It’s time for a very old school Noir title. It’s a pretty fun film and will keep you on the edge of your seat but I have to admit that it has one big issue. The film’s just too short. In a way I’d say it’s a complement to the film but the whole thing just ends before you can have a proper climax. It’s like the movie was building up to a really big showdown but then ends during the build up. I suppose it makes the film feel like it ends in a pretty clever way.
The movie starts by introducing us to a mass murderer named The Judge. He randomly murders people during rainy nights and so far the cops have been completely unable to stop him. Somehow this villain is always a few steps ahead. The main cop on the case is Harry and he is at his wit’s end. He knows that this case shouldn’t be quite so hard. Usually he struggles to get just a little bit of evidence but this time he has almost too much. And yet, he has still been completely unable to catch this guy. A reporter named Ann keeps on pestering him for a scoop as well and while he likes her romantically, Harry is against everything she stands for. What can he do?
I do have to say that the romance is pretty terrible here. Not only is it rushed but it just makes Harry look so bad. He really doesn’t like the kinds of newspapers that rely on terror and clickbait headlines. It’s why he is so upset at Ann the whole time and then he does a complete 180 because he finds her pretty? It’s all just a big mess and Ann looks far too desperate with how far she is willing to go in order to publish her story. As a result none of the characters come out looking like winners here.
Even by the ending you’d think that Harry would need time to process what just happened and instead he’s looking forward to his date. This is the kind of romance that feels like it’s included in the film to meet a checkbox as opposed to being necessary to the plot. Not a strong foundation to a plot like this. So the film is at its best when it is avoiding the romance. The classic plot of a detective/cop starting to go mad as he gets really obsessed with catching the crook is a classic.
Harry just can’t sit still until this guy is caught and it makes for some good tension. His partner on the force keeps telling him to relax but Harry will do no such thing. He even comes up with the idea of making a dummy that looks like the Judge based on witness testimony. It feels like a bit of a stretch for this to even be slightly helpful because dummies just aren’t all that realistic. Still, I suppose it’s better than nothing. At least Harry is trying to be innovative here.
There is one scene in the film that stretches your disbelief a little too much though. The Judge trades places with the Dummy for a while and nobody notices even when talking to the dummy. Again, the film is trying to show just how realistic the dummy is but I think everybody can tell when they are talking to a dummy vs a real person. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit I suppose.
The writing is good throughout and the pacing is good, up until the film just suddenly ends. It was nice to see the cops slowly figuring things out with old fashioned methods like interviewing witnesses, door knocking, etc. I mean that’s a good approach and the film didn’t have to get super flashy or anything. I thought the whole thing was pretty realistic and satisfying to watch as well. It’s why I had no real issues there at all. This is a film that is easy to watch and it’s just fun all the way.
There is a body count and so the film isn’t all fun and games. Still, it never really goes too far at all and is mostly interested in telling a good story. The climax is just anti climactic as we finally meet the villain. The main character also looks incredibly sloppy in order for the final scenario to happen at all. It’s why it’s always better to totally handcuff someone instead of half heartedly hand cuffing one hand. I’m sure there is some kind of logic to it but I’ve always been super skeptical myself.
The film has a very small cast which makes sense with the short runtime. So the only way you won’t like this film is if you’re super against the romance. I will acknowledge that the opening scenes with the duo are absolutely brutal as Harry tries to make the reporter as uncomfortable as possible and the whole thing feels real unnecessary. I think he could have stood to show more professionalism there and she absolutely didn’t need to be begging for the story that hard. She mentions that she really needed the money but you want to be careful not to use that as a justification for just anything.
Meanwhile the villain gets almost no screentime but that works towards the mystery. His identity is a secret to the viewers as well as to the characters. It really makes him feel that much more elusive and you don’t need a backstory for a villain like this. All we need to know is that he’s a crazy serial killer who needs to be stopped. The simplicity of the whole thing is part of the film’s strength.
Overall, This was a pretty good film. It’s one of those totally obscure/random titles that ended up being a real hit. I had never heard of this one before but I like to think that I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon now. If you like the Noir genre then I would recommend this one. Short length or not, it has an interesting premise and the rainy atmosphere worked well here. It would be tough for a remake to be able to match this one.
Overall 7/10
