HORSEMEN

Detective Aidan Breslin, a forensic odontology specialist, is called to the scene where a tray containing human teeth is found: at the four corners of the site, the phrase "come and see" is written. Soon enough, a corpse also arrives, a housewife found hanging from hooks inside her own home and flanked by the same phrase. The detective discovers that "come and see" is a phrase from the Book of Revelation, referring to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But the deaths increase, and an unsuspecting culprit is about to contact Breslin to confess his involvement in the case. If there were a prize like "missed opportunity of the year," "The Horsemen" should absolutely win it. Having a story that makes the stereotypes of the thriller genre its strong point is not a small thing, but ruining everything with a series of unforgivable mistakes is quite serious. "The Horsemen" (by the way, what a bad title! For once, it would have been appropriate to find a new one for the Italian distribution...) is certainly not what can be defined as an innovative and original product, on the contrary, young Dave Callahm ("Doom") writes a screenplay that really tries hard to embrace all possible clichés of the American thriller, ranging with disdainful nonchalance from the prototype of the workaholic cop who neglects his children and has a trauma in his past, to religious symbolism for a criminal criterion, passing through the staging of sadistic tortures as is fashionable these days. But can we blame Callahm for the sole fact of being the last to arrive in the writing of a script that by now in Hollywood is customary to pass around like one would do with a joint? Certainly not, also because at least here there is the merit of knowing how to reuse these clichés with knowledge: the stereotypical personal situation of the detective this time has its reason within the narrative evolution, the symbolism of the Four Horsemen is used in a rather captivating way, the tortures for "suspension" represent the necessary "cool" and disturbing element of the story. Unfortunately, the not indifferent merit of managing to squeeze blood from a turnip is undermined by a series of macroscopic defects that are really difficult to accept and understand. First of all, the screenplay presents holes as big as the Grand Canyon that raise the suspicion that some important element has been cut for the theatrical version, especially considering the absolutely unlikely and, in many ways, illogical ending for a myriad of small and large details. The same ending is flawed by excessive peaks of out-of-place sentimentality that would make even the most die-hard fan of Shirley Temple feel embarrassed. Another not negligible flaw is the absolute lack of charisma that characterizes any character who is not the stereotypical (but necessary) detective. Breslin's colleague, played by a Clifton Collins Jr. ("In the Mind of a Killer") styled like a Mexican drug dealer, is out of place in every scene he appears in and has practically no personality, just like the useless Eric Balfour ("Don't Open That Door"; "The Spirit") in the role of the homophobic brother of one of the Horsemen, not to mention Peter Stormare ("Bruiser"; "8mm: Delitto a luci rosse") cast in a small part probably only because he happened to be there one day to greet his friend Michael Bay (here producer with his Platinum Dunes). Even two key characters like those played by the lackluster Patrick Fugit ("Saved!"; "Almost Famous") and the good Ziyi Zhang ("Memories of a Geisha") appear unconvincing and overly approximate. The idea of using the myth of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by inserting it into the reality of today's tech-driven youth discomfort is undoubtedly a good idea, as is the photography work (by Eric Broms) that tends to link places and situations with the colors that belong to the mythology of the Horsemen. A word of praise also for the always good Dennis Quaid who practically manages to hold the fort almost exclusively on his own shoulders. In the director's chair, the Swedish Jonas Akerlund, acclaimed music video director and director of the scandal film "Spun," directs "The Horsemen" with impeccable elegance but also with so much anonymity as to make it comparable to many other productively relevant thrillers that have appeared in the last 15 years in Hollywood and surroundings. Too many, too many flaws in a film that deserved more attention, especially in the screenplay (and editing?) phase. Certainly watchable for die-hard fans of strong thrillers, but the market offers works of a completely different caliber, so why chase after stuff like "The Horsemen"?