Crimson Rivers

Did I like Crimson Rivers? It's hard to say. There are many things I did like. It was beautifully shot: cold, smoky and atmospheric. And it was genuinely creepy and confusing, which I also liked. But here's the problem-I got the English-dubbed version. I'm sure in the original French it was much better but the dubbed version had a few problems, which it took a couple of viewings to understand.

Let me start with the plot-a man has been found secured to the side of a mountain in a small, isolated college town in the French Alps. He's naked, his hands have been cut off and his eyes cut out and various cuts are on his body-and the coroner says the murderer did their best to keep the victim alive as long as possible. Jean Reno is sent to investigate the murder. Meanwhile, Vincent Cassell is another cop investigating another murder, which eventually coincides with Reno's case and they end up working together. More people die, Reno falls for a beautiful student/mountaineer and a very convoluted plot is somewhat revealed (I had to watch it twice to figure it out). But the dubbed version is AWFUL. No one's voices fit their faces except for Reno-who does his own dubbing, thank God. Men in their 30's, 40's and 50's sound like they're being dubbed by teenagers. I kept thinking "what is bothering me here? Something is way off" and it wasn't until the second viewing that I got it. If you can find this in the original French, I would highly recommend it but not this version.