This film is far from the worst horror entry I've seen, and it is one of the more unique films in recent years. It has some twists and turns, and the killer is genuinely scary in the vein of Son of Sam or the Zodiac.
Of course, they threw in some gay dudes for some odd reason, that get killed in a silly way, and some other usual lovers. The couple at the beginning was just plain stupid, though, as they spot a man with a sack on his head staring at them menacingly from the bushes, and the boy in the car says, "Just some peeping Tom; don't worry." -- Yeah, sure. No worries. There is just some maniac weirdo staring at me while I get it on in a car, in the middle of nowhere at night, wearing a mask. Sure, happens to me all the time. They usually just want to take some photos and share a beer with you after you bone your date. What an idiot!!! We were laughing about that one for quite a while.
Another issue, which is cliche in horror movies, is the lack of people around in EVERY killing. Like, I get it-- the killer stalks and waits for perfect moments and victims, but come on!!!! Something in real life always goes wrong, and random people show up in all sorts of places and in ways you couldn't plan for. In this film, the killer seems to roam the streets, apartment buildings, gas stations, and fields, all with impunity at night-- even though everyone, including Texas Rangers, are looking for them to kill again. A woman leaps from a hotel or apartment building and gets in a car, only to have the killer follow her down there and stab her all over the car. She couldn't lay on the horn or scream? No one heard all the breaking glass and fighting and yelling going on in a big building in town? No one ever sees a big dunce with a potato sack on his head wielding weapons? At least he used a silencer for some kills, but it was very convenient that no one ever seemed to be out or aware of anything at night, in a small town where people keep getting murdered. In that region, I would expect everyone to be armed, dogs on alert, alarms, patrols at night, traps to be set,-- something...lol
Oh, and Anthony Anderson was miscast as the lead Ranger detective in this. He did ok with the part, but I felt it was distracting and odd, as I so used to seeing him in raunchy comedies and sitcom stuff, and he didn't really seem like the type to be a Texas Ranger. Danny Glover or Tommy Lee Jones, yeah. Anthony Anderson? Uhh, kind of bizarre lol
Everything else was pretty good, acting is good, and it has some different stuff that you haven't seen in every slasher movie, but like so many others in the genre, this one just couldn't produce a finishing finale for all the hype. The ending really made no damn sense at all. Two guys in on the killing? One is a cop? The other is a boy that was clearly shot by a Marine at a public vigil, in front of 100 people. How the hell did one cop get to file the reports, forego the autopsy, forge death certificate paperwork, and fake a burial, etc.????
There were way too many people on the scene, and the guy was a high school or college student that everyone knew. He didn't have anyone check on him or his funeral? The police didn't investigate the shooting and weapon used, and do any further research on what happened? Apparently, they just let one cop check a gunshot victim for vital signs, and then the cop buries the kid in a swamp, alone, with no more questions asked. Unless I missed something, that is the idea behind the final twist at the end. The ending is so bad, it nearly ruins an otherwise decent slasher mystery movie.
Of course, they threw in some gay dudes for some odd reason, that get killed in a silly way, and some other usual lovers. The couple at the beginning was just plain stupid, though, as they spot a man with a sack on his head staring at them menacingly from the bushes, and the boy in the car says, "Just some peeping Tom; don't worry." -- Yeah, sure. No worries. There is just some maniac weirdo staring at me while I get it on in a car, in the middle of nowhere at night, wearing a mask. Sure, happens to me all the time. They usually just want to take some photos and share a beer with you after you bone your date. What an idiot!!! We were laughing about that one for quite a while.
Another issue, which is cliche in horror movies, is the lack of people around in EVERY killing. Like, I get it-- the killer stalks and waits for perfect moments and victims, but come on!!!! Something in real life always goes wrong, and random people show up in all sorts of places and in ways you couldn't plan for. In this film, the killer seems to roam the streets, apartment buildings, gas stations, and fields, all with impunity at night-- even though everyone, including Texas Rangers, are looking for them to kill again. A woman leaps from a hotel or apartment building and gets in a car, only to have the killer follow her down there and stab her all over the car. She couldn't lay on the horn or scream? No one heard all the breaking glass and fighting and yelling going on in a big building in town? No one ever sees a big dunce with a potato sack on his head wielding weapons? At least he used a silencer for some kills, but it was very convenient that no one ever seemed to be out or aware of anything at night, in a small town where people keep getting murdered. In that region, I would expect everyone to be armed, dogs on alert, alarms, patrols at night, traps to be set,-- something...lol
Oh, and Anthony Anderson was miscast as the lead Ranger detective in this. He did ok with the part, but I felt it was distracting and odd, as I so used to seeing him in raunchy comedies and sitcom stuff, and he didn't really seem like the type to be a Texas Ranger. Danny Glover or Tommy Lee Jones, yeah. Anthony Anderson? Uhh, kind of bizarre lol
Everything else was pretty good, acting is good, and it has some different stuff that you haven't seen in every slasher movie, but like so many others in the genre, this one just couldn't produce a finishing finale for all the hype. The ending really made no damn sense at all. Two guys in on the killing? One is a cop? The other is a boy that was clearly shot by a Marine at a public vigil, in front of 100 people. How the hell did one cop get to file the reports, forego the autopsy, forge death certificate paperwork, and fake a burial, etc.????
There were way too many people on the scene, and the guy was a high school or college student that everyone knew. He didn't have anyone check on him or his funeral? The police didn't investigate the shooting and weapon used, and do any further research on what happened? Apparently, they just let one cop check a gunshot victim for vital signs, and then the cop buries the kid in a swamp, alone, with no more questions asked. Unless I missed something, that is the idea behind the final twist at the end. The ending is so bad, it nearly ruins an otherwise decent slasher mystery movie.