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"I KNOW WHO KILLED ME" (2007) (Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Extreme Extreme Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Mild Extreme *None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Moderate Heavy Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Suspense: Despite all witness and physical evidence to the contrary, a young woman says she isn't a victim who's escaped from a sadistic serial killer. PLOT: Aubrey Fleming (LINDSAY LOHAN) is an ordinary student with a regular boyfriend, Jerrod Pointer (BRIAN GERAGHTY), and nondescript parents, Daniel (NEAL McDONOUGH) and Susan (JULIA ORMOND). She's shown promise as a pianist but really wants to be a writer. All of that changes, however, when she's kidnapped by a sadistic killer who dismembered his last victim while she was alive. Thus, it's shocking to everyone, including FBI agents Julie Bascome (GARCELLE BEAUVAIS-NILON) and Phil Lazarus (SPENCER GARRETT) when Aubrey shows up alive nearly two weeks later, albeit missing much of her right arm and leg. More troubling, however, is that the young woman claims to be stripper Dakota Moss (LINDSAY LOHAN) and not the missing girl. Her parents and a case psychologist think this is just a byproduct of posttraumatic distress disorder, but the FBI agents are understandably curious, especially since Dakota seems so positive about who she is, although she can't remember how she lost her limbs. From that point on, the young woman tries to figure out what's going on, all as everyone around her worries about whether she'll snap out of this seemingly delusional state. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Lohan, they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For grisly violence including torture and disturbing gory images, and for sexuality, nudity and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: LINDSAY LOHAN plays a fairly normal student with a desire to be a writer, who's kidnapped and tortured by a sadist. She also plays a young woman who looks identical to and is believed to be the other woman, but acts quite differently. She says she's a stripper (seen in flashback), has sex with Jerrod (who she sees as a complete stranger), uses strong profanity, smokes, drinks a little, and has a surly attitude toward others. She must also contend with part of her arm and leg being cut off. NEAL McDONOUGH plays her dad who worries about her both when she's been kidnapped and after she returns but seems to be acting delusional. He uses profanity (some of it briefly strong) and drinks. JULIA ORMOND plays his wife who similarly worries about their daughter, briefly uses profanity, and briefly smokes. BRIAN GERAGHTY plays Aubrey's boyfriend who has sex with Dakota, thinking it's Aubrey. He uses some profanity. GARCELLE BEAUVAIS-NILON and SPENCER GARRETT play FBI agents who want to catch the sadistic killer and are somewhat using the supposedly escaped victim as bait. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated thriller. Profanity consists of at least 18 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue (most of it explicit) is present, as is a rather steamy and lengthy sexual encounter (with movement and sounds). Various bare-breasted strippers are seen in a nightclub, along with others doing their thing (sexual dancing in very skimpy attire) up on the stage. Nonsexual nudity (a dead female body) is also present. Violence consists of on and off-screen murders, and the striking of others, along with various moments of sadism and dismemberment. Much of that has extremely bloody and gory results, and those scenes and moments of peril might be rather intense and/or suspenseful for some viewers. The perpetrator of such acts obviously has a bad attitude, while others have ones that are less intense. Various characters drink and/or smoke, and a woman swallows some pills with booze. Some behavior may be enticing to imitate, while tense family scenes include a couple having to identify their dead daughter's body in the morgue, while another worries about their kidnapped child and her subsequent and apparent delusional state. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, some of that occurs in the film, from police lights, and especially later during a thunderstorm. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, some camera movement is present, including handheld type footage. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE People drink in a strip club. There's talk of limb amputation, and that the killer used amphetamines to keep his victim alert during his sadistic spree of amputating some of her limbs. A man appears to be drinking a beer while driving his truck. Dakota claims to have been raised by a crack addict, and says that her mom overdosed. People drink in a strip club. Daniel drinks. Dakota takes some unspecified pills and downs them with liquor. We see a re-creation of some people in a bar drinking. Daniel has a drink. Dakota drinks to deal with the pain concerning her severed finger and sewing it back on. BLOOD/GORE We see blood smear down a stripper pole along with a gloved hand. A rose's thorn pricks Aubrey's finger, leaving a little blood there. We see a dead girl's parents identifying her dead body (we see bruises on her face). Aubrey is kidnapped (not seen) and then seems in anguish while bound and gagged and having blurry views of her sadistic kidnapper. He then places a brick of dry ice onto her hand, and we later see her fingers that are all black. He then lifts that ice that ends up pulling off some skin and meat from her hand (seen in close-up). He then uses a glass cleaver to cut off those fingers, with