SK1

A quality detective film set in the unique French environment, revolving around France's first serial killer, and especially captivating with its naturalistic approach (without unnecessary embellishments). It can truly be categorized as a crime drama with an old-school vibe. Don’t expect shootouts or big fights, as the film focuses on the meticulous work of the involved detectives. They must investigate every tiny detail to make everything fit together perfectly in the end—an enviable job indeed. Raphael Personnaz brings vitality to the lead role, and in emotionally intense scenes, you can see the helplessness radiating from him. Portraying a detective who’s been on a single case for so long without achieving a resolution is no easy feat. Adam Niane also deserves admiration for his convincing portrayal of the cold-blooded killer—simply wow. An outstanding performance. For me, it gets 83%. (04/02/2020)

I won’t pretend that I didn’t have big expectations of this crime investigation movie. Especially of the story and the atmosphere, which I had hoped to be a return to the 1970s and 1980s, i.e. the peak of the French crime films with Belmondo, Ventura and Delon in the lead. What I got instead was a not-so-awful movie, but as far as the actors go, it simply didn’t satisfy me the way I’d expect it to. The most charming character was probably the killer, whose performance was extraordinary. The investigators merely seemed to exist. They just “were” and “investigated”. But overall, nothing was really happening. I had an issue with the story outline. The movie was playing, time was passing by and it was obvious how things were going to turn out. The final shock that I’m used to with French crime investigation movies just wasn’t there. But it definitely wasn’t bad. It was just a modern-day time crime investigation standard that has nothing to dazzle with the second time you’re watching. (08/14/2017)

A realistically shot French crime drama that evokes older French films with actors like Gabin and Delon. But it's modern, it's raw, and it's quite gritty when it comes to the crime scene shots. But the focus is mainly on the characters and their relationships and their development, which puts the story a bit in the background. (08/06/2017)

A great "police procedural". A skillfully composed and rhythmic mosaic of exhausting investigation, frustration and lack of cooperation. A must-see for fans of distant detective films (and at the same time characteristically moralist and socially responsible). Given how few such things arise, it's definitely a great pleaser. Fréderic Tellier is a man to watch! (04/24/2016)

It seems crazy to me that the film is based on real events, as the brutality of the murders was quite shocking. Otherwise, Serial Killer 1 does not deviate from the usual standard of similarly tuned crime thrillers. Another problem I see is that the central character of the detective searching for a serial killer of women is rather bland, despite some resemblance to Alain Delon. Perhaps the only one worth mentioning is Adama Niane, who gave an excellent performance as the assassin Guy Georges. (65%) (09/05/2020)