Willed to Kill

Willed to Kill

Why do these shows hate the cops? They make them out to be dumb. Serial killer does 4 and a nut kills a guy. Does a Lousy job at carving the signature cut (Hades sign) and the cops and FBI buy it. FBI says close the case. Sherlock Holmes would never fall for this crap. Are the cops really that stupid? Of course, the star keeps interesting... I'm still watching..

The defining moment in Detective Karen Mitchell's life was when she realized that her father was a serial killer. But with her youth and inexperience, the traumatized young woman was slow in reporting him to the police, allowing the father to murder two more victims. Now, the pendulum has swung to the other side where Karen is so obsessed with her work that she lives a monastic life dedicated solely to her homicide cases. When a clone of the Hades killer resurfaces in Boston, Karen establishes phone contact with the killer. Dr. Aaron Kade, the police psychiatrist, is even envious of how effective Karen has bonded with the killer during the conversations. It slowly dawns on Karen that she is the link between the current serial killer and the case that brought down her father. The screenplay for "Willed to Kill" was well-constructed, and it included lively dialogue among the police officers and the people interacting with Karen. There was a good set of possible suspects emerging as Karen worked the case with her partner and ex-fiancé, Gavin McNabb. Actress Sarah Jane Morris was terrific as Karen. She conveyed the manic energy of the detective who is so quick on the trigger that she has been labeled a serial killer herself. There was a good romantic connection between Karen and media specialist Mark Hanson, who is subject to Karen's quick-thinking mind when, in a heart beat, she has him in handcuffs and under arrest when she finds his behavior suspicious. This was a carefully crafted thriller with a strong central character who never questioned her choices in pursuing the truth at all odds and all costs.

Boston police detective Karyn Mitchell (Sarah Jane Morris) kills a serial killer by herself just in the nick of time. It's her 3rd serial killer that she has killed. She is forced to be treated by psychiatrist Doctor Aaron Kade (Michael Riley). She is still pursuing the Hades Killer from the 90's and then he starts killing again after the long absence. This is a lower level serial killer flick. The filmmaking is at TV movie level. The lead is fine for that level. The movie puts in the standard suspects and the standard twists. It all feels flat. The ending also feels rushed. It's a cheap copy of Hannibal Lecter. It feels like a B-movie.

The clues are laid out thoughtfully through-out the investigation. Clues pointing to many different suspects until only 2 real suspects remain. Many red herrings and dead-ends add to the story and forces the viewer to re-think their conclusions. Everything adds-up, there are no hidden facts. The acting was adequate and the pace was very good. I did not see any glaring errors, that are often seen in these low-budget type movies. Everything was quite logically put together and the suspense built at good pace. A very good crossword style mystery. If you like Agatha Christie style who-dun-its, you should appreciate this movie. Definitely worth watching.

Could have been a really good movie if not for the rather unimaginative dialogue and Sarah Jane Morris's stilted and one note acting. Also, the cadence of the psychologist's voice was identical to Hades and it was easy to predict the ending very early on in the movie.

More than anything I dislike when I commit two (2) hours of my time only to find out that the suspect was the most obvious and that this so called "mystery film" was no mystery at all. The main character in this film is the gun toting Boston detective Karyn Mitchell, played with so little character by actress Sarah Jane Morris. I really wanted to enjoy a mystery/thriller that focuses in on a two decade old serial killer named the Hades serial killer. Unfortunately, as the potential suspects kept increasing the actual mystery of the film kept waning. I appreciate that generally speaking, made for TV movies are made within limited time constraints and limited budgets. But why does this type of made for TV serial killer themed film(s) have to not only come with limited intrigue, but also limited acting? I can only imagine how much more interesting this film would have been if someone like Maria Bello, or Kate Beckinsale had accepted the role of lead detective Karyn Mitchell. I can't blame the poor performance all on Sarah Jane Morris. There were other weak acting performances such as with the police forces psychiatrist Doctor Aaron Kade played boringly by actor Michael Riley, and also her love interest what's his name Mark Hanson (hard to remember what scenes he was in as they were the most boring......yaaaaaawwwn) played by Dylan Bruce. Oh, and then came the silly ending when the brilliant detective Karyn Mitchell breaks the case wide open and she brazenly (they say brazen, I would say stupid) approaches her number one suspect without any backup and gets caught with her proverbial pants down (her gun is taken away from her) so we are supposed to be on the edge of our seat. I actually fell off of my chair and my fall woke me up, thus my applying to the Guinness book of records for the longest yawn. The film Willed to Kill has a catchy title, and not much more going for it. I give it a 4/10 for at least trying to create some level of suspense but unfortunately it does not pass the mustard test.

