Untraceable

Review by Sean Lynch

If it were 1993, Untraceable (the latest in a long line of 'cops-vs-crazily-inventive-torture' films) would be considered a classic of the genre along with Seven and Silence of the Lambs.

If it were 1998, Untraceable would be lost in a crowd of these sort of entertaining but forgettable cop flicks which flooded cinemas (and preceeded the TV Cop drama's which essentially changed the face of TV viewing throughout the early 2000's) along with The Bone Collector and Copy Cat.

If it were 2004, Untraceable would likely be coupled in some kind of 2-for-1 matinee with one of the Saw movies.

But it's not '93, it's not '98 or '04. It's almosts the end of the first decade of the new millenium we were all so scared of, and as it stands, Untraceable seems to have been beaten to the punch.

The flick follows the lives of a several officers of (you guessed it) the FBI. Their division is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting criminals on the internet (you know the type - the ones that steal your banking information, exploit underage girls, etc, etc). This is well and truly the front lines of the war on cybercrime, where Special Agent Jennifer Marsh (played by the smoking hot Diane Lane) has pretty much seen it all.

...That is of course until a tech-savvy internet predator starts displaying his graphic murders on his own website - and the fate of each of his tormented captives is left in the hands of the public: the more hits his site gets, the faster his victims die. From here we throw around phrases like "it's a race against the clock", "Game of cat and mouse", etc, etc. You know the drill.

The thing is, Untraceable is actually pretty damn good. It's edge of your seat stuff, the performances are well rounded (Lane is the sexiest woman the far side of 40, while Colin Hanks continues to prove he is more than just his dad's son) and there are some genuinely creepy moments on offer. Moreso, it even has a message to it all, and isn't simply just an excuse to think up some creative ways to kill someone (although, I must admit, sticking a man in cement then cooking him alive with lightbulbs is somewhat impressive).

The real issue is the audience knows exactly how it's all going to play out, and chances are, you could probably see something just as entertaining each night of the week on CSI or Law & Order. But much like visiting a theme park - sometimes it's fun to go on the same ride more than once, even if you forget about it on the way home.

3 out of 5

Untraceable
Australian release: 24th April, 2008
Cast: Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Website: Untraceable