‘Untraceable’ Review

B-

     The first time I saw ‘Hostel,’ I remember walking out of the theater confused and thinking to myself, “that was nothing more than a ‘Jackass’ under the guise of torture rather than stunt work! What the hell was the point of that?; to garner as many barf bags as possible?” After getting nothing more, and much less from the sequel last summer, Hollywood has finally given torture for entertainment a reason to exist in director Gregory Hoblit’s cyber thriller ‘Untraceable;’ a thriller that (speaking as a baseball fan) I can honestly say throws a wild pitch at viewers, leaving them with the decision as to whether or not they can catch it.

     Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is a cyber police detective, and single mother, who is heavily devoted to her job as she spends all her nights stalking hackers and financial cons online. She and her colleagues treat every shift as just another night on the job, until they visit a mysterious website known as killwithme.com in which a strange psychopath abducts several unfortunate victims in an array of torture traps that are rigged to maneuver their deadly results as more and more viewers log on. It is now up to Jennifer and her “cyborgs” to track down the killer before it’s too late for the next victim… which could easily be one of them!

     It’s usually predictable that most films can easily lie to the audience upon advertising trailers and TV spots. ‘Untraceable’ appeared to be a whole lot more than it actually was, but there are still some decent surprises to look for in this techno thriller; the problem, however, is that there are too many crucial negatives that could’ve easily made this a killer thriller had they been addressed with better intent.

     As I mentioned earlier, unlike the usual audience, if I’m going into a film that’s going to be a torture fest of blood and guts, then I’m fine with that, just as long as there is a valid reason to sit through it aside from counting my barf bags. If ruthless disturbance ever needed a reason to exist beyond the ‘Saw’ franchise, ‘Untraceable’ was certainly an intriguing way to reach out to a bigger audience. And in terms of good guys versus bad guys, a storyline like this really gives you a push on supporting the right people, but at the same time, keeping you curious as to how far the other side will go with their next contraption.

     Diane Lane has always been kind of a “flash in the pan” for an actress in recent years, but something about the way she gets into character always manages to grab attention. Even if the people around her aren’t getting the same sort of treatment, her leading position is usually enough to carry anyone from beginning to end (which isn’t a long road in this 98-minute thriller), and as you’ll see in a short speech in which she intelligently unravels this thrilling puzzle with gratitude, ‘Untraceable’ is certainly a job well done for her, if no one else.

     Plotting a decent story and casting a good lead, however, weren’t enough to keep ‘Untraceable’ out of the curse of the ‘B.’ Even if it is almost impossible for hackers to firewall their actions for too long, it still seems unfitting to reveal your antagonist within the first hour. I guess showing the killer’s face gives the audience all the more reason to hope he gets a taste of his own medicine in the end, but at the same time, why call a film ‘Untraceable’ when the audience is tracing him for the final hour?

     Reception of ‘Untraceable’ as been heavily mixed online, and it’s no secret as to why that is. I generally try to be nice to every film I see, even if they fall short of expectations, but anyone who loves this film for Diane Lane, or hates it for giving itself away too soon, is certainly in the right to defend their opinion. And as far as criticism of how it “rips off” previous torture porn flicks… so what? Even if they do borrow some ‘Hostel’ material, at least this time there was a good reason to see it; at least good enough to leave the bags at home… take notes Eli Roth.