Criminal mind, concentrate of what has already been seen

Faint glow in the dark reveals features John Malkovich, with his long white hair, keen on drawing. Next, we see the body of a woman turned into an angel and crucified in a church.

This is the beginning Mindcage – Criminal Minda 2022 film by Mauro Borelli released in Italy on June 8, 2023. A thriller that tries to refer to the classics of the genre, but does so in a derivative and unoriginal way.

Story mind cell

Serial killer shakes the city. His peculiarity is that he is a copycat of another famous killer who five years earlier killed six women and a policeman, The Artist (John Malkovich). Detectives Mary CallieMelissa Roxburgh) and Jake Doyle (Martin Lawrence), then seek the latter’s help in getting into the mind of the copycat assassin in order to capture him. As Mary descends into the twisted but brilliant psyche of the Artist, she and Jake are drawn into an increasingly tangled series of clues, a race against time to stay one step ahead of both criminals.

mind cellalready seen something

mind cell start creating then suspense and mystery, following the stories of two detectives and trying to uncover the plots of a serial killer on the sly. What is most striking is the similarity of some of the dynamics with the cult films and series loved by the general public. A young and cold-blooded detective visiting a serial killer in prison can only remember Silence of the Lambsand the dynamics of the murders and references to biblical and satanic mythology are reminiscent of products such as Seven AND True detectivepassing through Twin Peaks.

A big problem From mind cell but that’s not it. Thriller and film noir plots are very often similar, derivative, and based on assumptions and patterns already seen. Films like this are expected to be directed fairly carefully, emphasizing details, but not too sketchy or didactic. Such a film must convey tension through hard cuts and the slow but steady revelation of the identity of the serial killer.

All this in mind cell it is completely missing. directing signature, almost superfluous, with hints of artistry in the depiction of the victims, which, however, are too unreal to be trustworthy. They look like abstract paintings, just reminiscent of the serial killer played by Malkovich, but they are exaggerated, which ultimately breaks the suspension of mistrust. Lack of dirt and feeling of anger

what was in the satanic images with which the victims were found in True detectiveperhaps more crude images, but able to capture the viewer, plunging him into an unhealthy atmosphere.

missed opportunity

Despite good performances by all three main actors, the film therefore loses momentum by one. structure is not particularly attractive. An hour and a half of the film flows badly and not passionately. There are no twists and turns that should have accompanied the investigation, and the only surprise turns into supernatural colors in such an unexpected way that it destroys the little atmosphere created in the last minutes. A film so tied to the stylistic features of a thriller that it never manages to captivate or offer an episode that stays in the mind of the viewer.

Perhaps only this vague germ, with those flashes of light in the darkness that extinguished the character of the artist, was the unfulfilled promise of the film, which, in the end, turns out to be a missed opportunity. The result is that mind cell This typical platform moviestandardized and stuck in the nineties, with which products such as mind hunter which, thanks to Fincher’s great talent, may be more complete.

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