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THE MOVIE |
THE DVD |
REVIEWER |
REVIEW DATE |
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WesCraven |
15th October, 2004 |
Review Quote
 "At the start of the movie Pinker is just a regular old person, who just happens to be a serial killer. If you look past the dream (which I think does work as a premonition) sequence, Pinker is truly a scary character because he could be so real. Not to mention, there's just something about that limp Pinker has, that is pretty scary. Another thing that works is when Pinker starts possessing other people, you never quite know for sure who's body he's in, which works wonderfully when you see people using Pinker's limp."
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The Plot
Horace Pinker a ruthless and deadly serial killer is eventually caught, and sentenced to death via the electric chair. However, when something horribly wrong occurs during the execution and Pinker gets away, only the person who got him caught the first time can catch him again.
The Movie
First off lets talk the story. Written by Wes Craven you'd normally expect a really intelligent, scary film. Why the film is that, it just might be too intelligent. There's no doubt in my mind that Craven was trying to create a clever film here, however I fear that in the end the story is a little over-the-top. However, if you can get by the ridiculousness of the plot, the story is pretty interesting and pretty entertaining as well. Plus the film is even an interesting social commentary of an electronically minded society.
One part of the story that really does work is the beginning. At the start of the movie Pinker is just a regular old person, who just happens to be a serial killer. If you look past the dream (which I think does work as a premonition) sequence, Pinker is truly a scary character because he could be so real. Not to mention, there's just something about that limp Pinker has, that is pretty scary. Another thing that works is when Pinker starts possessing other people, you never quite know for sure who's body he's in, which works wonderfully when you see people using Pinker's limp.
In my mind Mitch Pileggi really carries most of the movie. He's got that crazy look, that makes Pinker look so dangerous. Pileggi's acting is superb, and is thoroughly frightening when you take a closer look at him. Also he throws off Freddy-esque one-liners, which normally would be a negative. However, I think it's really the opposite; they work well because Pinker's character is just aggressive and cocky enough to realistically say them. Mitch Pileggi in my eyes helped create a fantastic horror character, one that I will always love.
The effects in this film are another good point to it. It's hard for me to really go into detail about some of them, but lets just say the make some pretty unrealistic scenes, seem pretty freakin' realistic. I think the effects help to make this film to not be a total cheese-fest; without them, that's what this film just might have ended up being.
All in all, this is in no way the best horror flick out there. However, if you don't take it too seriously I think almost anyone will enjoy it. Gorehounds get some blood here and there, but nothing truly exciting. Overall, I think this is a solid movie, and another good film from Wes Craven.
The DVD
The DVD is OK. The transfers are solid, but nothing to rejoice over. Though admittedly the audio transfer is pretty good. The extras are a little lacking. We get a theatrical trailer, some production notes, cast and filmmaker's bios, and some DVD-Rom web links. Overall the DVD is a little disappointing.
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Director
Wes Craven
Cast
Peter Berg
Mitch Pileggi
Michael Murphy
Cami Cooper
Richard Brooks
Screenplay
Wes Craven
Tagline
"No more Mr. Nice Guy!"
Country
USA
Classification
R
Year
1989
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Format
NTSC
Region Coding
1
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
16x9 Enhanced
Yes
Running Time
110 minutes
Year Released
1999
Packaging
Keep Case
Extra Features
Production Notes
Cast & Filmmaker's Bios
Web Links
Theatrical Trailer
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