bloody results (including a stream running off from the scene), all as she screams and struggles in pain. We see a side autopsy view of a fully nude woman's dead body on a table (we see amputated limbs with sewn-up ends, as well as some bruises on the skin). We see the tip of a knife going into some skin, drawing some blood. Dakota has blood suddenly seep from a hole in her arm, and we then see the blood smeared on her arm. As Dakota showers, she suddenly looks at her hand, finding one of her fingers all black. It then splits open, with blood and pus coming out (seen in close-up). We see another view of the gloved hand going down the bloody striptease pole. We then see Dakota remove that glove, with a finger falling out (we see blood on the severed digit as well as the hand). We later see a bloody towel around her hand, and then blood dripping onto the floor in a bus, with a stranger telling her she needs to get her hand above her heart to stop that. We see some still photos of stigmata, including one man with blood down from both eyes. We see a re-creation of some people in a bar drinking. One is then shot in the neck and killed. At the same time, his twin in another location suddenly has blood flow from a new hole in his neck, as well as out of his mouth. Dakota sees a reflection in a mirror of the killer striking a woman on the head with a shovel. Just then, Dakota falls off the stool on which she's standing. She lands on the floor with a bloody nose. We see a flashback to Dakota's finger being severed, and then stitched back on, seen in gory close-up. In a flashback, Dakota wakes up to find blood all over her arm, and she pulls back the covers to reveal a great deal of blood on her lower body. We see a flashback to the killer hitting a woman on the head with a shovel, as well as a view of a finger being cut off. We see blood around a glass cleaver. A gloved hand suddenly blasts through a door, grabbing at Dakota. She grabs it with her robotic arm that's strong enough to crush it long enough that she can cut it off (the hand lands on the floor, with blood on it, as well as the resultant stump). Dakota finds a metal bowl full of blood. Dakota finds a body on a table under a sheet of plastic. It appears dead, but the person is alive, albeit only for a moment (and may be lying in blood on the table). We see the killer's severed hand in ice (that he then removes), as well as the bloody stump where it was once attached. A woman stabs a man in the gut before jabbing the dagger into his neck, with very bloody results. Aubrey has a little bit of a bloody nose. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The sadistic killer obviously had bad attitudes. A moment of silence is held for a dead girl before a football game, followed by the announcer enthusiastically telling them to win one for her (done in poor taste). A man appears to be drinking a beer while driving his truck. Dakota has a bad and surly attitude toward Daniel and Susan, the FBI agents, and a psychiatrist. The FBI agents want to use Dakota as bait to catch the killer. Tired of what's occurring, Daniel tells Dakota (thinking it's Aubrey) to "Shut the f*ck up." We learn that a father in the past secretly replaced his dead newborn with another person's baby. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful, or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. We hear the sound of a woman being tortured, followed by a loud thump (presumably a fatal blow). Students are told that a classmate of theirs is dead. We see a dead girl's parents identifying her dead body (we see bruises on her face) and they react in shock and grief. There's talk of limb amputation, and that the killer used amphetamines to keep her alert during such sadistic violence. Aubrey is kidnapped (not seen) and then seems in anguish while bound and gagged and having blurry views of her sadistic kidnapper. He then places a brick of dry ice onto her hand, and we later see her fingers that are all black. He then lifts that ice that ends up pulling off some skin and meat from her hand (seen in close-up). He then uses a glass cleaver to cut off those fingers, with bloody results (including a stream running off from the scene), all as she screams and struggles in pain. A miscellaneous woman swerves on the road at night to avoid an animal, but then sees a body lying along the road. We see an orthopedic (powered) saw being prepared to be used on someone, but we don't see the impact. Dakota wakes up in the hospital to find part of her arm and leg missing (the ends are bandaged). There's talk of a finger being sewn back onto a hand that was then sewn back onto an arm. We see a flashback to Dakota going to see her mom in her rundown place. When she opens the door, she reacts to the smell inside, and we hear flies before seeing the woman's dead body (beyond being dead and slightly off-color, there's no blood or gore). In a flashback, Dakota walks along and alone at night where she hears noises around her. She then sees glimpses of an anonymous man who seems to magically get closer to here with each passing moment (she ends up getting on a bus and is okay). As Dakota showers, she suddenly looks at her hand, finding one of her fingers all black. It then splits open, with blood and pus coming out (seen in close-up). We see the killer digging a grave, ready to inter an injured but alive woman in a glass top coffin. Experiencing symbiotic symptoms, Dakota finds that she's having trouble breathing (correlating to a person who's been buried alive). Daniel retrieves a tire iron and slowly makes his way around a house that may the killer's lair. Dakota slowly makes her way around a house that may be the killer's lair. She