Though it's based on a promisingly outrageous premise ... the film unfolds as a tired, thoroughly conventional police procedural that might as well be titled CSI: Roma.

Fans of the cult helmer who expect the usual gore will be disappointed -- but there are compensations.

Watching the online cards turn slowly (sometimes painfully so) in the film is to be reminded of how good Argento used to be when his aesthetic approach was less synthetic.

As a police procedural, The Card Player manages to deliver and is particularly gruesome when it comes to the aftermath of the murders, where the effects are particularly grisly.