Movie: Resurrection (1999)

On the brink of genius is the madness of a serial killer

Resurrection (1999) is a horror movie from the director of Highlander.

Synopsis: Detective John Prudhomme (Christopher Lambert) and his assistant, Detective Andrew Hollinsworth (Leland Orser) are assigned to investigate the brutal murder of a man who has bled to death from a severed arm in Chicago. After two more victims with different missing body parts are discovered, Prudhomme realizes he is on the trail of a serial killer who is using the missing limbs to reconstruct the body of Christ... just in time for Easter.

Having a storyline about a sadistic serial killer slaughtering people may be very common nowadays. But for a 1999 movie, I'm pleasantly entertained at how this movie gives the psycho killer's motive a very surprising twist without focusing too much on the gore and wantonness of butchery.

As explained in the synopsis, this deranged psycho is reconstructing the body of Christ by replicating Jesus' suffering and ordeal on the cross before Easter. To do so, he kidnaps six unsuspecting males, cuts off one limb from each person, and lets them bleed to death. The interesting thing is, this psycho is crazy enough to ensure that his victims have the same biblical names with that of Jesus' apostles 2000 years ago! E.g., Peter, James, Matthew, etc. Is he a genius? Or is he just pure evil?

The serial killer's identity is hidden from us during the first 70 minutes or so of the movie. It's during this 70-minute period - I'd say the best part of the entire movie - whereby Prudhomme and the entire Chicago Police Department tries to crack the codes and connect the dots. Then, by sheer luck, the wacko's true identity is revealed. After the discovery, the movie changes its direction and focuses on the wacko going on a mindless and murderous rampage for the next 37 minutes before he's defeated.

Gives a mad man an idea and he's just gonna turn it into something grisly. Being overly fanatic, even if it's related to religion, is not a good thing. Gotta keep things in check.

Overall, this a taut and clever thriller. It's definitely one of the more entertaining serial killer movies from 1999 that you should give it a watch.