Untraceable is a True Horror Film in its Portrayal of Man as Horrific
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Horror Queen Says: Bloody Thumbs Up!
Written by BHM Contributor Horror Queen
Release: January 25, 2008
Directed by Gregory Hoblit
Written by: Robert Fyvolent, Mark R. Brinker and Allison Burnett
Starring:
Diane Lane as Jennifer Marsh
Billy Burke as Detective Eric Box
Colin Hanks as Griffin Dowd
Joseph Cross as Owen Reilly
Mary Beth Hurt as Stella Marsh
Meet Jennifer, a widowed mother and FBI Agent extraordinaire, and her co-worker Griffin. Both are working late catching thieving internet hackers when in comes an alert about an “untraceable” website called Kill With Me.com. Apparently an alarming number of viewers are logging on to watch a cat meet its demise via live streaming video. As word gets out and viewership increases, the deaths continue. But they’re no longer limited to animals. You guessed it - human beings. And they’re killed in such a way that the more viewers watching, the quicker the victim dies. For example, one man is exposed to increased increments of sulfuric acid every time someone goes to the website. Over time the killings take less and less time as millions log on. Shocked?
The obvious question is: why are people looking at this website knowing they are literally assisting in someone’s death? Untraceable takes the view that human beings are by nature drawn to the macabre, so much so that they cannot help but get involved. This is not a new concept. Why do we stop to watch the aftermath of a car wreck? Untraceable takes it one step further – as if we are now helping to cause the car wreck, or as Griffin points out in the film “we are the weapon”. Remember - it’s not just nut jobs looking at Kill With Me.com, its millions of average Joes.
Of course, the FBI didn’t help matters when they allowed the situation to be broadcast on the news which of course drew in more spectators to the website. Duh.
One of our heroines, Detective Box wonders “when did the world go so *!#@ insane?” Actually this concept of man’s inherently violent nature is not new; it’s just taken on a global application in the age of the internet. Not unlike the Gladiators of yesteryear, we may just be demented animals getting enjoyment from watching others suffer.
Inevitably as Jennifer’s determination to catch the killer grows, the tables turn and she becomes the victim. How did the killer find her within high security government firewalls? Hint: When you’re an FBI Agent, don’t let your eight-year old daughter play with your computer.
All in all Untraceable is a unique and thought-provoking film. After all what is more frightening – the killer in the room with a victim or the killer in all of us! Questions or comments about Untraceable? Contact us!
Horror Queen Says: Bloody Thumbs Up!
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