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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Odd but decent little thriller, April 14, 2002
This review is from: Rosary Murders [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"The Rosary Murders" is a fairly satisfying thriller. By today's standards, it is almost sedate. It rolls out its tale of a killer targeting priest and nuns in a leisurely fashion. Considering the high number of victims, the gore factor is kept to a minimum. The `Creepiness Factor', however, is high - lots of dark hallways and uninviting settings. Donald Sutherland plays a Detroit priest who has the bad luck of hearing the killer's confession. The subplot about the priest's wrestling over the issue of the sanctity of confession is actually more interesting than the main story about the killer and his motive. I am not a Catholic, but I have always been fascinated by the idea that a priest might sometimes be forced to carry around some really dreadful secrets. Sutherland does a fine job, although his performance seems to be a bit of a rehash of the characters he played in "Klute" [one of my very favorite thrillers] and the 1978 remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" [a fine sci-fi film]. The great Charles Durning doesn't have much to do in his role as a fellow priest. This is Sutherland's movie all the way.
The script was co-written by the great crime / mystery novelist, Elmore Leonard. Anyone expecting the snappy, cynical dialog and eccentric characters found in his books will be disappointed. I looked up Leonard's script credits and, surprisingly, found that he has never written a cinematic equivalent to his works of fiction.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Adequate but no more, January 6, 2005
Donald Sutherland -giving a somwhat somnambulistic and unengaged performance -plays Father Koestler who realises a psychopath is on the loose in Detroit ,leaving as his calling card a rosary clutched in the hands of the victims .As the body count mounts inexorably he tries and fails to get his superiors to take action
The killer then confesses to Koestler and from what he is told Koestler can figure out the how and why and who of the case but ,being under the seal of the confessional ,cannot act upon his knowledge without doing violence to his priestly views
The movie then evolves into an exploration of his dilemma and how it is resolved .
The pace is slow and the dilemma is not a new one in the movies (see I Confess, the Hitchcock movie for a better movie on the same theme )and the look of the movie is quite bleak .Add to these a somewhat rambling and diffuse script and a lack of brio in both acting and direction and the result is a movie that is pretty heavy going for much of the time
This just about sustains interest but is only really likely to grab die hard mystery fans ; if you want priestly mysteries try either the Hitchcock mentioned previously or else The Name of the Rose ;-both are more rewarding
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Mystery Movie on Incest, November 28, 2011
A great movie and a great author: William X Kienzle - a mystery whodunit that will have you on the edge of your seat. Well rounded cast of actors and this movie is intense. Makes one think after watching the movie for quite some time of what we do which could lead to detrimental conclusions.
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