The Killing Routine
Detective Karyn Mitchell (Sarah Jane Morris) is an expert in serial killers or at least the last 3 serial killer cases she has been working on have ended when she killed them, something which cop shrink Aaron Kade (Michael Riley - The Tenth Circle) notices in fact makes her technically a serial killer too. But her expertise in solving serial killer cases puts her on the case of someone imitating the Hades serial killer who hasn't been active in 25 years and who Karyn has a particular interest in thanks to something in her past.
So here we go again with another made for TV movie which places an attractive woman as a determined cop with a penchant for wearing black leather jackets. There is nothing wrong with that other than it has become a cliche especially in the realms of the made for TV movie and sadly "Willed to Kill" is full of these cliches. These range from the serial killer taunting Karyn to visual cliches such as a search bar slowly progressing across a computer screen as they try to trace the serial killers call. Basically "Willed to Kill" is nothing special, it has nothing really original about it as it prefers to use familiar ideas.
Now because of it using these familiar ideas we of course have the guessing game as to who the serial killer is with human nature making us question whether or not it is someone connected to Karyn. As such we have her cop partner who happens to be her ex who is never there when she's gunned down previous killers. There is also the shrink who of course knows plenty about her and as always there is the journalist who keeps on popping up. But there is Karyn Mitchell herself and with her having killed 3 serial killers and has some mysterious past you initially wonder whether she could in fact be a killer. It is this simple guessing game more than anything else which keeps you "Willed to Kill" just about watchable.
Now I mentioned earlier that "Willed to Kill" gives us female detective cliche and Sarah Jane Morris as Karyn plays the part well, she's strong, dominant, business like in her determination and to be frank attractive. But the character is as cliche as they come from what she wears to how she reacts to others and as such it is completely forgettable especially when out of nowhere a cheesy romance is added to the script. In fact all the characters are forgettable although Ross McCall as her cop partner Gavin McNaab does at least manage to be annoying as well with what sounds like a painfully fake accent.
What this all boils down to is that "Willed to Kill" is just a routine made for TV movie with a female detective on the hunt for a serial killer who taunts her. That is it and there is nothing really unique about this cliche ridden movie to make it stand out from an already crowded sub-genre.
