The Crimson Rivers

The Crimson Rivers

2001 "Evil rises to new heights."
The Crimson Rivers
The Crimson Rivers

The Crimson Rivers

6.9 | 1h46m | R | en | Thriller

Two French policemen, one investigating a grisly murder at a remote mountain college, the other working on the desecration of a young girl's grave by skinheads, are brought together by the clues from their respective cases. Soon after they start working together, more murders are committed, and the pair begin to discover just what dark secrets are behind the killings.

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6.9 | 1h46m | R | en | Thriller , Crime , Mystery | More Info
Released: June. 29,2001 | Released Producted By: Gaumont , Canal+ Country: France Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Two French policemen, one investigating a grisly murder at a remote mountain college, the other working on the desecration of a young girl's grave by skinheads, are brought together by the clues from their respective cases. Soon after they start working together, more murders are committed, and the pair begin to discover just what dark secrets are behind the killings.

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Cast

Jean Reno , Vincent Cassel , Nadia Farès

Director

Thierry Flamand

Producted By

Gaumont , Canal+

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Reviews

NateWatchesCoolMovies There's a serial killer loose in a small mountain town located in rural France, and who better to track them down than the country's two most prolific film actors (or the ones with better physiques than Gerard Depardieu anyway), Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. Reno is the seasoned, slightly eccentric Parisian detective, called in to assist and step on the toes of local investigator Cassel, who is too hot headed to realize he could use the help. A body has washed up in a nearby river, mutilated to an unspeakable degree in gruesomely specific ways (think Sev7n on ice). The town just happens to be solely inhabited by the creepy residents of a nearby university that is notorious for incestuous classism and rumours of ties to the occult. You can imagine where this is heading, and it's fun watching Reno and Cassel follow the bloodstained breadcrumb trail towards increasingly grisly secrets that would test even David Fincher's gag reflex. Genetic research, mysterious twins (both played by Nadia Fares), and multiple corpses are a few of the hurdles our two heroes encounter. It's delightfully convoluted, in the best way possible. Some people say that less is more, but I find that makes way for laziness and complacency, two attributes you don't want to find in the horror/thriller genre. I'd rather a film throw every little brainstorm and margin doodle into the mix, even if it doesn't all add up, than present a barely filled in canvas that begs for more. The real stunner with this one is a near Bond- esque climax set on a giant glacier overlooking the valley below, full of desperate violence and giddy exposition. You'll need a strong stomach for the dark places this one ventures to, but it will reward you with crisp cinematography and lurid, blood soaked intrigue. Brutal stuff though.
Robert J. Maxwell Jean Reno is an expert homicide detective assigned to track down the person behind the torture and murder of a student at an exclusive college in the Alps. Vincent Cassell is the local police inspector who is investigating some local affair, I forget what.The two meet when they discover they are following the same trail of clues, all of which lead back to that exclusive college, which turns out in the end to be a genetics laboratory to produce a superior race. Don't inquire into all this too deeply. There were some things man was never meant to know.Say what you will about the Frogs -- ridicule their baguettes and bidets -- but by God they bring FACES to the screen. Reno looks like the worst kind of bum imaginable. He's ready to be deloused by the Salvation Army. Cassell's face is an inverted delta with wide-set eyes at the top and two tiny lips below, as if he'd had a difficult passage down the birth canal.It's a generic action movie but it brings a few variations to the themes. Yes, there is an attractive young girl -- but not TOO attractive -- mixed up in some mysterious way. I don't want to give away the fact that she has an evil twin, so I won't tell you.Let's see. There are mausoleums broken into, an avalanche, a martial arts beat-'em-up molto vivace, a young girl squashed on the highway by an eight-wheeler, an unrecognizable Dominique Sanda who looks incapable of the sexy tango she did in "The Conformist", a nervous descent into a peacock blue glacial chasm, a car chase, a semi-realistic treatment of blood, a few shots fired, and a skulking drizzle that will make you yearn for Santa Barbara.Don't ask for too much and you'll be rewarded.
SnoopyStyle Parisian police commissioner Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno) is called in to investigate a murder of 32-year old single professor Rémy Caillois of mountain-side picturesque university in Gueron. He's been horribly beaten left naked in a fetal position on the side of a mountain. The university is an isolated self-sufficient incestuous place. Meanwhile volatile inspector Max Kerkerian (Vincent Cassel) is investigating a grave desecration and a school break in.I really like the start with the creepy isolated location and the vicious murder investigation. I like the tone of it and I love Jean Reno's work. Then they split the movie into two investigations. I have nothing against Vincent Cassel or his side of the story. I just couldn't wait for them to get back to Reno. It just breaks up the movie and takes away the tension. The two investigations give off different tones anyways. Around midway, the two detectives are forced together but it needed to happen sooner. They form a fine combative duo. With more time together, they could create more chemistry in the relationship. The mystery is a convoluted one and not altogether satisfying. There is just one too many craziness going on.
daggersineyes I'm not a fan of French movies as a rule, especially over-rated "horror" or thriller flicks - I find them either excruciatingly slow & boring (eg Vanished) or gratuitously violent with no decent plot or common sense - just violent for the sake of it and often with ridiculous tacked on "plot twists" in an effort to appear "clever"(eg Haute Tension). But this one really grabbed me. I'm glad I gave it a chance despite it's "Frenchness". Sure it has some problems towards the end some of which I understand are due to the difficulties of adapting the novel to screen, but I had no problem understanding what was going on. I loved the relationship between the two leads & the interesting way two story lines intersected. The direction & camera work was top notch, great soundtrack that enhanced the atmosphere and terrific acting from the cast. The plot was great too and pretty much everything worked the way it should. It needed a bit more fleshing out & explanation but it's not too obtuse without it. Just feels unfinished.It's a shame the ending is a bit of a let down but it doesn't detract from the movie overall - it's still well worth watching. It just brings it down a few points from what could have been a top rating flick. This is well worth watching for people who enjoy a good thriller, can stand a little gruesomeness but are not interested in pointless slasher movies or self-congratulatory plodding "mysteries". If you can handle the level of "gore" in say Criminal Minds or Silence of the Lambs you should be OK with this one.