by the killer as he deposited different tapes at the news station itself. So, since the police don't buy into their story, these guys decide that they will try to crack the case all by themselves. However, when one of the news station people leaves town, Albert with "American Crime" decides to get involved. To me, it is Albert's character who almost makes this movie worth watching. Played by Cary Elwes, who proved to me that he can flat-out act, Albert's exaggerated English accent and demeanor are nothing short of hilarious at times.

Of course, the problem is that "American Crime" is supposed to be scary, and while it has a moment or two worth noting as being potentially creepy, I must agree with other reviewers that this movie's documentary style becomes VERY annoying VERY early and hurts the movie. "American Crime" is plagued by what I would call "lazy plot execution", a theme only too common from the horror movies we've seen over the last 20 years. Indeed, the execution is largely a failure, the acting is okay for this type of movie but "American Crime", in its attempt to be different, falls flat on its face in its ability to create any atmosphere or sustain any suspense. Quite frankly, it has a couple of creepy moments, a couple of funny moments (Elwes), but it fails in its essential purpose. "American Crime" is uneven, disjointed and lacks substance even if it has a sense of style, but the problem is that the style it uses works against the grain of the movie and annoys the audience. I would not buy this movie or rent it, but if you catch it on the tube, watch it for Elwes's character...he's pretty funny. In the end of the movie, the creators of the movie think they are being clever and while they do keep you guessing, one can only muster a half-hearted wry smile by the time the credits roll. 1.35 STARS for Elwes and a couple of creepy moments, but this movie is a 10 on the annoying meter.

The film begins with a scene straight out of any run-of-the-mill horror story. There are three people in a van driving down a dark country road speaking obliquely about their destination and purpose, but making an awful lot of noise while doing so - "hurried" noise, to, one would suppose, thrill us. Soon they discover that another vehicle, then several vehicles are following them. This heightens their intensity significantly and they all yell at each other in a hysterical manner.

Suddenly, a pickup truck appears out of nowhere and they crash head on into it. They climb out of the van (we have learned that they are a news crew by now), and confront the people. Then we find that these kind folks called the news crew. So wait! At first, it seemed that they were hostile towards the crew. But now that we know they aren't, it would make sense that they drop the redneck nonsense. Like I said in the above paragraph: straight out of any run-of-the-mill horror story.

This is our first, of many, indications that the film will not make sense.

They contacted the crew because they found something, and are eager for a monetary award. While leading the crew to the "something", one of the rednecks is flirtatious with the reporter (Rachael Leigh Cook), actually touching and kissing her hair many times while she lamely swatted at him. Their behavior, and her reaction, is unbelievable.

The director lost me with this scene. And I imagine he lost most of his audience as well.

Then came Cary Elwes came on playing a blunderbuss of an "investigative reporter", and the movie spiraled out of control and fairly well collapsed into an ending that made as much sense as the beginning.

Someone out there is killing girls and videotaping them. Jesse, played by Rachael Leigh Cook (Tangled, She's All That); Jane, played by Annabella Sciorra (Underworld (1996), Law & Order: Criminal Intent) and Rob, played by Kip Pardue (The Devil's Pond, Rules of Attraction) all get involved with a show called American Crime hosted by Albert, played by a very annoying, lame and disappointing Cary Elwes (Saw, The Princess Bride). The cast is extremely wasted, why would Kip, Annabella, Cary and Rachael sign up for this huh? Where they dragged into it? Anyway, by the end I was ready to skeet shoot this DVD out the window. Badly directed and the actors dont even look like their giving a damn.
Also starring Wade Williams (Candyman: Day of the Dead, ALI), Julie Cialini (Playboy Playmate I read) and Michael O'Neill )Dreamcatcher, Seabiscuit). Pass this trecherous toxic waste. Plays out more like a comedy.