New Release Review - Profile of a Killer

A police profiler and a killer engage in a game of cat and mouse.


Directed by: Caspian Tredwell-Owen
Starring: Gabriele Angieri, Joey Pollari, Emily Fradenburgh

Written and directed by Caspian Tredwell-Owen, writer of ‘The Island,’ ‘Profile of a Killer’ had obvious potential for a unique story, although the synopsis sounds like one of the overdone profiler type television thrillers. However, unlike those shows with generic characters capturing boring uninspired killers, Caspian has a couple of twists up his sleeve to brand this film his own and separate it from the sea of crap thrillers that come out every year. 

The film follows retired profiler, Saul, (Angieri) who is brought in to help catch a killer before anyone else turns up dead. Unfortunately, for Saul, the killer, David (Pollari), kidnaps him so they can play their game of cat and mouse, face to face. While in captivity, Saul is forced to witnesses David’s savage nature as he is taunted into finding out what drives David to do these horrible things.

 Everyone carries their character’s weight in the film just fine, but Angieri and Pollari are by far and away the strongest, and when the two share the screen there is an electricity that feels genuine and drives the film while keeping you invested. Angieri, being the moral center of the film, really does a superb job of conveying the justified contempt the audience should have for David’s actions. The role of David could have been interpreted a dozen different ways, only a few of which I could see working in the film’s favor, and Pollari really hits the nail on the head here. His take on the character is borderline disturbing, and his embodiment of the killer is the hinge of the film's success. 

Of course, you could have the best actors alive and a film can still fall flat on its face if the script and direction are no good, but thankfully Tredwell-Owen’s first try at directing is a success. I believe that has a lot to do with the fact that he wrote it as well. When directing someone else’s work, different aspects of character and/or story can be interpreted differently, and sometimes these misinterpretations can negatively affect the film. For my money, a film is always better when the director has “lived” in the world they are creating, because you can see the fine details and the world becomes more real.

Ultimately, the script and actors work hand in hand to twist and turn things just enough to make this a memorable film in an over-saturated genre. I’m going to keep an eye out for Tredwell-Owen’s next film because if he can do this with such a low budget, I want to know what he can do with some real Hollywood money.

7/10

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Andy Comer