Desbocado

"Rampage" is not so much about a serial killer as it is about his trial and the aftermath of his deeds. This is mainly where it feels misdirected. For a director like William Friedkin, one might expect something of a more gritty production rather than a courtroom drama. But if you're looking for a courtroom drama, this IS a very good one.

Michael Biehn plays the DA, Nicholas Campbell is the defense, and Alex McArthur is the killer. Of those three actors, I found Nicholas Campbell to be the most compelling. Biehn is somewhat vacant - so is McArthur, but that's necessary. There's certainly passages in this film that succeed at deeply shocking the viewer. The detached killings, for one, and the discovery of the killer's basement room. In spite of these graphic passages, I feel that the film needed more gore to drive home the point that later dialogue tries so hard to get across.

Visually, this is a fairly realist film. Unlike Friedkin's previous effort, "To Live and Die in L.A.", there's no deep shadows or bizarre lighting techniques. Somewhat to it's detriment, perhaps, it's none too interesting to look at. There is much to experience in this film, though not a lot of rewatch value. There's a scene where a stopwatch is used to demonstrate the real-time of murder. It's tense. If only "Rampage" had more such scenes.