Texas Killing Fields

In the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders.

Serial killer movies are a rare breed nowadays and most of these types of narratives end up on TV rather than in cinema. Texas Killing Fields, though not spectacular, is a decent genre flick with a slight twist in the mythology it uses to get the job done.

There's no shortage of tension here as both the pursuit of the suspects, and the deeds they perpetrate, are used as the centrepiece of the movie. This can also make for a few moderately disturbing scenes, particularly when we are shown some of the attacks as they occur. However, these are never gratuitous and serve the plot well in justifying the desperation that overtakes the investigators as they search for the killer.

The film is often very subtle in its approach, which echoes the seeming tranquility of the titular fields. The score very rarely taking control in directing the action, remaining in the background, and used more for augmenting the already eerie atmosphere than attempting to increase the tension. This is one of the picture's strongest facets, creating a creepy sense of danger and planting the seed that evil lies around every corner.

The performances also lend themselves to the formation of this idea, a palpable fear in all but the most jaded of characters. Chloë Grace Moretz is as quietly dazzling as usual, exuding both childish innocence and the strong feeling of a childhood lost to indifferent parenting. She's a pleasure to watch and avoids the common downfall of many child actors, being downright irritating. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the entirety of the cast. Sam Worthington is pretty terrible, and to be honest, how he keeps getting work is beyond me. I find him to be spectacularly wooden in everything he shows up in and this is no exception. In all fairness, this is the best I've seen him, but that really isn't saying much considering what there is to compare it to. Oddly, I didn't find that this detracted from the movie a great deal, which is likely down to some strong showings from those around him.

Overall, I found this to be quite gripping at times. It does have its problems, though. In particular a few of the relationships it struggles to build between characters early on don't really take hold, meaning later references to how they have developed over the course of events fall a bit flat. However, these are such minor aspects of the picture that the impact is minimal.

The Verdict:

7/10
A creepy film that maintains an eerie sense of tension throughout.