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If not for all those overblown blockbusters, 2007 may well have been known as the summer of beaten women, first with Captivity and now the schlocky thriller I Know Who Killed Me. What do they call a schlocky thriller with cheese in Paris, Vincent? In I Know Who Killed Me out of control party animal Lindsey Lohan plays straight-laced Aubrey Fleming, a smart young woman, one step graduated from Mean Girls, another film that showcased Lohan's acting ability. Say what you will about Lohan's personal life, she is clearly the most talented performer of her spoiled clique of friends. There are some awkward acting moments in the film in which Lindsey bites off more than she can chew, but for the most part Lohan honestly inhabits the role and enjoys bloodying up her clean celebrity image - that actually has been considerably tarnished within the last two years.
I Know Who Killed Me sees Aubrey Fleming abducted and tortured by a sadistic serial killer in some very disturbing scenes reminiscent of Captivity. In that film Elisha Cuthbert was similarly pummeled by an unknown figure all in the pseudo-name of misogyny, which actually turned out to be little more than desperate pandering and silly cliches. However, this time the creative team wisely deviates from the one-dimensional path of crime-horror genre and makes the story into an attempted-murder mystery, with some strange allusions to stigmata and - wouldn't you know - teenage creative writing. Lohan regains consciousness in the hospital and insists that she is not Aubrey Fleming but tough-as-nails stripper Dakota Moss, and that the real Aubrey Fleming is still in danger.
The plot twists of the film are very far-fetched, and at times the movie feels like a more hardened version of Perfect Stranger, another unfortunate vanity project-film that existed with little purpose except to show what great acting ability its star exhibited. (Which was close to none, actually) Worse yet, rather than focus on the intriguing mystery at hand, director Chris Siverston diverges into silly chase scenes and more gratuitous shots of Lohan screwing and bleeding. Is this a vanity project for Lohan and Siverston's own cinematic fantasy fulfilled? In his defense, it's possible that he sensed the performances of his FBI Agents (played by Spencer Garrett and Garcelle Beauvais) weren't going anywhere, and so he decided to make use of the one sure thing I Know Who Killed Me had going for it: Lindsey overacting! This is what the public loves to see, after all.
While the final plot twist of I Know Who Killed Me is absurd in its own merit, the film's conclusion is even more provocatively reckless. Fans and critics of the film are naturally divided on what "really" happened to Aubrey Fleming, with the former believing that there is much more to the story than meets the eye and that every minor character in the film was truly a suspect. The critics naturally disagree, believing the movie to be the bloody remains of a better murder mystery that was never quite made.
Both views hold water. The story, despite its laughably bizarre unfoldings, is not entirely unwatchable and may well be underestimated as far as the mystery goes. The film is comparable to this year's other high-concept mis-hit, The Invisible, though David S. Goyer's films boasted some much better performances as well as a whimsical, cluelessly offensive screenplay. However, it is also true that this high concept horror film was not effectively filmed or acted. The only thing more depressing than a beautiful young girl being repeatedly injured on screen is the discovery that the whole point of the film was lost. You blew it! No retakes, please. Let the poor girl rest now. Grade: C+ |
People that don't understand the movie "I know who killed me" here *spoliers* I'll explain it to you.
CobaltDuck explains - The Movie is not about a Twin finding her sister like some psychological mystery crime drama. ITs not really torture porn. Its a Psychological thriller. The movie a about Aubrey using her imagination to try to solve the mystery of who is killing her. Aubrey doesn't make it. Aubrey is killed. Aubrey is captured, tortured, buried alive, and the mysterious killer gets away with it. Aubrey doesn't know who is killing her, so she retreats to her mind and to avoid the pain and try to make sense out of why this is happening to her. That part where Dakota lays down next to Aubrey isn't a tired Dakota taking a quick nap its Aubrey finally dieing.
The MOvie on the very first viewing is suppose to confuse you...it leads you in many directions and possibilities.. Does Aubrey has multiple personality disorder, or maybe she is an engineered twin for an experiment (take note of the similar faces of the 2 previous girls maybe they were both engineered twins and killed as well), or Dakota really is a twin... These are just decoy plots. Every time Dakota feels pain..thats not Dakota thats Aubrey feeling it. Every vision Dakota has is not a vision .thats Aubrey seeing the situation. The movie's first viewings purpose is to make you think the story is going in a different direction. Only at the very end does it become clear and the movie comes into focus. It should hit you in the gut that Aubrey didn't make it. Its sad. It should make you angry because Aubrey is strong and not weak but she never had a chance to fight back.
The 2nd viewing you have the time to look at all the clues, because maybe the Piano teacher wasn't the one that killed her maybe thats just Aubrey's best guess before she died, its probabley the gardener. Maybe it was the strange man on the bus. Maybe its the psychiatrist. Maybe the killer is hidden in her mind. Maybe no clue in her mind will help her solve the mystery. Even Aubrey herself doesn't understand why she is doing this. I like to think Aubrey got it right and figured it out and gave her self some comfort for solving the mystery.
People that criticise the movie, including newspaper critics, just don't get the point of the movie. It goes right over their head. They can't see it even though its right in front of their eyes. One could start to suspect where the movie was heading when the "strange" explanation for Dakota losing body parts was explained by "Twin stigmata". This is a fantasy, they could of equally used Voodoo or witchcraft or alien invaders as fantasy substitutes. Then when Dakota decided to drive with her father to the piano teachers house (with out back up or calling the police i might add) the direction of the story should of become suspect. When Dakota said "I think i know who killed me" the audience should of started figured it out, because why would Dakota say "I think i Know who killed me" it doesn't make sense, Dakota was never touched by the Piano teacher, nor was she being killed, she said it because she was Aubrey and Aubrey was close to death and wanted to figure it out. Then Dakota finds Aubrey... it should become obvious that all of this is in Aubreys head. Dakota joins Aubrey because Aubrey is in her last breath. The movie ends and goes no further because Aubrey is dead. If it wasn't in Aubreys head then the next scene would show the next day at her dads funeral with both sisters on crutches. But, Aubrey is dead.
The movie isn't suppose to make you feel good. It should make you feel sad/angry/depressed/uncomfortable. It is not a normal happy Holloywood movie. But its tragedy will keep you thinking about it for a long time. the stripper scenes make you feel like the movie you see is real. If the ending was a happy ending the effect would not be the same. Aubrey dies... and its really sad and such a waste.
I know who killed me is a good movie.
CobaltDuck
Dan Combs
