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Modern Psychological Thriller Keeps Your Heart Pounding
mother of 15 year old son, Movie Reviewer, a storyteller
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APR
20
2008
88 Minutes gives us a timeframe and location right away, by showing us the Seattle Times with a date of September 1, 1997, and sisters in an apartment mentioning Princess Diana dying. We see the horrific death of one of the sisters, as she is strung up with a pulley, hanging from one leg. He silences her by covering her mouth with Halothane, an animal tranquilizer, then runs a wheeled pastry cutter down her leg, followed by a scalpel. Her sister is awakened and catches the killer in the act, then her testimony, along with Dr. Jack Gramm's (Pacino), puts Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), aka The Seattle Slayer away, as he's sentenced to death.
On the eve of Forster's execution, Dr. Gramm wakes up in a one night stand's bed, to music that sounds like it's coming from my son's cell phone. He heads to a meeting with a detective who informs him that one of his forensic psychology students was found dead in what appears to be a copycat crime of The Seattle Slayer. As this raises doubts whether Forster really is guilty, Dr. Gramm heads to the university to teach a class and answers a cell phone call from someone disguising their voice, and asking him how it feels to know when he will die, as he has 88 minutes to live. "Tic toc, Doc."
Dr. Gramm gets repeated calls to his cell phone, and the killer appears to be too close for comfort as the minutes he has remaining appear up to date and everywhere he goes, from his classroom, to his car, to the cell phone he ends up borrowing once he breaks his. He begins suspecting everyone around him from his students, to the dean, to the cops on the case, to the doorman at his building.
This is my only fault with 88 Minutes, as I figured out during the film who the copycat killer was, but don't worry, no spoilers here. Even my 15 year old son and one of his friends figured it out, although like me, they changed their minds a few times during the film. In a way, then, I'm missing out on the shock and surprise of the reveal of the whodunit, but there is still much excitement surrounding the drama as we watch, hear, see, and feel those 88 minutes tick away. I could have also used a little more of Pacino's deadpan humor, as the handful of times it was included just didn't seem to be enough.
88 Minutes was, however, one of those movies where many in the theatre were applauding at the end. I see that often at kids' movies, but it's harder to come by in psychological thrillers. If the people in my party, including teenage boys, could figure out the big whodunit, many of the other people probably did as well, and if they can still applaud at the end, it says a lot for the overall enjoyment of the film.
88 Minutes is recommended by LauraBelle
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