w Delta z (2007)

Director:

Tom Shankland

Writer:

Clive Bradley (screenplay)

Release Date:

2007 (Ireland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Would you kill the one you love to save yourself from death?

Plot:

A calculating killer coerces a detective to pay for his previous mistakes.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Police Car | Electrical Burn | Female Police Officer | Dead Body

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Jan. 19

3:05 AM

MAX

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Barbara Adair	...	Alice Jackson
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Eddie Argo
Peter Ballance	...	Trucker (as Peter Balance)
Selma Blair	...	Jean Lerner
Melissa George	...	Helen Westcott
Tom Hardy	...	Pierre Jackson
Sally Hawkins	...	Elly Carpenter
Lauren Hood	...	Sharon Williams
Caroline Lee-Johnson	...	Gillian (as Caroline Lee Johnson)
'Sean' Brian Jordaan	...	Jamal Osman / Khaled Osman (as Brian 'Saen' Jordan)
Paul Kaye	...	Gelb
Sheila Kerr	...	Alison Lerner
Michael Liebman	...	Wesley Smith
Joshua O'Gorman	...	Dominic Carpenter
Alibe Parsons	...	Miss Allaway

Also Known As:

Waz (UK) (informal title) (USA) (working title)
Devil's Algebra (UK) (working title)
The Killing Gene (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence including a rape, gruesome images and pervasive language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | New Zealand:R18 | Ireland:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:18 | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

Vertigo Films

Goofs:

Continuity: The first time we see the police whiteboard it has "W Delta Z" and "W Delta Z = Cov" written on it (even though no corpse has borne the "v" at that point). But in the next shot the board says only "W Delta Z = Co".

Quotes:

Gelb: [explaining the W Delta Z equation] The selfish gene...
Helen Westcott: Go on.
Gelb: You think a bird will sacrifice itself for the flock, or a bee will sting a predator and die for the hive? How noble. How heroic.
Helen Westcott: And it isn't true?
Gelb: No, it isn't true. Suppose you put a snake into the cage and one of the monkeys is a hero - yeah, lures it away, lets it eat him. But it's not heroism. It's not selflessness. Forget the bees. Forget the monkey. The monkey's nothing. Just think what the monkey's made of.
Helen Westcott: What's that?
Gelb: Genes. The monkey is just the gene's way of making copies of itself. All these monkeys, they're all related. They all share their genes. So the monkey dies. What do the genes care? That's what Price proved. There's no altruism in nature. It's just genes looking after themselves. Ha.

Movie Connections:

References "Wonder Woman" (1975)

This graphic thriller with elements of horror and suspense is well made but incredibly grim also.

A veteran police detective by the name of Eddie Argo (Stellan Skarsgard) investigates the bizarre serial murders in the seedy streets of New York City. Eddie is team with a bright female rookie (Melissa George) to find the murderer. While on the case, they find out the victims were forced to kill themselves or kill a life of a loved one to save themselves. They soon realized, this psychopath (Selma Blair) is out for revenge and she won't stop her carnage until her vengeance is done.

Directed by Tom Shankland made an intelligent, thought-provoking thriller with moments of brutality and effective moments of graphic violence. Skarsgard, George, Ashley Walters as Eddie's informer and Blair gives strong memorable performances. Originally titled "W Delta Z", "The Killing Gene" is a well made film that wasn't well marketed, it went straight to DVD in most countries and released limited to theaters instead. The picture should found an audience on DVD.

The DVD has an dark atmospheric (and grainy) anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD also includes three featurettes, deleted scenes and an trailer. "The Killing Gene" is a harsh, mean-spirited film that is smart and the visual look of the movie is uniquely unsettling (The way this picture should look). A very good film is certainly not for the squeamish and too depressing for some viewers. If you have the stomach for it, this is exceptionally well written by Clive Bradley and it has a couple of unexpected genuine plot twists in the third act. Don't miss it. HD Widescreen. (****/*****).