(2009)
Derek Armstrong
The horror-thriller iMurders tries to capitalize on a panoply of props and concepts from the modern techno thriller, primarily, a killer's use of chat rooms and social networking sites to stalk his victims. The problem is, iMurders isn't really about what it's supposed to be about. The film does indeed present an online game in which members of a chat group are supposed to figure out which among them is the killer, and this game is supposed to beget actually killings by one of its twisted players, leading to a bunch of "is it a game or is it real?" confusion. But writer-director Robbie Bryan seems to have offered this only as a high-concept hook to reel in his financial backers. The script doesn't have the cleverness to conjure a plausible way for one psycho to kill off a number of victims linked only by their participation in a certain video chat, so it doesn't even try. Instead, a series of unrelated storylines involving hastily introduced characters play themselves out over the course of the narrative, returning only perfunctorily to the central spine that's supposed to connect them. If it weren't for a cast full of recognizable names, from Gabrielle Anwar to Tony Todd to William Forsythe to Charles Durning, iMurders would be much more instantly recognizable as D-grade straight-to-video fodder, made by the inexperienced and untalented. The great Durning looks particularly confused about what he's doing here, which could be the result either of his advancing age or Bryan's unskillful direction.
iMurders on AllMovie
iMurders (2009)
