as far a serial killer film and thriller be concern this one right down there with the bad of em . only copycat and sister manage to be more annoy in their absurdity and and only saw be bad . and it a pity because the first hour be genuinely eerie and with a fittingly claustrophobic mortuary a the ideal setting . i be a very jaded viewer and but some of those early mortuary scene really get under your skin . however and after an hour it all go downhill and and i mean steeply . the relentlessly stupid plot twist rob you of all patience and the movie just keep sink to new low . all logic be throw into the wind and and the viewer intelligence be insult and pound upon repeatedly with more force than that baseball bat could ever have generate the one use by nolte and mcgregor . ( i would be the first to sign up if they be look for volunteer to take that baseball bat and bash the head of the writer of this nonsense . ) nothing here add up . absolutely nothing . nolte be molest corps decade earlier and the writer of this film would have u believe that this man could year later become the city chief police investigator . make him the killer be as absurd a give thomas edison credit for invent the wheel and as laughable a a conspiracy theory plot from the x file and and as stupid a kim basinger book on how to solve all of world problem ( if she would ever write one ) . the very notion that a man so disturb that he indulge in necrophilia in mortuary would have the sanity and interest and patience and and willingness to climb all the way to chief investigator in a police department only to start a savage murder spree be simply a mind bogglingly dumb and far fetched concept to me . and how the hell do he even start with the framing of mcgregor . this be an essential piece of the puzzle that be badly miss here while mcgregor just happen to get a job where he meet nolte . and mcgregor best friend and brolin and just happen to know a prostitute who be nolte play toy ( and later victim ) . it can sure be a small and small world in a hollywood stinker . and to add some silliness and brolin be some kind of a derange thrill seeker who act like a total lunatic all the time . obviously and he be the decoy for the viewer while we be mean to treat him a the suspect . but how dumb do they think we be . and how the hell do brolin get into the mortuary when he carry out his practical joke . and how the hell do nolte manage to drag out a body of one of his victim within second of mcgregor enter the room and without mcgregor notice it ( the fact that he have his walkman on and or or be sing and or or talk doesn not make it any more believable ) . and what with this annoy scene where arquette just happen to walk into the mortuary at exactly the moment when mcgregor be hit nolte with a baseball bat and predictably start think her boyfriend be the killer . more annoyance come from the scene in which brolin reaction to mcgregor tell him that the latter be be suspect of murder be to laugh . or the one in which he cut off his own thumb in order to free himself and save the others . sure and . why not . ( i be be hand cuffed to this metal pole and and a a result can neither save my friend nor myself . what do i do . i know . i will cut my thumb off . how come i do not think of that before . ) nolte make the best out of his role and but due to the bitchingly silly script he appear to be ham it up too much at the end but what choice do he have . mcgregor be solid and too and apart from his on and off accent ( which be it now . american or english . ) .