Review of Surveillance (2008) by Walter M — 08 Jun 2010

In "Surveillance," FBI Agents Anderson(Julia Ormond) and Hallaway(Bill Pullman) are in pursuit of spree killers who have recently struck again near a small town, leaving only three survivors that they want to talk to for any information they can provide. However, they are not exactly the most trustworthy of witnesses. To start, Stephanie(Ryan Simpkins) is a little girl in a state of shock. Bobbi(Pell James) is a drug addict. Police officer Bennett(Kent Harper), who was wounded in the attack, would be able to provide the clearest recollection if he did not have something to hide himself.

"Surveillance" is all about first impressions which is important. And my first impression from this movie in its opening montage was to expect a run of the mill slasher movie and I was not that far off the mark, as like most of its ilk, a certain nasty strain of nihilism rules the day. To be fair, there are a couple of neat exchanges, like the opening one between the two FBI agents. So, you can see there is a certain intelligence at work here but it is a very condescending one. Not only does the movie think it is smarter than it actually is, but the filmmakers feel they are superior to the characters, most of whom are small town policemen who are simply drawn as one dimensional idiots.