ReelBob: ‘Twisted’ ★

By Bob Bloom

“Twisted” is a thriller that, even at a crisp 86 minutes, takes patience to watch.

The film is a pastiche of psychological drama and murder mystery that slogs along until you nearly lose interest.

And it doesn’t help that before you are a few minutes into the movie, it’s easy to discern the identity of the killer.

The two main characters are Hannah (Madeleine Masson), an 18-year-old impatient for her independence, and Silvia (Karen Leigh Sharp), her clinging and demanding mother who wants to keep Hannah as close as possible for as long as she can.

Silvia is a bloodhound, always tracking and spying on Hannah, wanting to know where she is going, who her friends are and what she is doing.

It’s interesting that Silvia, as the town’s only doctor, seems so creepy — yet no one takes notice.

That is one of the problems in writer-director Sofie Vibeke Muasya’s production. The movie fails to generate any tension or surprises.

Despite Muasya’s efforts to cast suspicion on Hannah, the performance by Sharp gives the game away. She is so dominating and pushy that you realize the script’s efforts to implicate Hannah is a mere distraction.

It also doesn’t help that the performances are rather stiff. You simply can’t get emotionally involved with any of the characters — even Hannah.

“Twisted” does feature some interesting hand-held camera shots, but most of the sequences are more static.

Hannah’s small group of friends are into hunting and taxidermy, yet these subtexts are not fully developed enough to tie them into the main story.

Throughout “Twisted,” Hannah’s friends are being killed off, with Silvia trying to gaslight her daughter to convince her she is the criminal.

Muasaya gives up on that premise a little more than halfway through “Twisted,” so the only detail left is the figure out who else will be killed and who will survive.

“Twisted” is off-putting because Muasaya keeps you at arms-length. Honestly, you don’t care what happens to any of these characters.

Plus, the finale is unsatisfying and illogical.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

TWISTED
1 star out of 4
Not rated, graphic violence, sexual situations