accidentally makes some noise, and then hides in an outside corner, trying to avoid the figure in the window from seeing her. A gloved hand suddenly blasts through a door, grabbing at Dakota. She grabs it with her robotic arm that's strong enough to crush it long enough that she can cut it off (the hand lands on the floor, with blood on it, as well as the resultant stump). Dakota slowly walks through the killer's lair where various prosthetic limbs sway while hanging from the ceiling. Dakota finds a body on a table under a sheet of plastic. It appears dead, but the person is alive, albeit only for a moment (and may be lying in blood on the table). We see the killer behind Dakota who initially isn't aware he's there. She then tries to hit the killer, but he avoids that, grabs and pulls off her prosthetic arm, and knocks her unconscious. When she comes to, she's bound and tries to free herself, but can't as the killer comes back and holds a dagger to her face. He then tries to attack her, she avoids that, there's some contact between them, and she then stabs him in the gut before jabbing the dagger into his neck, with very bloody results. GUNS/WEAPONS Knives/Daggers/Other sharp implements: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound, or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "I f*cking knew it," "Do I look like I'm in a f*cking coma?" "I didn't f*cking see him," "How the f*ck would you feel?" "It's f*cked up," "Did she ever f*ck you like that? Did she ever f*ck you at all?" "Shut the f*ck up," "Go f*ck yourself," "F*ck you," "I have to do the whole f*cking thing over," "I'm tired of this sh*t," "Like you were some sort of sex addict before," "Insanely crazy," "I'm officially freaking out," "Why the hell /you ask me?" "Freaks him out," "Chick," "Freaking," "Like a G*ddamn prisoner," "It's so creepy," "Damn, that bitch lost a lot of blood," "She'll kick my ass," "People get cut -- that's life," "Damn right it did," "Loser," "Kick the hell out of me" and "You're pathetic." Aubrey gives a worker "the finger" for coming on to her. A miscellaneous man has tattoos on his chest and arm. A man appears to be drinking a beer while driving his truck. We see a bare-breasted woman with a pierced nipple, while Dakota appears to have a pierced navel. Dakota wears a midriff-revealing top. Jerrod sneaks Dakota out from under FBI surveillance by transporting her in a car trunk. We see a shirtless man with a large tattoo on his chest (that moves in an animated fashion, in a surreal moment). JUMP SCENES A gloved hand suddenly blasts through a door, grabbing at Dakota. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None that we heard, but some songs had lyrics that we couldn't fully hear and/or understand, thus presenting the possibility of them containing objectionable material. PROFANITY At least 18 "f" words (3 used sexually), 4 "s" words, 4 hells, 2 damns, 1 ass, 8 uses of "Oh my God," 3 of "Oh God," 2 of "Jesus" and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "For God's sakes." SEX/NUDITY We see a neon sign showing the outline of a stripper (at a strip club). We see slow-motion views of Dakota doing her striptease pole dance while scantly clad (in mini shorts that show a lot of her bare butt, almost like a thong, and a camisole type top that shows cleavage). We also see a bare-breasted woman in the same venue. Aubrey and especially Dakota show varying amounts of cleavage (sometimes a lot) in various outfits throughout the film. Jerrod runs his hand up the inside of Aubrey's thigh (in jeans) in class, but she stops it just before it reaches her crotch. She then asks if that's all she is to him, sometime to relax him before the football game. In biology class, Jerrod is asked to find the female reproductive organs and the seminal receptor, but he ends up pointing out the male reproductive organs (for what turns out to be worms, which aren't seen). Aubrey then jokingly tells him that it looks like he needs more experience with the female anatomy. Knowing Aubrey is checking him out, a worker removes his shirt outdoors and then suggestively holds a branch in front of him (in a somewhat phallic fashion), all as we see a close-up view of her clothed butt, representing his POV. Some cheerleaders show some cleavage in their standard outfits. About another comment about popping out babies, one of Aubrey's friends jokes with Aubrey, "Like you were some sort of sex addict before." We see a side autopsy view of a fully nude woman's dead body on a table (we see the bare breasts and part of the bare butt). Susan shows a little cleavage in several scenes. We see various bare-breasted women in a strip club where Dakota does her pole dancing thing again. This time, she's even more scantly clad than before (a sheer bikini type top and small and tight shorts that show much of her bare butt) and she does various sexual moves, while also bending over, crawling on all fours, and lying on her back and spreading her legs for the patrons to see. At various points, the camera focuses close on her body parts. Practicing lying to pose as Aubrey, Dakota says (among other things) that she never sold her body to hairy old men with BO (body odor). Jerrod suddenly leans forward and kisses Dakota, thinking it's Aubrey. She bites his lip and asks if Aubrey would have done that, but they then continue kissing, only to have her mom interrupt them. Dakota then tells Susan that she and Jerrod are going upstairs to her bedroom. Once there, she holds a wrapped condom and says it's their only one, adding, "So you better make it last." They then make out, his shirt comes off, and she climbs on top of him on the bed. Her shirt is then off (we see her bra strap across her