‘Murderous’ Review: Neil LaBute’s New Film Is Undone by Its Overly Familiar Premise and Obvious Plot Machinations

Best-selling novels like Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot and stage thrillers like Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, among many other works, have demonstrated that stealing another writer’s work can have fateful if not deadly consequences. Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men, Nurse Betty) delivers another variation on the familiar theme with his latest effort, receiving its world premiere at the Oldenburg Film Festival. Taking place in a single location and featuring but three lead performers, Murderous carries a strong whiff of such LaBute-cited influences as Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Sleuth and Hitchcock’s Rope. Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to those…