I review any movie containing a maze or labyrinth. And there are some great maze movies that have been made ! But also there are movies that are the complete opposite. Today I will review Into the Labyrinth, or L'uomo del labirinto in Italian and see which list it fits into. The good news is this movie can usually be streamed for free on variety of websites. You can check the current availability using this link for justwatch ! If you are a reader you can also check out the 464 page book from Donato Carrisi that the movie is based on from Amazon, or better yet try to find it at your local bookseller / library.
Into the Labyrinth (2020) (IMDB)
Of all the movies I have reviewed this movie has the most different posters. Check out the 4 I found below: 3 of them have a mixture of labyrinth and maze imagery. They wanted to make a labyrinth - but ended making mazes. (Mazes fit into the story better).
First, I must say that we live in a world where we are constantly multitasking and electronic devices always want our attention. This is not a multitasking movie. You need to pay attention to the storyline and could easily get confused even if you do pay attention !
Into the Labyrinth is a thriller starring Dustin Hoffman. Should be good. The storyline follows an unfolding narrative that tries to explain how a missing woman, now recovering in a hospital came to be there after escaping her kidnapper. Who is that kidnapper, and what was their motivation ? Also, is that Donnie Darko on the movie poster (poster #1 & #3 above) ?
The story takes place in 2 different locales with 2 different sets of actors. Dustin, playing a doctor who is a profiler working with the woman in the hospital to find out what happened to her. She seems to have lost her memory and he is helping her recall what has happened to her. All of this happens in English. The other half of the movie shows a private investigation, done by a man name Genko, into the same case, all taking place in Italian. As the movie progresses new clues give us a variety of possible suspects. Tension builds. There is a weird rabbit story (the Donnie Darko reference I made earlier). The occult is introduced. Tension builds. and 75% of the way into it, the thing starts to show cracks. The story falls apart. Eventually things get tied up at the end, but the great start has already fizzled out. I’m not going to spoil any plot points, but there is a lot going on at the end (something reading the book could much easier explain).
So, what is the deal with the labyrinth ? Well, while the woman was kidnapped she was trapped in a dark stone labyrinth by her captor that included many locked doors. In order to get the supplies she needs she must solve a small 3D labyrinth/maze puzzle that has been left in her cell. Basically, her captor is a big fan of labyrinths.
Overall I give this a 5.5/10, but it had much more potential that was wasted.
SPOILERS: What happened at the end
There are 2 main twists in the movie Into the Labyrinth (2020):
The true identity of the kidnapped girl. Throughout the movie, we are led to believe that the woman in the hospital is Samantha Andretti, the girl who was kidnapped 15 years ago. However, in the final act, it is revealed that the woman in the hospital is actually Mila, a police officer who has been newly abducted and drugged.
2 cases. Although presented as one case during the movie, these are 2 separate cases shown side by side. There are 2 serial kidnappers (at least) on the loose. Our labyrinth lover, “Dr. Green”, played by Dustin Hoffman and a series of “bunny” kidnappers who appear to be passing down the tradition as victims become perpetrators. Our final scene combines the stories as Genko and Dr Green meet in the bar.
When I look back I wonder why I thought there was 1 serial killer case when we had 2 languages being spoken….surely they were far away from each other location wise. Looking back the plot question becomes how did Genko and Dr Green meet in the bar at the end ? In hindsight this is movie that you might want to watch twice, despite my low initial rating once you understand the story structure.
After you have seen the movie and you wonder what exactly was going on I suggest you read this long and detailed explanation if my short summary wasn’t enough for you.
Other Movie posts you may like:
A Collection of Maze and Labyrinth Movies
Other Maze horror movies:
Hellbound: Hellraiser II Movie Review (1988)
It: Chapter 2 Movie Review (2019)
The Shining Movie Review (1980)