'Willed to Kill', is a suspenseful thriller, that is well acted, & scripted for a TV movie of the week. This movie was engaging, & thanks to the previous reviewer *alannasser*, I did not figure out who the killer was, until the last 15 minutes. This movie follows Detective Karyn Mitchell, & her pursuit of killers. My one main problem regarding this movie is the main character Karyn has shot 3 serial killers, on her own. This is a bit improbable, but I went with it. I was able to suspend my disbelief about this, because Karyn is well played by Sarah Jane Morris, & so I am able to forgive this improbable bit of scripting. Karyn is a savvy detective, who chooses to do things on her own, probably stemming from the fact that when she was a teenager, she discovered her father was a serial killer. She eventually turned him in, he went to prison, and was executed. But Karyn never forgave herself, because during her delay in reporting her father, he killed 3 more innocent people. Now her past motivates her to become the best cop she can be, sometimes even sacrificing her own happiness, so that she can try to protect the innocent from the evil in the world. Karyn arrives at her latest murder investigation, and it has the calling card of the infamous Hades serial killer from the '90's, who was never caught. Along with her partner, Detective Gavin McNabb, they try to determine if this is the same killer from the past, or just a copycat. The killer seems to take a special interest in Karyn. He begins calling her, & seems to have access to privileged information, that he has no business knowing. The killer is also sending letters to the local investigative reporter, who also seems to have private knowledge about Karyn. Everywhere Karyn looks, she is surrounded by suspects... Is it her partner-slash-ex-fiancé, whom she broke up with a year ago? He didn't take the ending of their relationship well, and now feels trapped by another woman he impregnated & feels forced to marry. Is the Hades killer Dr. Aaron Kade, Karyn's psychiatrist? After she was forced to shoot & kill the last murderer she was after, the department required her to seek professional help. The doctor does seem a bit too inquisitive for her taste, & often says inappropriate things, like comparing her to the serial killers she hunts. Is it Floyd, the investigative reporter, who always seems to be one step ahead of the police, and shows up at crime scenes before any of the other press? After all, the killer is sending Floyd letters with information that only the killer would know, or is he? Is it Lieutenant Schneider, who seems to care about Karyn with fatherly concern, but who also removes her from the case, just when she's getting close? Or is it her new boyfriend, Mark Hanson, who she just conveniently met outside of her gym, even though she's never seen him there before? Mark also installed electronics for 2 of the victims, was captured in a photograph of the crowd outside one of the crime scenes, and shares several of the traits with the Hades Killer. Could it be him? This movie has good acting, decent writing, nice pacing, and great reveals. It is a SOLID thriller. Even though lots of the plot points are cliché, the acting more than makes up for this. I also wasn't expecting Oscar winning acting/writing from a Lifetime movie of the week. Please, people, stop expecting Oscar/Emmy performances, and you will enjoy these movies so much more.

It should be said from the start that this is a notch above the typical Lifetime movie. The lead actress is far better than most, and the story is above average. The film employs a familiar trope: the detective is contacted by the murderer during the course of her investigation. The murderer uses a voice distorter and speaks regularly with the detective by telephone. The bad guy is filmed in such a way as not to reveal his identity: from behind, in a shadow, from non-revealing angles. You've seen this many times before. Sometimes the viewer is allowed a bare glimpse of the murderer's chin or nose, but not enough to enable you to recognize the character. - Well, that's how it's supposed to work. But incredibly, the murderer is filmed in several shots so that his identity is clear. The filmmaker shows too much. This is clearly unintentional - you're not supposed to know which character, who, as in all these movies, turns out to be a character you're already familiar with but are not supposed to suspect, will turn out to be the culprit. But you do know, well before the final reveal, if you've been watching with only casual attention. This strikes me as a huge blunder. If you want to be kept in suspense, don't look at the murderer in the scenes in which he is on the telephone with the detective. If you do look, you'll recognize him.