“Resurrection” (1999) starring Christopher Lambert / Z-View

Resurrection (1999)

Director:  Russell Mulcahy

Screenplay:  Brad Mirman based on a story by Christopher Lambert, Brad Mirman

Stars: Christopher Lambert, Leland Orser, David Cronenberg, Jayne Eastwood, David Ferry, Rick Fox, Karen Glave, Rothaford Gray  and Robert Joy

Tagline: Be afraid. For he is coming.

The Plot…

Detectives Prudhomme (Lambert) and Hollinsworth (Orser) are assigned a murder case.  The victim’s arm was sawed off and taken.  At the crime scene, they find written in blood, “He is coming”.  Soon other victims are found. Each is missing a body part.  The victims are all 33 years old and have biblical names (Matthew, Peter, etc.).  They discover the madman is taking the parts in an effort to recreate Christ’s body.  More people will die, if Prudomme and Hollinsworth don’t crack the case.  But how do you catch a madman?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I watched Resurrection hoping that director, Russell Mulcahy and star, Christopher Lambert would be able to catch lightning in a bottle.  The pair meshed perfectly in Highlander.  Could they do it again?

The short answer is, “No.”

In Highlander, Mulcahy’s direction provided amazing camera movements, inventive scene transitions and creative framing.  In Resurrection we don’t get that.  Christopher Lambert was the exact right choice to play Connor MacLeod. Lambert’s character in Resurrection is so generic that anyone could have played him as long as they could run and scream… a lot.

The serial killer’s motive is insane.  That should have been played up more.  There was shock because of the brutality of the murders, but the movie, for the most part lacked tension.  I had hoped for better, but it’s near impossible for lightning to strike in the same place twice.

Resurrection earns 2 of 5 stars.