Memory

 

 

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"Memory" starts off by providing the correct pronunciation of the word and what appeared to be the complete dictionary definition of the term. For some reason this made me think of "Memento," which was a mistake because this horror thriller is nothing like that ambitious film. Billy Zane stars as Dr. Taylor Briggs, who was exposed to some strange stuff in Brazil that is causing him to have flashbacks. What is odd is that these appear to be somebody else's flashbacks, and to make things even more interesting the memories seem to be those of a serial killer who targets young women. Given how old the memories appear to be the only cast member running around who would seem to fit the bill is Max Lichtenstein, who is played by Dennis Hopper, which moves the serial killer possibility into the realm of the so patently obvious that you have to discount it (the music cues only reinforce such suspicions since the movie is trying so hard to nudge us in his direction). But Briggs has family issues, so we pay attention because such exposition is also the key to unraveling the mystery, such as it is.

Beyond the "who" the more interesting question is the "how," because picking up on somebody else's memories is not something that happens every day. The need to solve such mysteries never really gets beyond the "because they are there" stage, and for my money "Memory" is harmed by attempting to explain the science behind what is happening. When somebody such as myself, who never even got as far as taking high biology, rolls their eyes and laughs out loud at the idea that memories can be contained in DNA, then it must really be bad. It occurs to me that this sort of scientific mumbo-jumbo could have worked decades ago on something like "The Twilight Zone," but then Rod Serling, Richard Matheson, and the rest of the "Zone" writers were all about the payoff, and that is where "Memory" suddenly looks like somebody slipped in the last real from another horror film. I swear, if you fell asleep for five minutes and woke up during the final scenes you would think that you had slept through the end of one movie and were watching the conclusion of the second on a Billy Zane-double feature. I would accuse this film of engaging in bait and switch except there is no reason to assume those responsible for this film were thinking that far ahead.

"Memory" is directed by Bennett Davlin, who co-wrote the script along with Anthony Badalucco and Russ Turley, which might explain why the ending seems so unlike the rest of the movie. The other major characters in the story are Tricia Helfer of "Battlestar Galactica" fame as Stephanie Jacobs, an artist who becomes Briggs' romantic interest in the film (yes, she does a nude scene, but, no, there is nothing to see, so do not rent "Memory" in that hope) and Ann-Margaret as Carol Hargrave, the owner of a Gallery who sets up the introduction of the scientist and the artist. I was wondering why Ann-Margaret bothered to make this movie, because in 2006 she was having something of a mini-comback what with making "The Break-Up" and "The Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause." Therefore it would hardly seem necessary for her to make a movie like this one unless she gets to do something a bit different, which she does, so that may have been part of the rationale. But then I discovered this film was really made in 2005 and sat on the shelf for a while, which strikes me as bizaare given all the crap that goes direct to video. This film might fail more than it succeeds, but it does feature a pretty good cast for this type of movie.

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