Thr3e

Plot synopsis:
Jennifer Peters (Justine Waddell) attempts to save her brother Roy, who has been abducted by a serial killer. The murderer is known as the Riddle Killer, or R.K., because of how he ties in riddles with his murders. Jennifer has recently written a book about the nature of serial killers, to which R.K. has taken offense. Jennifer follows R.K.'s clues and finds Roy, but fails to save him as the car in which he is trapped explodes.
Kevin Parson (Marc Blucas) is a seminary theology student. Kevin has recently completed the third draft of his thesis about the nature of good and evil. One day, he receives a phone call from R.K., demanding that he confess some unspecified sin, or his car will explode. He also tells Kevin a riddle: "What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls?" Puzzled at what sin he means and the riddle, Kevin quickly escapes from the car before the explosion. He informs the police, among them Jennifer, but leaves out the part about the sin the killer demanded he confess, believing that the sin is what he did some time ago.
Then he receives a threat against his childhood dog, and goes to the house of his Aunt Balinda (Priscilla Barnes). He fails to save his dog from a bomb. Back at his home, he meets up with his friend since childhood, Samantha Sheer (Laura Jordan). They decide to try to figure out the mystery of the Riddle Killer, who continues to target him, and who appears to be somehow able to monitor Kevin in his own home. Sam solves the first riddle, the answer is night and day. She is working as an insurance detective and takes the book in which the killer had hidden a mobile phone to the laboratory.
Then there is another threat from the Riddle Killer. A bomb is attached to Kevin's fellow student Henry and a message on Henry's forehead points to Romans 6:23, a bible text about death as the wages of sin. The police manages to get the bomb off Henry's body. Kevin now remembers a boy who had always watched him and Sam during their childhood. In self-defense, Kevin had locked him in a warehouse and left him to die. He thinks that the boy escaped, and is now R.K.
Later, Kevin finds the papers of his thesis scattered around his room. He finds a TV in his refrigerator which shows R.K. with another riddle, about something which takes you away, but does not go anywhere. Kevin confesses leaving the boy in the warehouse and apologizes, hoping to satisfy him and that he would now be left alone. However, R.K. insists that it is not sufficient and does not relent. Together with Sam, whose father worked as a policemen, he finds out that a bus on 3rd Avenue is in danger. He and Sam manage to get all the passengers off in time before a bomb explodes.
Jennifer visits Kevin's Aunt Balinda and finds that she has been keeping her husband and son Bobby in the dark about the entire world outside their home, and had done so to Kevin as well. She also finds a bloody jacket in the warehouse. In the meantime, Sam talks with Kevin, who is in a hotel now. R.K. sends a message on a tape to the hotel room which points to an empty building and the number 33369 - the warehouse. Before Jennifer gets to the hotel, Kevin and Sam are at the warehouse. There Sam sees a wall full of enigmatic words and then is trapped by the killer. When Kevin enters the building, he finds a bomb. He is unable to stop it, but can escape with Sam. Jennifer and the police arrive and investigate. Sam leaves, and Kevin insists on not cooperating with Jennifer, as the killer insisted on no police involvement, under threat of killing more people. Jennifer declares her resignation, saying that as she is no longer officially involved, she no longer counts. However, Kevin ignores her.
Kevin finds another threat about a house on a fire and midnight, realizing that his Aunt Belinda is in danger. He rushes to try to save her and remembers how his aunt had abused him when he was a child. Sam finds a note by R.K. and is startled to see he has the same handwriting as Kevin. She calls Jennifer, who tells her that there was only one pair of footprints in the warehouse. Sam is now sure that she had never actually seen R.K. The women also realize that all the riddles were about opposites, like nightfall and daybreak, and conclude that R.K. might actually be Kevin's "evil half."
Kevins finds Balinda tied up, and the Riddle Killer introduces himself as Slater (Bill Moseley). Sam rushes to Balinda's house, and finds that the Riddle Killer, Slater, is real after all when she looks under the door and sees two pairs of shoes. Slater explains that he will have Kevin kill Balinda, then leave him to take the blame, as everyone will believe Kevin is the Riddle Killer. Jennifer arrives to find Kevin pointing a gun at himself. As it turns out, Slater and Sam are both figments of Kevin's imagination. Kevin had been traumatized by the treatment by Balinda, had imagined his friend Samantha and the boy with whom he had fought, and had subconsciously imitated the real Riddle Killer. Jennifer convinces Kevin of this, and his visions of Slater and Sam vanish.
