Chained

Directed by Jennifer Lynch, Chained follows a cab-driving serial killer (Vincent D’Onofrio’s Bob) as he abducts the young son of one of his victims (Julia Ormond’s Sarah) and eventually decides to raise him as his protégé. It’s intriguing subject matter that is, right from the word go, executed to underwhelming and often interminable effect by Lynch, as the filmmaker, armed with her own screenplay, delivers a sluggish endeavor that contains astonishingly few attributes designed to capture the viewer’s interest – with the arms-length vibe perpetuated by seriously low-rent visuals and a one-note, hopelessly repetitive narrative. And while the picture boasts a small handful of sporadically compelling elements, including a typically searing D’Onofrio turn and some admittedly intense sequences, Chained progresses into an increasingly tiresome (and claustrophobic) midsection that paves the way for a wholly unsatisfying third act – with the inclusion of a fairly ludicrous last-minute twist doing little to alleviate the mostly disastrous atmosphere. The end result is a misfire of decidedly mammoth proportions, which is a shame, ultimately, given the potential afforded by the premise and first-class performances.

* out of ****