The Factory

Crazy twists, bad police work and a fairly miserable two hours
The Factory is currently on Netflix and I can only say I'm happy I didn't pay for it. Set in Buffalo, NY - which must have one of the worst police departments in history according to this film - it's a miserable tale of abducted prostitutes and the obsessive cop who tries to track them down. Apart from the cliche of the obsessive cop, needless to say his daughter also gets abducted by the same guy. Jennifer Carpenter plays Debra Morgan and is likely to get typecast in this role forever.

It's a dark movie that's almost too dark for its own good, where the clues generally don't lead anywhere and eventually the way the killer is found is ridiculous. There's a twist at the end which is one of the most absurd I've seen in a long time (they spice it up with flashbacks of the hints like they're remaking the ending of The Sixth Sense). None of the cops knows how to call for back up and amid the abduction, sexual abuse and general aura of violence, there's a fat guy who gets called...

IT WAS A DARK SEDAN
Gary (Dallas Roberts) has a hobby. He kidnaps prostitutes and impregnates them. He also kills a "pre-op transgender prostitute." (The best surprise is no surprise.) Mike Fletcher (John Cusack) and Kelsey Walker (Jennifer Carpenter) are two Buffalo detectives assigned to find the missing girls. This is not a who-dun-it. We see the culprit. The first part of the film establishes character and dysfunctional relationships. When Abby (Mae Whitman), Mike's prostitute looking daughter, becomes the latest missing victim, Mike crosses the line to find her.

First off, I love John Cusack, but he is no Liam Neeson. This doesn't have the action level or intensity of "Taken", or even "Taken 2." We watch as Mike tries to locate his daughter as well as we see his daughter being "cared for," so there is no feel of urgency for the audience as there is for Mike who is trying to piece things together. There is also a flashback sequence that pops up from time to time. This ties to a twist which...

Not Really a Recommendation
At the end of the opening scroll of the cast appears the blurb "inspired by actual events." I did a little checking and found that this film is apparently (loosely?) based on the story of Gary Heidnik, who was executed by the state of Pennsylvania in 1999. Heidnik was a serial killer who preyed on prostitutes and brutalized them in a manner similar to that depicted in this film.

In the film Dallas Roberts portrays Gary Gemaux, the Heidnik character. John Cusack plays Mike Fletcher, a police detective who became obsessed with solving the case. He had spent a lot of time trying to catch the killer during a three year stretch before the period covered by the film.

The film is more than a bit melodramatic. Figuratively speaking, as the conclusion approached, that train is roaring down the track, the damsel is tied to said track, and Detective Fletcher is galloping to the rescue. In the movie, the Heidnik settting is changed, for Fletcher is driving recklessly through...

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