Kevin had said that the real Riddle Killer was right in front of their eyes, and Jennifer discovers while examining his wall of clippings that the hot dog vendor who had supposedly been given a book by the killer to give to her is at the front of the crowd in a photo, holding a camera. When captured, he confesses that he hates copycats and had meant to kill Kevin for copying him.
Kevin is sent to an institution, and Jennifer visits him there.

Tags: insanity, philosophical, murder, flashback

Review:
It's the movie version of the book Thr3e by Ted Dekker.
Being a movie, there is less time for the detail which made the book especially clever, but the film does tell the story reasonably well.
The book is certainly a must read if you like thrillers and for me this film was a must see..
I tried not to have my hopes too high after seeing some other book to movie translation but they got raised when there was a preview for this movie on the television the night before.With those raised expectations I can say I was a bit disappointed with the movie yet I enjoyed the movie thoroughly.The story was based on the book Thr3e by Ted Dekker.
The movie was filled with explosions, suspense, and a who-done-it mystery.The main thing that was disappointing was the filming and special effects.
It was very well done.(especially considering that it was done by FoxFaith) Ted Dekker's books are awesome, and this movie does a fine job of depicting that.
The direction is totally sub par , the acting is labored and the plot is as thin as a gossamer , DO NOT waste your time or money on this shallow movie .
That being said I would advise anyone thinking of watching this movie to burn their DVD player to avoid the permanently bad reputation it gives all films with a numerical title.
As those close to him start to die, the only people who stand by our hero are his longtime female friend and a police psychologist whose brother was one of said murderer's victims.This film drags the viewer through a series of pedestrian chases, shootouts, and assorted close calls for our heroic trio before reaching a fairly predictable climax.
No, I haven't read the book, but I'm pretty sure a bunch of fifth graders with camcorders could produce a better movie than this.
There is a place for "Christian" films, but this stupid mess just gives them a bad name for idiotic plots, horrible acting and dumbed-down "good vs.
Overall, the story of Thr3e turned out to be an incredible book and movie.
Its not a bad movie, far from it but this could have and should have been a great film, all that would have been required would be to give us real people to hang out with instead we get cyphers and cut outs.
I actually like Marc Blucas and have no clue why he would subject himself to such a bad movie....So, the worst acting award goes to none other than Milton(Max Ryan)....He looked constipated in every scene that he was in....Of course Jennifer Peters(Justine Waddel) was not far behind....She was just not believable as this character and her acting leaves something to be desired....Don't get me wrong, the concept of this movie was not bad and the story line was interesting, but the casting(couldn't they have picked someone a little more intimidating to play the role of grown up Slater!), acting and execution of this movie was terrible and so in my opinion it was a flop..
The movie would have had a good chance if better actors were attached to it and more money was in the budget for "Real" looking FX.
most of it was exactly like the book the casting was great (although I think they could have done better on Jennifer) I thought the movie was very well done - have you ever seen the visitation good movie kinda corny - this movie not corny the least bit, the ending was great, the family was absolutely perfect and Kevin was amazing!
I think if you have seen this movie and thought it wasn't good then you a bunch of baloney - I really think to many people watch movie's and think if they are not scary enough they aren't good well I think this movie wasn't supposed to by like the grudge or something cause then obviously it would lose a lot of fans so yeah this is just my opinion - it was great!.
Based on the popular book by Ted Dekker, "Thre3e" is being marketed as a Christian movie  taking great lengths to avoid gore and graphic language  but outside of a few cursory religious references and a weightless proclamation to "trust God" by a priest character at the end, you would have no idea of its intentions.
The only attempted message or theme is knowing the difference between good and evil, which you can find in many other (and better) non-Christian movies.
"Thre3e" uses every suspense/mystery cliché in the book (dark tones, haggard cops, quick shots of the villain) and some stylistic devices are lifted completely from other movies ("Final Destination" fans will recognize at least one), but it still fails to come off as anything but a low budget production.
There were plenty of good explosions.Anybody who likes twists should certainly enjoy this movie, (I won't say anymore on that subject).I hate the fact that so many people dislike simply because it is a Christian movie, it only barely is anyway.I was expecting something reasonably bad, because of what the reviews said, but when I saw how good it was, I simply frowned upon the bad reviews.
If you are a Christian then you should support this movie because it will show the movie companies that we want more movies and with better budgets.If you have read the book the movie the follows the plot very well.
If you didn't know, this is a "Foxfaith" film, so it's funded by Christian people who want more religious movies.
You can tell that the people at "Fox Faith" films chose the book Thr3e for a reason and so just watch the movie for what it is.
Kevin is troubled and somewhat confused; Samantha, sweet and a little innocent; Jennifer was quite CSI and emotionally distanced, though the first time I saw it, her acting appeared poor, the second time I realized that was how she was supposed to look; and the bad guy, scary and evil.
