Cage and Schumacher examine in horrifying and brilliant detail what motivates people to do or become evil, what overcomes evil, and what evil does to the good, the naïve, and the ill-prepared. Yes, it could have been a little less ponderous and a little more compact, but that hardly is a blemish in this movie. If you're looking for cartoonish, stylized morality plays, go see a movie like "Fatal Attraction," cuz this ain't it. This movie has a theme more in common with "Rope" and a sick, moody grittiness worthy of "Seven." Speaking of those movies, this movie reeks with the consequences of the philosophy of hedonism and nihilism, but does not wallow in this philosophy but instead uses them as a foil for the primacy of justice and retribution, both of which are ultimately delivered in a fashion worthy of James Dickey.