UNTRACEABLE

"The site is up again"

Working for the Cyber-crimes department of the FBI, Agent Jennifer Marsh tracked down criminals using the Internet for their own nefarious gains. When an anonymous tip comes in about a site named 'killwithme.com', she and partner Agent Griffin Dowd (Hanks) investigate and discover a site that allows you to watch a cat die of thirst and starvation. When Jennifer brings this to her superiors, they dismiss it but unbeknownst to them this was just an introduction of what is to come because the next victim is a human and the more people who log onto the site the faster he will die.

Crime thrillers have become stalwarts of television of late but now Hollywood wants to get back on the bandwagon but they have to take the crime to a much gorier level.

Serial killers are now not just portrayed on the big screen every now and again. Killers like Hannibal Lector and Jigsaw, human murders who don't seem to be able to be stopped are now matched on a weekly in shows like 'Criminal Minds' and 'CSI'. Now Hollywood has to deliver that much more. With the 'Saw' and 'Hostel' movies setting the standard for torture horror, 'Untraceable' had to go the same distance but the good thing is that the filmmakers have also injected a good story to account for these gruesome killings.

Mixing gruesome torture horror with an FBI cyber criminal investigation is one that combines two plot devices that are very current at the moment. The power of the internet and the advent of social networking allows news and messages to circle world in less than a second. Add to this the 'YouTube' and video streaming phenomenon and a serial killer has the tools for everyone to see his work. This is the premise that allows the filmmakers to mix realistic torture horror with an FBI investigation that drags agents away from their computers, into the field and into danger.

Diane Lane plays FBI cyber crimes investigator Agent Jennifer Marsh, who solves crimes with her partner Agent Griffin Dowd, played by Colin Hanks, from their office computers, never leaving the confines of the safety of the building. When the pair came across a site called 'killwithme.com' showing a staving kitten, Agent Marsh decides to investigate because she thinks that the website host will escalate, she cannot get her superiors to take the site seriously. When the site refreshes a few weeks later with a man replacing the cat, Agent Marsh and Dowd realise that as the number of hits to the rise, the torture to the man becomes more intense.

Serial killer movies need a little invention to grab the attention of cinema viewers and fortunately the premise for 'Untraceable' works but not to make it a classic. This is a film that keeps you enthralled throughout, will graphic murders and a killer that keeps you guessing. It is the final confrontation between the killer and the Agent that makes the movie little too stereotypical and a little lacklustre but fortunately journey getting there is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat and cringing at the graphic murders.

'Untraceable' is a good serial killer movie but just don't expect anything new for the genre. With good performances from Diane Lane, Colin Hanks and Billy Burke and a good premise with the ability to show exactly how much gore they need, this is a crime movie they could never do on the TV.