I love Ted Dekker books, so when I found out that my favorite of his books (being Thr3e) was being made into a movie, I was very excited.
I enjoyed the movie, considering that it was a low budget film being made directly off the book.
I think that if I hadn't read the book, the movie might have been more enjoyable to watch.
I can't wait to see what they will do with Ted Dekker's next book that is in production as a movie, "House"..
Having read the book, I sat down, waiting for the film to start.As soon as I saw the title and heard the music, my heart started going.
The effects did reflect the budget; I think a way to change that would be to give them more money to make a quality movie like Thr3e.
I haven't read the book yet, but the plot seemed to keep me somewhat on the edge of my seat although it felt like something I've seen before.
Most of the people who are seeing this movie are those who read the book by Ted Dekker.
Ted Dekker's a great author, and this is a pretty decent film of his book Thr3e.
It's a tight thriller with a number of plot twists which form the backdrop for an interesting reflection on the nature of good & evil and our place within both.This is marketed as a Christian film, so I was leery of it being lame, or preachy, or just poorly made - not so!
The movie itself avoided all such lameness.It's not for the timid, however, and it does earn it's PG-13, but that is managed w/o any sex or blood.I think the only weak point I saw was a couple of rather cardboard-like characters as Kevin's Aunt and Uncle, but they're pretty minor in the scheme of things.Good flick..
I read this book a couple of years ago, and I've been looking forward to the movie coming out ever since I heard about it.
The acting was very good, too, especially when compared to other Christian-supported movies.I'm looking forward to more movies based on books by Ted Dekker..
Thr3e does Ted Dekker's novel justice by closely following the original text (although there are still liberties taken with the story).The camera work was good.
Why the makers of "Thr3e" would go as far as Ploand to make a movie that supposed to take place in the US is by far the biggest mystery, far more then the identity of the serial killer in it, in the entire movie!The film mimics far more "The Sixth Sense" then "Saw" or "Se7en" which many critics claim its story copies off from.
:| Two, it's three times worse than most bad movies I have seen.and Three, there's about 3 THOUSAND plot holes in this film...Alright, but onto the main review...Thr3e is a movie that interested me, since it was based on a book by quite a famous Christian author, plus it was horror/thriller.
It is one of the few Christian Horror/Thrillers out there, and could of been quite a good, enjoyable movie.Oh well.
Hopefully Ted Dekker's next book-to-film adaption, "HOUSE" will be better...I hope...Acting:3/10 Direction:2/10 Plot:2/10 Re-watch ability: 1/10 Overall Rating: 3/10 Do I recommend this film?: No.
Entertaining and worth watching but...A watered down, less enthusiastic, crappy acted version of roughly ...20 % Fight Club (Ending) , 20% Se7en (Format), 20% Saw (Antagonist), 20% The Ring (Day 1,2,3), and 20% Identity.Well the 1/5 each things are exaggerated but you catch my drift, the book may have been original, but the film utilizes and copies too many styles previously established by much superior films.It is semi-creepy however.Watch it, just to see all the pieces of the other movies come together to create disappointing trash!.
I think they did a really good job with the movie---keeping it true to the book.
Not a bad film consider its a Christian movie.
This movie isn't so bad, When I first walked in I had my feet dragging literally, I have seen enough cheesy & campy Christian films in my day and I was not looking forward to seeing another one.
Thr3e...the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this movie is a lesson between good and evil, it's reach to all mankind, and a study in all things that go boom!Thr3e is a psychological thriller based on the best selling novel by Ted Dekker.
In Thr3e, the first installment from Fox Faith (Fox's Christian-themed film division), we get a movie that wants to be Saw and Se7en, but because of the handcuffs imposed by the studio's "spiritual" bent, not to mention a just plain lousy screenplay, we end up with a movie that is several digits short on the quality/intensity scale of either (no pun intended).Based on the book by "Christian" novelist Ted Dekker, this limp excuse for a horror thriller wants to be edgy and worldly, but dares not cross into territory charted by mainstream horror movies.
Given that the engine that drives a movie of this nature is the level of fear, dread and tension built up by protagonists or innocents finding themselves in very real danger of losing their lives, this movie instead delivers a story about a serial killer in which virtually nobody dies, unless you count a dog and a no-name non-character at the beginning who is on screen for all of 10 seconds.Buried somewhere in this mess is a purported "message" about the evil that is harbored within all mankind, but you really don't need to sit through 101 minutes of this tripe to walk away with that revelation.Alan McElroy's screenplay appears to have been practically dunked in a baptismal font of stupidity, leaving leaps of logic that seemingly require the viewer to be imbued with a degree of mental retardation to swallow.
