The Oxford Murders

A poorly formulated story that's nearly impossible to understand and accept.

This purported whodunit thriller never solves its main mystery: How and why did this film get made in the first place?

A polished but verbose whodunit that's surprisingly buttoned-down given helmer Alex de la Inglesia's rep for comicbook wackiness.

The murders are simply chalk marks on a blackboard with no build-up and little fallout.

Not so terrible that you can understand why it's been practically buried by its distributors, but you can get better ridiculous whodunits on TV.

A duly international, duly orthodox, duly commercial production. [Full review in Spanish]

Hurt sells the silliness almost convincingly, but even from such a skillful pitchman it comes out sounding, finally, like junk.

A math- and symbology-tinged thriller adapted by director Álex de la Iglesia, and pitched at a breakneck, didactic clip, absent any sensible, modulated emotional investment in the characters or material.

The Scooby Doo ending requires nearly ten minutes of explanation and negates the need to follow the previous 90 minutes. It's also preceded by one character stating, "In life, nobody bothers explaining anything." Well, except in this movie.

So bad it's good, then? Alas, the whole thing is uncomfortable and boring, scotching any ironic enjoyment of its awfulness.