Résurrection

It’s a routine videotape that can happily sit on the shelves of video stores because this little film lacks quite a lot in all respects when it comes to originality. The thick rain with the blue sky in the background is tolerable, but it’s hard not to notice the boring story, cheaply based on religious fanaticism without a stronger dramatic arc, with the sloppily cast characters (and with an awkwardly made flashback for the central character) and without any aura of mystery around the killer. It's not boring (Mulcahy is more than a solid craftsman), but it's all been done before and better. (07/01/2007)

A similarly constructed plot and equally gloomy atmosphere do not necessarily mean similarity to Se7en. Christopher Lambert deserves credit, as both his performance in the main role and the screenplay are at a very decent level. The brutality and a disfigured bodies are not just for effect, and together with a constant persistent rain, they create a depressive atmosphere similar to thrillers of this kind. Unfortunately, the killer can be guessed during the course of the film. However, they cleverly mislead us, as the film does not end with the revelation of the accused individual's identity, but with the acquisition of irrefutable evidence proving that he is indeed the brutal killer. Decent action, occasionally slightly shaky camera, but it can be endured. Lambert is only unconvincing in demanding scenes. Overall, a solid average. (07/07/2006)

I think it's a terribly underrated movie whose great potential is knocked down because of its alleged rip-off of Se7en, with which it has very little in common. Of course, I’m not saying that Resurrection reaches the quality of Fincher's famous work, no way, but with a really strong and gloomy atmosphere, an interesting and brisk plot and a rush of imaginative and disgusting murders, this film is guaranteed to attract every fan of the genre. And since I am one of them and I enjoyed it very much regardless of the exaggerated and a bit silly finale, I thought about the highest rating. (10/08/2011)

Watching this thriller again after many years was disappointing. Ever since David Fincher made Se7en (1995), filmmakers have been trying to feed off its success, but with poor results. This film is no exception. It started off looking really grim, but I quickly realized that all there was in terms of atmosphere was just rainy weather. The filmmakers seemed to be fumbling around in the dark trying to build tension with sudden musical attacks and panning shots. To be fair, it would have worked for me – if I were ten. By now, I've been influenced by so many movies, TV shows, people, weather, and life itself that I no longer fall for that. I was also not impressed by the pathetically incompetent members of the police force, among whom Detective Prudhomme stood out like a lighthouse beacon, with an intuition that would put Sherlock Holmes' deduction skills to shame, and whose character was given depth by a lamely filmed flashback. While watching this film, I had to make sure several times that I wasn't paralyzed because I was watching the film without any kind of emotion. Fortunately, it turned out I was just dead bored. / Lesson learned. Invite visitors once in a while. They might come in handy. (06/09/2022)