Hollywood’s attempts to perpetually reinvent the thriller require
stylistic dressing consistent with the times, certainly. But they also
increasingly demand labyrinthine and complex myths and legends,
frequently attached to one of the following: nebulous anthropological and/or alien menace (the underrated The Mothman Prophecies); mental fracturing or devolution (Identity, Secret Window, Christian Bale’s own personal two-fer of American Psycho and The Machinist); strong hints or outright underscoring of devilish threat (the in-release Joshua, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Omen); or centuries-old religious conspiracy (The Da Vinci Code,
naturally). Maybe it’s a millennial hangover, maybe it’s a sign of a
surging collective anxiety and how we like to displace that nervousness
and apprehension by hanging it on the hook of something bigger than
ourselves. Whatever the case, into this arena steps this week’s new DVD
The Number 23, a stylish if somewhat irresolute thriller about one man’s downward descent into geometric fixation and madness. For the full review, from FilmStew, click here.