MovieChat Forums > Backtrack (2016) Discussion > not that great - I'll explain

not that great - I'll explain

posted 8 years ago by narva24
7 replies | jump to latest

It's a bit too slow for my taste.

Still - it was OK up to a point where he confesses to the police - and it turns out there's a greater mystery at hand.

It's that mystery which pretty much ruined the film. I guess I'll get into spoilers - so read at your peril.

Spoilers:

Basically, we still don't know why his father killed a girl, was he a serial killer or what? I don't get it - and it never was explained.

Furthermore, Him then trying to kill the police woman - and then his son - it just didn't fit in with the way the father figure was played (he was acted as being a fairly charming and timid person - and someone who cares about his son - and he was certainly of age, which means that even a serial killer (we still don't know why he killed the girl - wtf??) of that age is unlikely to kill his son rather than going to prison). So it's either a case of bad acting or bad writing - I'm going to blame writing on this one.

So, yeah, up until the confession, I wasn't bothered as much - there was a mystery and a potential for a good mystery at that. But the reveal and especially what happened after the reveal, that was the biggest disappointment.

Otherwise, you do have some good actors there - the shooting angles, soundtrack - these are all good. All ruined by bad writing.

[–] bluemagicmist 8 years ago

I think we can safely assume the father sexually assaulted the girl. The son doesn't know whether he's killed before or since then, or maybe, he had sexually abused many girls but this one he murdered because she fought back.

How many killers/rapists have died with that information unknown, why can't it just be like real life?

The police woman said she had been invited to their home after her mother died, was the father grooming her? Another question that doesn't need to be answered in my opinion, just like real life.

Would you like everything spelled out for you? Should there be a criminal psychologist at the end explaining the urges of the father and the reasons behind it?

[–] narva24 8 years ago

in real life, rapists/murderers don't kill their children in order to hide their secret 30 years later. At that point, they don't give a crap what the system does to them. And the way the father figure was acted, he was very mellow indeed - hence why it's all somewhat nonsensical.

[–] bluemagicmist 8 years ago

The father is a psychopath, you couldn't get more mellow. His son said he worked/hid in the shed to avoid the family, the man was a misfit and a degenerate.
I've read of a case where a father murdered his adult daughter when she confronted him after discovering an affair, she was going to reveal it all to her mother.

I don't understand your logic, the father has a reputation to uphold, he's the town's ex-cop. His son means absolutely nothing to him, isn't that obvious?
Have you ever read the news? In your world murderers act strangely, can be identified just by looking at them.

Ever heard of the BTK killer, Dennis Rader? Just to name one who could have fooled you obviously, because he was as mellow as they come. He fooled his family and friends, his community for over 20 years while getting away with murder right under their noses.
If you really believe this movie is nonsensical, must be nice living in a bubble.

[–] chilone 7 years ago

in real life, rapists/murderers don't kill their children in order to hide their secret 30 years later

You know this, how?

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

[–] thephunkfoniks 8 years ago

Charming...? The father hardly had any characteristics like you had mentioned. I knew something was up when the son questioned him about his workshop when he first arrived and the father replied he did "man stuff" in there. It reminded me of Gothika honestly. Any how another clue was when the father looked at the newspaper clipping I knew he had to be in on something. The only thing I didn't like about the end was how unrealistic adrian's character's handcuffs broke when he fell out of the car and he managed the open the drunk by shooting it and shattered the whole rear window lol. Anyway I give it a solid 8/10.

[–] Sequentialist 8 years ago

This is not the review section.

[–] LordManhammer 7 years ago

Plus, the newspaper article about the train wreck 'solving a mystery' stated that the girl had been kidnapped 28 days prior. The father could have been keeping her hidden somewhere, but her appearance in the flashbacks suggested she'd just been taken, rather than locked up for a month in some shed.

But overall this movie doesn't fail because of the details of how the crime played out, but the overall premise. Something bad happened, but the plot doesn't revolve around that something bad or even its discovery; the plot is all about someone forgetting and then slowly remembering, which is a crap device.

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