The recurring line in "Child 44" is, "there is no murder in paradise." It's a reflection of the political image projected in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era — these were a paradisal states, free from Western ills like poverty and crime, and there was nothing more to say about it. But the backdrop of "Child 44" is Moscow in 1952, and it feels more like a hellhole of oppression than paradise.

Children between the ages of 9 and 14 are being knocked off one by one and none of the authorities are willing to admit they're the victims of a gruesome serial killer. The deaths are called "accidents" and the reports are stuffed away in a steel filing cabinet.

Based on real events, "Child 44" was originally a best-selling book by Tom Rob Smith, and the story is packed with potential. Swedish director Daniel Espinosa ("Safe House," "Easy Money") piles on the Cold War era atmosphere but fails to build suspense. The whole package feels weighty with innuendo and ambience, with some clues leading nowhere while others are blatant red herrings. (You can't help wondering if detective thrillers were banned items in the Soviet "paradise.")