chained

Serial killer movies are a hard sell as “entertainment” these days unless they’re wearing a hockey mask or returning from the dead. The perpetrators of child abductions, torture and shallow graves are a little too top of mind to be much use as escapism. That’s what makes Jennifer Lynch’s Chained such a hard movie to recommend, despite being an excellent piece of filmmaking in general.

Vincent D’Onofrio turns in another unforgettably transformative performance as a Bob, a slovenly cab driver (with a lisp) who drags certain female passengers to their doom at his isolated home. One passenger also brings along her 9-year-old son, who the killer chains to the wall and treats as a houseservant, forced to clean up after his murderous nocturnal activities. Yet as the boy becomes a man, Bob feels the urge to pass on his knowledge from father to son.

Lynch (the daughter of famed director and all-around weirdo David Lynch) has been relatively unproductive since drawing a firestorm of criticism from Women’s Rights Activists for her debut feature Boxing Helena. She probably won’t win many more female fans here, but the film is unnervingly effective, taking place almost entirely in one setting and relying heavily on D’Onofrio to create a killer that – unlike Jason, Freddy or Micheal Myers – is despicably human. Extras include a commentary, trailer and alternate unrated scenes.