FLOCK, THE
(director: Andrew Lau; screenwriters: Craig Mitchell, Hans Bauer; cinematographer: Enrique Chediak; editors: Tracy Adams, Martin Hunter; music: Guy Farley, Charles Olins; cast: Richard Gere (Errol Babbage), Claire Danes (Allison Lowry), KaDee Strickland (Viola Frye), Ray Wise (Bobby Stiles), Avril Lavigne (Beatrice Bell), Kristina Sisco (Harriet Wells), Russell Sams (Edmund Grooms); Runtime: 105; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Jenette Kahn, Philippe Martinez, Adam Richman, Elie Samaha; Gibraltar Entertainment/Blue Rider; 2007)
“It’s a sleazy film that stars a good Richard Gere, who is at his sensitive best.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Hong Kong filmmaker Andrew Lau (“The Captain”/”Kung Fu Monster”) makes his English-language Hollywood directorial debut in this glum sicko sadistic child sexual predator film. It’s written by Craig Mitchell and Hans Bauer.
The creepy tale is not everyone’s idea of entertainment.
It’s a sleazy film that stars a good Richard Gere, who is at his sensitive best.
After a long career as a caseworker for the Department of Public Safety, the middle-aged Errol Babbage (Richard Gere) is forced into an early retirement in three weeks for annoying his boss (Ray Wise) at how relentless he is in questioning the parolees on his caseload. Errol’s upset so many sex offenders slip through the cracks when not properly monitored and do further crimes. Before calling it quits, he trains his inexperienced liberal replacement Allison Lowry (Claire Daines), who believes these predator monsters can be rehabilitated.
Errol is sent a newspaper article of the kidnapping of a local child (Kristina Sisco) that probably involves a paroled sex offender he’s monitoring. Going against regulations, he takes it upon himself to see if he can rescue the girl from the sadist kidnapper and brings Allison along in his rescue mission.
Errol suspects that Viola (KaDee Strickland) is involved. She’s an abused woman he had previous contact with, and is now an abuser who has hooked up with the girl’s abductor (Russell Sams).
Spoiler alert.
The duo track the vic down to a deserted scrap heap site in rural New Mexico, where they find as well the corpses of previous victims. In this horrible torture chamber scenario, the duo take down the rapist-torturer and call in the authorities to arrest the crazed Viola at a nearby trailer park.
Lau tries unsuccessfully to replicate a Se7en themed dark horror pic with this inferior work.
REVIEWED ON 9/14/2024 GRADE: C+
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