For example, if the killer and Samantha were the product of protagonist Kevin Parson's (Marc Blucas) three-way split personality disorder, who was police psychologist Jennifer Peters (Justine Waddell) talking to on the phone, in the car, at the police station (I could go on), and if, as the film explains at the end, she was fully aware that Parson was holding transitory gab-fests with imaginary friends and enemies, why did this "psychologist" allow this loon to run all over town when in reality he should have been placed in a rubber room under observation?
Thr3e was the first Ted Dekker novel I ever read, and I'd heard many good things about it.
I never believed the character of Jennifer or Sam; my brother, who watched the movie with me without reading the book, kept mixing them up.
Kevin did a pretty good job, and some of the added stuff made the film make sense; that's why I didn't give this movie an automatic one.
And that's just sad.To all Christian authors (especially Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti): if the movie industry wants to make movies out of your books, hold out for a bigger budget, decent script-writing (or write the scripts yourself), and good actors.
My friend and I love to watch horrible movies - we're going to be hard pressed to unearth one as bad as this one in 2007.We have a theory, and some questions, if Ted's bored and would like to respond.
My point is, for anyone who thinks the ending is 'corny' or there's not enough violence or gore, think of the possibility that maybe there's ENOUGH gore, horror, and violence out there to be seen without it coming from an actually GOOD suspense movie.
Thr3e is a thriller based on a book by Ted Dekker.
Three months later & theology student Kevin Parson (Marc Blucas) gets a call from the Riddle Killer & so begins another twisted game full of bizarre puzzles & innocent lives on the line as Kevin is forced to face his childhood demons & solve the Riddle Killer's puzzles in order to save those innocent lives, his friends & even his own life, cop Peters learns that Kevin is the Riddle Killer's new target & sets out to nail the psycho once & for all but nothing is quite as it seems as the truth is even more shocking than anyone could have expected...This Polish American co-production was directed by Robby Henson & was based on the novel by Ted Dekker, I have to say that while I didn't think Thr3e was particularly brilliant & it has it's flaws I didn't think it was a complete waste of time either & did actually quite like it to a certain extent.
The first thing to note is how much of a rip-off the title Thr3e is of the excellent serial killer thriller Se7en (1995) & the two feel fairly similar although you can chuck a little bit of Saw (2004), Fight Club (1999) & Hide and Seek (2005) as it borrows their plot twist's, style & overall feel.
In short Thr3e has some interesting ideas, it moves along at a decent pace, there story is reasonably gripping & with a better script & stronger direction the multiple twist ending could have been a real killer but the lack of any violence, death or exploitation elements makes it a bit dull to watch & the ambitious twist just leaves too many plot holes & somewhat destroys the credibility of everything that has happened before.As already mentioned there really isn't any violence here, a dog gets blown up & a guy is killed at the start off-screen & that's it.
The acting is average, no-one really stands out while Bill Moseley has a small cameo.Thr3e is a film at odds with itself, there's the potential for a clever little serial killer thriller but a silly twist ending that leaves lots of plot holes & a complete total lack of exploitation or horror elements ultimately works against it.
The movie goes about making you think one thing but twist completely I like how they slowly let viewers know whats going on.
Slight spoiler - Thrilled to find the movie as good as or better than the book..
And what a better way to introduce the idea that everyone must face their own evilness than to make split personalities?Thr3e r0ck3d.The movie was essentially good because it didn't leave out the main idea of the book.
When books are made into movies, the movies are often just the main and very basic plot with a whole different story altogether.Thr3e is not like that.
I could go on about what I love about Thr3e- both the movie and the book- but I just wanted to say that it was a very good story no matter what anyone says about it being a copy of Saw, or Adaption, or whatever else you want to think.It is an original, it's Ted Dekker at his best (but what isn't?) and I thoroughly enjoy reading {and watching} Thr3e..
If you are a fan of the book, the only good thing about the film was the ending (How Sam, Slater and Kevin are all one person).
My wife was trying to convince me that it was a person, but when it was revealed to be a dog - well that killed it for us.Unless you are a big fan of Mr. Dekker's work, have read the book, enjoy watching gratuitous poorly done explosions, or enjoy unintentionally funny movies masquerading as suspense - I would say to avoid this film.
Yes THR3E was kind of a disappointing movie itself but over all I think it did very well considering it was a low-budget film.
It wasn't a bad movie and I hope Fox Faith does indeed make some films that are truly Christian but I don't think this one really counts.
I am not saying it's a bad movie and I am not saying anything against the writer of the book or the film in general.