The Crimson Rivers

If the play-by-their-own-rules cops in The Crimson Rivers weren't speaking French and driving those little tin can police cars, it would be hard to distinguish this murder-mutilation psycho thriller from a Hollywood production starring, say, Morgan Freeman. But no matter his copycat style, writer-director Mathieu Kassovitz spins a complex, enigmatic and exponentially tense mystery around Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel's colliding investigations of gruesome deaths connected to an incestuously private university in a small mountain town. Aided by sumptuously claustrophobic photography and a consistently portentous score, the puzzle comes slowly together for a dizzying shocker finale. While there are admittedly a few pieces missing in said puzzle, and the big picture may strike some as a little absurd, the overall film is chilling and thrilling nonetheless, and certainly no more preposterous in its conclusion than those of recent stateside psycho flicks, such as Along Came a Spider or Hannibal. (Note: the VHS is being released dubbed; only the DVD carries the original French soundtrack with English subtitles). A strong optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)