MovieChat Forums > Switchback (1997) Discussion > The Serial Killer's Race (spoilers)

The Serial Killer's Race (spoilers)

posted 17 years ago by thetal1ne
11 replies | jump to latest

i put spoilers, but this movie is old and unpopular, so it doesn't really matter.

anyway, are there any other movies that have an African American serial killer?

Just curious, since serial killers are most often (though not always) Caucasian males in their late 20's to early 40's.

anyone have any thoughts on this film having an older African American man as the serial killer? was it just for the supposed "unpredictable" twist? since jared leto is the proper age, etc, for a serial killer, we're supposed to think it's him and then in the end it turns out to be danny glover who does not fit the mold....

[–] Renaldo Matlin 15 years ago

"this movie is old and unpopular, so it doesn't really matter."

*roll eyes*

This movie is more popular than you ever will be.

[–] Favri 15 years ago

I really enjoyed this movie, was completely immmersed in it for the full 2 hours... but to be fair it really isn't a very popular movie... never have I met anyone who has even mentioned it to me... I will certainly recommend it, but I think the guy has a point about it not being very popular!
"Old" on the other hand... Casablanca is old, this is not an old movie.

Re. the race thing, I can't think of another movie, good point though...

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or the others crazy? - A.Einstein

[–] MystMoonstruck 13 years ago

Three I can think of are:
Charles S. Dutton's character in "Gothika"
Candyman (Tony Todd) in "Candyman" film series
Halle Berry's character in "Perfect Stranger" ~ multiple murders
Samuel L. Jackson's dirty cop in "Lakeview Terrace" ~ We're shown that he often kills, enough to be very serial killer-like.
Samuel L. Jackson in "Unbreakable", in which he is supervillain to Bruce Willis' superhero // Is a mass murderer in the same category as a serial killer?

By the way, "Switchback" gave it away far too early, such as when they introduced the character. By the time he locked the cardoors, I was on edge about him. And, what about terrorizing him with the car near the tracks? Too many bits of behavior gave it away far too soon. Still, they could have had TWO serial killers crossing paths, which would have been really interesting.

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] padzok 13 years ago

By the way, "Switchback" gave it away far too early, such as when they introduced the character. By the time he locked the cardoors, I was on edge about him. And, what about terrorizing him with the car near the tracks? Too many bits of behavior gave it away far too soon. Still, they could have had TWO serial killers crossing paths, which would have been really interesting.

And the biggest clue of all was where he held the knife when he attacked the bar room bully.

But I liked that it was so up front with all these clues. For one thing, they seemed , encouraging the viewer to suspect they might be red herrings. For another, there were little hints against the other main characters too.

It was nice to see a movie which didnt try to hard to have a sudden surprise twist. It became more and more obvious that Glover was the killer, and that helped to build the tension gradually.

[–] MystMoonstruck 13 years ago

I agree about not bending events just to try for a twist ending. There was a lot of tension there. "The Minus Man" is a movie that is very upfront about the killer, yet it's filled with tense moments because the viewer might fear for each person who encounters him. I especially recall fretting about a potential victim till the person shows up later; all the while, I was thinking, "DID he?"

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] bpollen 7 years ago

I love "The Minus Man." An underrated movie, IMO. Owen Wilson was perfect for that role.

[–] HarveyManFredSin (4877) a year ago

Don't forget, Samuel L. Jackson in Twisted (2004).

[–] GhostRiver 9 years ago

This movie is now comparatively old and still unpopular. It's so trite it would have been better skewed towards noir. Horrible film. As is, it's just a poor man's "Mankiller."

[–] ZombieJesus92 8 years ago

Yeah, red flags were coming from Glover from the start so I assumed it were a misdirect and the killer would probably be Leto; after I realised the creepy guy from the start wasn't coming back. Also, Wesley Snipes played an awesome serial killer in Demolition Man.

[–] qfal 7 years ago

We are used to serial killers being thin white guys because many are IRL but even more are in movies and TV shows. For that reason, Glover being the serial killer didn't seem to mesh for me.

[–] OvertonPendulum (4026) 2 years ago

I believe there is some data on serial killers and they are more likely to be Black than White. The most famous ones are mostly White but that's probably because there is IQ selection in order to evade capture after so many victims. But if you define a serial killer as someone who kills 3 or more people, then they are more likely to be Black.