Profile of a Killer (2012) Directed by Caspian Tredwell-Owen. Starring: Gabriele Angieri, Joey Pollari, Emily Fradenburgh. IMDB says: “A retired FBI profiler is called in on a last case – only to find himself at the mercy of a teenage killer’s deadly game. He must use all his skills and experience to save lives, including his own.”
A few skeletons begin surface in the cold Northern Mid West. It appears to be the work of a serial killer but the FBI is having difficulty putting together a cohesive criminal profile of the perpetrator. They call in retired profiler Saul Aitken (Gabriele Angieri) to assist with the case but before Saul is able to work out any conclusions, he finds himself at the mercy of the very serial killer he was supposed to be examining.
While you won’t find many big, loud plot twists in Profile of a Killer, I would still push “the less you know going in, the better the experience will be.” The movie made a few great adjustments to an otherwise by-the-book crime story that play out very well if you didn’t already know them going in. The indie psychological thriller takes the traditional cat and mouse narrative and adds in its own twist. By changing only a few key notes, the film jumps into an overworked genre with its own unique tools and is therefore able to keep up interest. Overall the movie feels like an extended, more grounded episode of Criminal Minds, but I wasn’t at all complaining.
The movie is far from glossy but it captures an eerie atmosphere that couples nicely with its subject matter. Cold, barren fields of snow and isolated country farms make up the majority of the film’s setting. The use of occasional but realistic gore/body props was another effective asset to the film, something that if done poorly, would have surely cheapened the whole production. The movie spends its budget wisely and let’s the screenplay do most of the heavy lifting.
The film isn’t without its flaws but there isn’t anything glaring to complain about. The cast provides mostly serviceable performances, though the film’s youngest star Joey Pollari is convincing in his important role. The biggest detractor of the film might be its length. The experience feels a little long (the actual run time clocks in a little under two hours) and could stand to benefit from some tighter editing. All in all, it still stands as an impressive first directorial effort from writer/director Caspian Tredwell-Owen.
Profile of a Killer is an inventive and fresh addition to a familiar genre that plays to a satisfying conclusion. Fans of twisted crime thrillers will be willing to overlook it’s flaws in exchange for a rewarding experience.
