The Eleventh Aggression

Chemical Burn Entertainment

R1 DVD

This film is a cross-genre one, where the main storyline is a detective story but there is enough blood and gore to justify the “horror” tag as well. We have already reviewed Family Secret, another film that combines the two genres. The weakness of this approach is that the horror can be used to overcome the sheer lack of plot. In The Eleventh Aggression this could so readily have happened, but the plodding police work is offset by a mismatched pair of detectives whose own lives are affected by the killer’s innovative methods of murder. The older detective does everything by the book which infuriates his younger sidekick. The younger one is brash and gungho but is gradually learning patience under the tuition of the older detective.

There is little mystery about the killer – we meet Jeffrey Walters at the start of the film filling his ex-girlfriend’s vagina with drain cleaner. She cheated on him (no wonder, he is quite creepy) and he seems to like to make the revenge fit the crime. Most of the violence is left to the imagination with just enough splatter to give our imaginations a good workout. The killer apparently has no motive for the innovative but gruesome killings but a picture of him gradually forms as the clues pile up. Is he a thrill killer? The victims are unconnected, so what is it about them that has stirred up his aggression? Why is each victim killed in a different manner? When the victims are random, how do you know who will be next?

Then one of the detectives gets much more involved in the case. His girlfriend has upset Jeffrey and she is marked for punishment. Suddenly he is in danger of being the next victim.

If we know who the killer is, and the graphic violence is played down, why watch the film? It appears to have a low budget but director Charles Peterson has made the most of it and given us a good story for the characters to develop in. Peterson has a wide experience in most aspects of the industry and his experience shows in the smooth way that the story unfolds. Apart from an annoying and unnecessary sequence filmed on a jerky handheld camera (very trendy – you must have at least one scene like this in every film) the cinematography is sharp and well-angled, especially in the killing scenes. Lighting is perfect for the moods. Little things, perhaps, but it gives the film a very professional look that makes it much easier to watch.

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