Eye Candy #299 - "The Horsemen"

The Horsemen: Dennis Quaid and Zhang Ziyi (improbably) star in this vastly mediocre thriller, involving a group of ritual killings based on the biblical 4 horsemen. Dennis Quaid is Aidan Breslin, a recent widower and police officer with a background in dental forensics. He and his two sons are growing apart rapidly after the death of his wife, and Breslin soon finds himself investigating what appear to be several related gruesome murders involving torture, mutilation, and piercing festishes. One of the victims has an adopted Asian daughter (Ziyi), and soon Breslin finds himself in way over his head, dealing with multiple killers and their various agendas who have had it out for him from the very start. If there was ever an “emo thriller”, this is it. The villains are overly emotional teenagers looking for the gray lining behind their silver cloud lives. Apparently, growing up the product of a middle class, White background makes you a self-destructive monster with feelings of inadequacy. If this was a serious effort by Ziyi to continue appearing in American films, it was a terrible decision (easily the worst film I’ve ever seen her in) – her talent is way above this script and she is given barely anything to do. Only bright spot – Clifton Collins Jr. as Stingray, Breslin’s sidekick who looks like he fell out of a 70’s cop show. Otherwise, no surprise why it went direct to DVD. Woodchuck sez, “Disappointing all around.”