It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

26th episode out of 30 is a little late to start watching a series, but that's how I got here!Brilliant suspense, with motifs from the horror genre, but in keeping with the storyline. Well-acted and well-written, with at least a couple of moments of genuine shock. I enjoyed it immensely and will now watch the remaining episodes that I have recorded!There are a number of plot twists and it ain't over, 'til it's over! I've read that this is different from the other films in the series, but we'll see!

Already familiar to British audiences from the Radio 4 dramatizations (under the title THE MARTIN BECK KILLINGS), this was the first episode broadcast in a season of the Swedish versions on BBC Four television with subtitles.Harald Hamrell's production clearly delineated the relationships between the main protagonists. The eponymous hero (Peter Haber) is a cerebral type favoring patient investigation and cool calculation. His sidekick Gunvald (Mikael Persbrandt) favors a more direct approach involving violence both verbal and physical. The two have an antagonistic relationship lightened somewhat by the odd wry joke.Set in and around the streets of Stockholm, the production creates a world of corruption in which everyone seems out for themselves. In this episode the two police officers have to track down a crazed killer who buries his victims alive and leaves messages designed to attract Beck's interest. In the end Beck is placed in deadly peril, with his inquisitiveness getting the better of him. Even the police force are not above a certain degree of self-interest.Stylistically speaking, this episode contains a lot of patient deduction interspersed with some genuinely scary moments. At one point a middle-aged woman living on her own is placed in deadly peril by an unidentified stalker; the camera pursues her through her bungalow as she tries to find out what the problem is, with the sequence ending with an abrupt cut as the stalker comes up behind her and places a hand over her mouth.The ending deliberately subverts our expectations, drawing us into a world of revenge and murder. Imprisoning the criminal does not promote reform; on the contrary, it breeds a festering resentment that spells danger for anyone responsible for incarcerating the criminal in the first place.

In the opening scenes a woman is attacked in her car as it passes through a carwash; her assailant injects her in the neck. We then see a mother and child visiting a playground; the child discovers a large coffin-like box buried in the sandpit; there is a tapping noise coming from it. By the time the police arrive the woman inside has died. She was a prominent lawyer and suspicion immediately falls on the biker gang she was prosecuting… until its leader turns out to be the next victim. It soon becomes apparent that there is a serial killer at work as more bodies turn up; including one that is several months old. As the case continues, and the police work to find a connection between the victims, the killer contacts Martin Beck, the leader of the police investigation and ultimately puts him in real danger of becoming the next victim.For some reason this was the first episode of 'Beck' to be broadcast on BBC4 so was my introduction to the character and the series. This didn't prove to be much of a problem as it didn't take too long to figure out who was who. The opening scenes quickly grabbed my attention and from then on the story moved at a quick pace as the body count rises. There is some use of horror movie cliché… who wasn't expecting to see the killer when a woman closed her fridge door?! Still even though such moments were a little cliché they provided some extra tension. It wasn't all darkness though; one of his neighbours was distinctly bizarre and provided some amusement. Those hoping to solve the crime before the killer is revealed may be a little disappointed as the first time we see him is when he is literally unmasked. The acting was solid and the characters felt like real people. Overall a pretty good story that left me looking forward to further stories in the series.These comments are based on watching the episode in Swedish with English subtitles.

The movie is good in many aspects but is different from other Beck-movies. Their constantly surprising moments are more similar to a horror movie than a thriller. *There is a noise in the room. Who is there? Oh, the lamp is swinging. *Horror music begins* BAM! A cat meows.* Typical horror scene and should not be involved in a classic Beck-movie. I would rate the previous Beck-movies as 7-8/10, but this one falls down to 5. The movie is not even based on a trustworthy story. How could the series-murder enter Beck's apartment and assault him when the door was locked and not broken? How could the series-murder stand up, walk away, pick up a sledgehammer and try to attack Police- Oscar? Oscar just smashed a stone to his head. He would be knocked out for a long time and maybe even brain-damaged. And even if he wouldn't be knocked out, it's impossible to stand up and walk away quietly in that situation. In the previous Beck-movies I enjoyed that the movies were trustworthy. Everything was logical, maybe not so likely but still possible, and it could have been a true story. This one was not logical, not convincing and belongs to a low budget horror movie. The constantly surprising, shocking scenes and the unbelievable scenes really drag this movie down unlike other Beck-movies.Though, the acting and effects in the movie is quite costly and detailed. That's good!