back) and they have sex, with lots of movement and sounds from both (Susan hears that downstairs and tries to cover that up by making other noise, but isn't successful). Dakota sits up and continues to have sex on top of Jerrod, with more movement and sounds, as well as a view of her bare back as well as a partial side view of a bare breast (no nipple). When they're done, they lie side by side, with her smoking a cigarette. About Aubrey, Dakota asks Jerrod, "Did she ever f*ck you like that? Did she ever f*ck you at all? Do you think she'd start now?" We see Dakota's bare back as she showers. We see Dakota doing her pole dancing thing again, scantly clad, with suggestive moves, etc. (including running her hand down her body). Finding that one of her fingers has fallen off, Dakota faints and ends up on the floor (in her revealing striptease outfit). When Jerrod says he believes Dakota, she says that's "because I f*cked you." Jerrod rushes out to ask some male FBI agents if they have a condom or "rubber," and they laugh that they don't, amused by his urgency (but this turns out to be just a diversion on his and Dakota's part). Jerrod and Dakota briefly but passionately kiss while clothed and standing. We see a shirtless man with a large tattoo on his chest (that moves in an animated fashion). SMOKING Dakota smokes a number of times (including after sex), while a few other characters smoke in several scenes. We see cigarette butts in an ashtray. Catching Dakota smoking in her room, Susan takes the cigarette and says it's a non-smoking house, but takes a drag before putting it out. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see a dead girl's parents identifying her dead body (we see bruises on her face) and they react in shock and grief. There's talk of limb amputation, and that the killer used amphetamines to keep her alert during such sadistic violence. Aubrey's parents are distraught when Dakota claims not to be their daughter, and questions who they are. This continues for much of the rest of the film. We see a flashback to Dakota going to see her mom in her rundown place. When she opens the door, she reacts to the smell inside, and we hear flies before seeing the woman's dead body (beyond being dead and slightly off-color, there's no blood or gore). About her mom, Dakota says she was stupid, pathetic, and a junkie. A murder victim's mother is distraught when Dakota shows up at her house. Tired of what's occurring, Daniel tells Dakota (thinking it's Aubrey) to "Shut the f*ck up." We learn that a father in the past secretly replaced his dead newborn with another person's baby. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Serial killers. Sadism. Post traumatic distress disorder. The notion of a person's alter-ego arising to reveal info that normally wouldn't come out from the person's usual self. Amputees and prosthetic limbs. Dakota comments on phantom pain (regarding missing limbs), saying it's enough to make one believe in ghosts that are restless because there's nothing left but the pain. We see some still photos of stigmata, including one man with blood down from both eyes. VIOLENCE A rose's thorn pricks Aubrey's finger, leaving a little blood there. We hear the sound of a woman being tortured, followed by a loud thump (presumably a fatal blow). There's some brief hard tackling and such during a football game. Aubrey is kidnapped (not seen) and then seems in anguish while bound and gagged and having blurry views of her sadistic kidnapper. He then places a brick of dry ice onto her hand, and we later see her fingers that are all black. He then lifts that ice that ends up pulling off some skin and meat from her hand (seen in close-up). He then uses a glass cleaver to cut off those fingers, with bloody results (including a stream running off from the scene), all as she screams and struggles in pain. We see the tip of a knife going into some skin, drawing some blood. Finding that one of her fingers has fallen off, Dakota faints and ends up on the floor (in her revealing striptease outfit). We see a re-creation of some people in a bar drinking. One is then shot in the neck and killed. At the same time, his twin in another location suddenly has blood flow from a new hole in his neck, as well as out of his mouth. Dakota sees a reflection in a mirror of the killer striking a woman on the head with a shovel. Just then, Dakota falls off the stool on which she's standing. She lands on the floor with a bloody nose. We see a flashback to the killer hitting a woman on the head with a shovel, as well as a view of a finger being cut off. A gloved hand suddenly blasts through a door, grabbing at Dakota. She grabs it with her robotic arm that's strong enough to crush it long enough that she can cut it off (the hand lands on the floor, with blood on it, as well as the resultant stump). Dakota finds a body on a table under a sheet of plastic. It appears dead, but the person is alive, albeit only for a moment (and may be lying in blood on the table - the result of unseen violence). We see the killer behind Dakota who initially isn't aware he's there. She then tries to hit the killer, but he avoids that, grabs and pulls off her prosthetic arm, and knocks her unconscious. When she comes to, she's bound and tries to free herself, but can't as the killer comes back and holds a dagger to her face. He then tries to attack her, she avoids that, there's some contact between them, and she then stabs him in the gut before jabbing the dagger into his neck, with very bloody results. Dakota uses her robotic prosthetic arm to break the glass on the top of a coffin. Reviewed July 27, 2007 / Posted July 27, 2007

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