The Killing Gene (2008)

'The Killing Gene' feels like a film that was trying to be something else -- maybe a dark and bloody episode of 'The Wire.'

Think of Saw and multiply it by Seven.

A little too close to torture-porn for most tastes, but debutant director Tom Shankland shows promise.

Ugly to look at and nasty in the extreme, this British-made flick should please genre fans with its icky body horror. Beneath the surface gore, there’s a healthy amount of psychological intensity for such a seemingly hackneyed Fincher clone.

Recommended for audiences who thought Kevin Bacon’s Death Sentence was too restrained; everyone else steer clear.

The most unusual and original horror film to be made on these isles in many a year.

Although he struggles to make the British-feeling production convince, UK helmer Tom Shankland gets the faux-Fincher nihilism just right.