Old game – Different approach

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Hangman – a child’s guessing game know by many, that was used as the main concept idea for the American crime thriller sharing the same name as the famous game “Hangman”. Directed by Johnny Martin and written by Charles Huttinger and Michael Cassie the movie features such names as Al Pacino, Karl Urban, Joe Anderson and Britanny Snow.

Now the plot of the movie is quite simple and well explained by the name itself – Hangman. A series of murders are conducted in the city, where the killers leaves a victim with an engraved letter in the chest as well as a typical hangman game drawing with missing and revealed letters. An ex-homicide detective Ray Archer (Al Pacino) partners up with criminal detective Will Ruiney (Karl Urban) to solve this case. The two experts are accompanied by young journalist Christi Davies (Britanny Snow), who’s trying to get deeper into the life of a police officer.

The idea of using a well known game as part of the plot could be a good idea. Taking something old and known by many and giving it a new twist. The trio finds themselves in one dangerous situation after another. However at some point the story looks incomplete and as if missing something. The problem probably lies somewhere in the process of making the script. A well know game is combined with a serial killer theme, however nothing original was added.

Detectives unveil the whole logistics behind each crime rather fast, which leave the viewer without any need for guessing. The only questions that needs to be answered is -Who Is the Killer? Movies is categories as crime thriller, however it does lack suspense or the actual thrill part. Every clue is revealed fast with a short explanation and as a viewer you have no need to get deeper into the movie and look for the clues yourself.

Is could be self explanatory as director Johnny Martin started his career as a stuntmen and is trying to get into the directing side of the film industry. He has a few credits as director, writer and producer, but stunts are more dominant. However with a bit of practice combining good stunts with a well developed story is a start for a well developed movie.

Hangman is available on digital download from 4th June