Starring: Kathleen Quinlan, David Carradine, Richard Widmark
Plot: A police officer suspects that a local husband and
father who has recently undergone facial surgery because of injuries received
in a car accident is in reality the same man who committed a quadruple murder
several years before.
My Review and Thoughts:
A murder mystery. A thriller classic. A whodunit. Will they
get away with it? Truly an overall thick thriller of suspense done in an 80's
classic flare.
A cat and mouse game of murder. I love this movie. This is a
forgotten little classic. A created gem of a murder mystery. An entire family
slaughtered. A mother and her three kids murdered. A detective Joe Steiner
senses all the fear and the brutality of the crimes.
The husband is sought and the game is a foot with murder
most fowl and an unrelenting escapade for justice. But the case slowly turns
with twists and unanswered questions.
This stars one of the greatest film actors of all time. A
true iconic actor throughout his whole entire career Richard Widmark. He plays
the detective in this seeking out justice for the slain family. His career
expanded throughout many decades until his sad departure in life in 2008. He
graced the screen with such classic films like 1950's Night in the City, 1951's
The Frogmen, 1954's Garden of Evil, 1961's Judgment at Nuremberg, 1962's How
the West was Won. Countless Westerns, countless crime films and I will always
remember him in 1968's Madigan.
He shined in everything he did and he is wonderful in this
part as the detective seeking out the truth of the crime that happened against
a mother and her three children. Soon he finds the case harder to solve with
many obstacles, twists and turns. What is happening? What is the truth? He
seems to not be able to find the husband. He can't pinpoint the ultimate truth.
Those around him joke with him but he finds it no joking matter and the case
becomes frustrating.
This also stars the wonderful beautiful amazing goddess
Kathleen Quinlan. From the classic American Graffiti to the awesome sci-fi
Event Horizon and everything in-between and everything after, she is truly a
gifted performer.
This also stars the one and only Michael Beck who will
always be immortalized as Swan in 1979's The Warriors. He is an iconic actor in
many cult films and many wonderful cult following B-movies.
This also stars in the main part, truly a gifted character
actor that has graced Cinema and television throughout his many years of
performing as a wonderful memorable actor in countless rolls none other than
Keith Carradine. This generation will know him as Frank Lundy in Dexter the TV
series. He has always been a high-quality performer and I have always felt that
he was an underrated actor and never given the main roles he deserves.
A wonderful mixed bag, of a film. Mystery, suspense, a
brutal story of crime, a car accident, a man with no memory, a detective
seeking out to find that truth, to solve the riddle and the puzzle. Three years
pass after the murder and the story still lingers. The Detective still holds
true to all those involved in the case. The Detective is adamant in solving the
case everyone wants answers to.
Very touchy subject for its time and still is today. The
opening of the movie, a family with her dead children posed in celebrating a
birthday. Quite shocking for a TV movie yet this plays out with the quality of
a motion picture and not just being another TV film. This was made for HBO yet
felt brilliant enough for the big screen.
Another six years pass and Joe is at his wits end, obsessed
with the case, it's the case that got away. He is reverted to drinking, yet
still adamant, still tracing, still trying to find the husband and also what
happened.
This is a memorable film, one that deserves a Blu-ray
special edition release. This truly is sad and tragic that this film has not
gotten the treatment it deserves. It's one of those films that leave a lasting
impression on the viewer, leaves a lasting ultimate story. A twisted tale of
crime and brutality, woven around a great script that grabs the viewer and
keeps them on the edge. This film keeps you guessing and keeps you wondering
will it be solved.
Amazing how many writers that this movie had, David Ambrose,
Richard Smith, Richard Parks, and Les Alexander. I guess maybe that's because
it was such a good written script and it needed many wonderful minds to write.
A little bit of interesting info is the one scene of the
battered dead child at the beginning of it, was actor Dameon Clarke who has
graced movies and television cinema. He is a voice actor that will be known to
American audiences in the American versions of many Japanese animated series
mainly known by the voice character of Cell, in Dragon Ball Z. He also did
other Dragon Ball Z characters such as South Kai, Bora, Tambourine, Popell.
This is a very intense, raw, suspenseful, psychological
thriller for a TV film and that's why I feel it plays out like a regular movie
on the big screen. This one deserves a modern day treatment so that this
generation can enjoy it.
What's so great about the film is it start's as a crime
thriller, mixes in the mystery and suspense but then becomes like an 80's
slasher film which makes it all the more better. This has many genres woven
into it. It's a must see.
There are Wonderful jump moments, wonderful moments that
make the viewer remember old school slasher horror. A great example of a film
that entertains and still shines to this day.