The Postcard Killings - Blu-ray

Movie: It's the most difficult assignment of his life: New York detective Jacob Kanon (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) must identify the bodies of his newlywed daughter in London. She and her husband have been gruesomely murdered and their bodies seem to have been draped in a ritualistic manner. The case bears similarities to murders in other European metropolises, in the run-up to which a postcard was always sent to a representative of local media. When another murder occurs in Germany, Kanon takes the investigation into his own hands and hunts down the killer, who, however, has already moved on. A dangerous race against time begins, with Kanon getting help from dedicated journalist Dessie Leonard (Cush Jumbo). But then the story takes an unexpected turn.

"The Postcard Killings" is based on a best-selling book by James Patterson, whose novels, such as "In the Spider's Web" and "Because They're There to Kiss", have been successfully adapted into films before. Director Danis Tanovic, who won an award at Cannes for his drama "No Man`s Land", does a good job of developing a stirring atmosphere. However, this can't prevent Kanon's murder hunt across Europe from feeling a bit rushed, and many of the supporting characters remain too pale as a result. Thereby characters like the German inspector Klaus Bublitz, sympathetically played by Joachim Król, or also the journalist Dessie are really interesting and could have deserved more depth.

On the other hand Tanovic succeeds very well in luring the audience at first on a completely wrong track. You quickly get a sense of foreboding, yet the twist revealed about halfway through the story is pleasantly surprisingly realized. What doesn't really work, however, is the plotline around Kanon's wife (unfortunately hardly recognizable due to Botox: Famke Janssen), who goes on a search for clues in the USA herself and can thus provide her husband with important information. But how she gets to it, seems arguably constructed and takes the whole thing a little of its tension.

Despite this: Overall, "The Postcard Killings" is exciting and entertaining and has with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Cush Jumbo ("The Good Fight") or Joachim Król gathered a convincing ensemble in front of the camera. The filming locations in London, Norway and Sweden create a gripping atmosphere on a visual level, which somewhat consoles over the dramaturgical weak points. If you don't expect more than solid thriller fare, you'll be well entertained for about 100 minutes - nothing more, but nothing less. And therefore there is an absolutely satisfied bottom line: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The atmospheric locations in England, Sweden and Norway come thanks to a coherent color scheme and a high overall sharpness very well. The sharpness of detail can also convince in the numerous darker shots. The DTS-HD Master 5.1 mix doesn't quite ignite any major sound fireworks, but it does provide a coherent soundscape in the home theater. Good!

Extras: Unfortunately, there is no bonus material.

Conclusion: "The Postcard Killings" is a solid thriller, which thanks to good actors and atmospheric locations can make up for some dramaturgical weaknesses. In addition, the viewer is at least in the first half of the film skillfully led on a false trail, which increases the entertainment value noticeably. The Blu-ray can convince on a technical level, but there are no extras worth mentioning. For lovers of gripping thriller fare, who are not too squeamish, quite entertaining and therefore also: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp