Here’s a nightmarish noir based around the population geneticist George R Price’s mathematical equation of W delta Z. Price’s theory disproved the existence of altruism and claimed that the concept of selflessness was a fallacy. This bleak conclusion is matched by the relentlessly grim tone of Tom Shankland’s movie, with PUSHER cinematographer Morten Soborg shooting on high-definition video in suitably grungy (and seamlessly integrated) Belfast and New York City locations. The look – oppressive, colorless – seldom allows the penetration of sustained natural light and recalls both the oft-imitated style of David Fincher’s SE7EN and 70’s urban-hell movies such as TAXI DRIVER.
Technically, this is a revenge movie, though it feels more like a grim serial killer flick and never quite ties itself down to any one genre. Selma Blair cuts a memorably unhinged figure as a disturbed young woman attempting to disprove Price’s theory by giving her victims the unhappy choice of perishing themselves in horrible ways or killing a specially selected loved one. All this is part of a vengeance-mission following the horrific bottle rape/murder of her mom. Joining the dots and tripping over mutilated bodies are feisty lady cop Melissa George (something of a genre regular following THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, TURISTAS and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT) and dogged colleague Stellan Skarsgaard.
A curious cast – also including British TV regular Paul Kay as an oddball early suspect – is topped by a terrific Skarsgaard as a deeply ambiguous “hero” whose many shades of grey and harsh fate befit the film’s unforgiving horror-noir mood. Although the pacing borders on the ponderous at various points and the derivative visual trappings negate some of the script’s more original aspects, WAZ is a compelling, impressively downbeat combination of sombre police-procedural thriller, SAW-era sadism and unexpected emotional drama.
It pays off, surprisingly for a self-styled “smart” thriller, with grueling torture and gore, as a key character is stripped, tied to a chair, has spikes hammered under his fingernails, his genitals mutilated and throat slashed. (To think, some of us pay good money for this kind of treatment at “Helga’s House of Pain”!). If you can get past an un-involving opening stretch and the occasional tinge of pretentiousness, this movie yields some surprises and rewards.
-Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
