The Popkorn Junkie

      For newly promoted Homicide Detective Jessica Shepard (Ashley Judd), life is about to take an unexpected twist that will leave the most private aspects of her life on display and her very sanity questioned.

     Sheppard has just been promoted to the San Francisco Homicide unit after bringing in suspected serial killer Edmund Cutler (Leland Orser). Sheppard ignored protocol and almost became a victim herself so there are those in the department who resent her promotion and credit it to her gender and the fact that she is sponsored by a high ranking official named John Mills (Samuel L. Jackson) who has raised her since Shepard’s parents were killed years earlier.

      Sheppard is soon called in to investigate a body floating in the bay, and is shocked to discover the victim is a man she picked up in a bar previously. When a second body is discovered also with a connection to Shepard, her partner Mike Delmarco (Andy Garcia), thinks that Jessica may have an obsessive stalker following her.

       Jessica is soon a suspect in the killings and the fact that she is blacking out at night is causing Jessica to suspect that she may be responsible for the killings.

      What should be a tense thriller never emerges as the film plods along never allowing any tension to build. There are attempts to plant a few red-herrings as the film draws to the conclusion but the identity of the killer is so obvious that all that is missing is a neon sign proclaiming the obvious. To further add to the failure of the film, I was able to see events coming far in advance including the events of the final confrontation.

      Judd and Garcia do the best they can with the material but Jackson is woefully underused in a story that seems better suited for a movie of the week. It is a shame that an interesting premise such as this is wasted, as “Twisted” is a whodunit that will leave you saying who cares.

-- Gareth ( 1/2 out of 4 pops )

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Other Junkie's opinions.....

Billy Ray ( 1 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Here is another perfect example of a film that would have done quite well five years ago. This genre is DEAD -- how many times do I have to insert that into a review before someone reads it and takes notice. Ashley Judd looks more like Judd Nelson with her boyish haircut, Samuel L. Jackson returns playing THE SAME CHARACTER HE PLAYS IN EVERY OTHER FILM HE HAS BEEN IN, and Andy Garcia -- well, I still don't know what the hell he is doing here. The plot if formulaic and the twists and surprised are not more exciting and shocking than discovering a new mole on your arm. "Twisted" just picked the wrong time to come out.

Matt ( 3 out of 4 pops)

I'm kind of a sucker for murder mysteries that allow me to keep my mind active, since so many mainstream films require little or no brain power. This one worked for me. The plot twist didn't come as a big surprise, but that's because I've been watching these movies for a long time and am programmed to look out for the suspect who's least suspicious. Still, the film held my interest throughout and I was constantly on the edge of my seat. I left the theater without feeling like my intelligence was insulted, and that's a good feeling. Plus, the performances are terrific.