Tagline: The hunter becomes the hunted
Cusack plays: Alaskan Serial Killer Robert Hansen
So here we go with the slightly scary real life story of Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen and the attempts to bring him to justice. Hansen killed at least 17 women, and may be responsible for the deaths of many more. A keen hunter of animals he turned his evil eye and gun to women. One young prostitute manages to escape his clutches and detective Nicolas Cage decides to use her testimony to turn the tables on Hansen and bring him to justice.
Cage tones down his usual crazy tendencies and plays it straight, and Vanessa 'High School Muscial' Hudgens is prostitute Cindy Paulson, a part which requires quite a lot of sobbing, running around and generally being in peril (also, dancing about in her pants). And so to Cusack, turning in a fairly scary performance as the family man with a dark past and present. A creepy dude indeed, but i did like his glasses.
The period setting of 1983 doesn't make too much of a difference to things, although we do glimpse a giant mobile car phone and a very dodgy hairdo on 50 Cent (playing Hudgen's pimp). However, the film crew didn't may due attention to removing all signs that this was filmed in the present day - my eagle eyed cinema going companion spied a Trip Advisor (founded 2000) sticker in one scene.
At times I found some of the events repetitive and a little irritating - why is that person running away again? they would be much safer if they stayed put etc- but as it's based on a true story I suppose it's hard to quibble with things people genuinely did.
Overall, a decent film, telling an interesting story with a good, if a little terrifying performance from Cusack.
