Memory

MEMORY

A 2006 film in which a fellow named Taylor accidentally gets a hallucinogenic powder in his system and begins having flashes of memories from a serial killer, Memory boasts an interesting core concept but unfortunately has a plot peppered with holes and coincidences.  The basic premise is that the hallucinogen opens access to genetically-stored memories from one of Taylor’s parents – thus, his mother or father must be the killer, who wears a mask and a black trenchcoat.  Taylor uses clues from his visions to piece together where and when the killer was active and ultimately realizes that the villain is still alive and abducting little girls.  With the help of his girlfriend (a painter), Taylor sets out to stop the antagonist.

Memory takes tremendous factual liberties with DMT (an actual hallucinogen) and might have been better had it involved a fictional substance.  The movie contains far too many scenes with talking heads either gushing exposition or wondering what’s going on.  Taylor conveniently stumbles upon information and clues.  He also just happens to walk past a window in which a painting is displayed that features an image remarkably similar to the killer he sees in his visions.

Also, about those visions: the first time Taylor has one, he is “present” as a character in that reality and observes & chases the killer.  Only later is the nature of the visions altered so that Taylor is in fact experiencing memories of the killer (though those scenes are not shot from the villain’s point-of-view).  It’s as if the writer began with one concept and then switched horses midstream without bothering to revise the earlier scenes.  As this project is based on a novel, I wonder how many of these problems occur in the source material.

Memory could have been a unique spin on the old serial killer genre, but its poor construction and unbelievable plot twists make it sadly forgettable.