Is it just me, or is there a serious amount of promising films out in the cinema at the moment?

Having only sat through Spiderman 3 last week, I figured I’d be able to catch up on 28 Weeks Later over the weekend. It wasn’t to be however, with Zodiac and Black Snake Moan also vying for my attention. The girlfriend had the casting vote, and she inexplicably chose Robert Downey Jr & Jake Gyllenhall over zombies or Christina Ricci in her mighty whities.

Still, I’m not one to turn down a David Fincher-helmed serial killer film.

Zodiac is, the opening reels tells us, based on actual case files. Concerning itself with a serial killer in 1970s San Francisco - or more accurately an intrepid cartoonist’s quest to bring said serial killer to justice - there’s a pretty solid plotline from which to hang the film.

To be absolutely clear, this is not Se7en, nor does it try to be.

Instead, the audience are treated to a very strange, slow-boiling detective story slash horror slash comedy. It’s very hard to pin down the film. The murder scenes are terrifically disturbing, but they’re juxtaposed with quirky and often laugh-out-loud exchanges, notably between the excellent Downey Jr. and Gyllenhall.

Very strange? Very, for a mainstream release such as this. As well as the genre-bending, characters are introduced, fleshed out, only to disappear with out explanation or significant resolution. These red-herrings perhaps mirror the investigation for the Zodiac itself, and whatever the reason, they are quite puzzling.

In the end though, it all adds to the film’s charm. The frequent switching of pace and tone wards off numb-bum syndrome, and we’re left with a very polished, stylish and memorable take on the genre.
View the trailer below, but better still: go see the thing!