The great character actor Brad Dourif makes the most out of one of his few leading roles. He's amusingly cast as a good guy for once, Father Daniel Tyrone; Tyrone was a gang member in his youth who found God and who now works as a priest. Suspicion falls upon Tyrone when exotic dancer Paula (Kristin Dattilo) is murdered. Tyrone, a highly unconventional holy man if ever there was one (he's fond of packing heat), dives head first into the local seedy world of strip clubs and porn, working the clues in order to clear himself.
This is one of those cases where we KNOW who the killer is early on, and we have to wait for the hero to catch up. Fortunately, Dourif makes this worth watching, even if the plot is quite routine. In an interesting twist, the insane killer is a painter with a taste for the macabre, and a belief that he will always find the inner impurity of his models (whom he frequently murders). In his only feature role, David Ledingham ratchets up the intensity, as if he's trying to compete with Dourif.
Isaac Hayes (as the investigating detective) and Karen Black (as the killers' mother) are rather wasted in their supporting roles; other familiar faces such as Maria Ford (endearing as a dancer), Orson Bean, and Toni Naples also turn up.
A highly grandiose score by Terry Plumeri, a respectably high trash quotient (a couple of the actresses bare their tops), and some dark humor help to make this watchable, but ultimately, Dourif is the main reason to watch this. He makes this just a little bit better than your average exploitation picture.
Six out of 10.
This is one of those cases where we KNOW who the killer is early on, and we have to wait for the hero to catch up. Fortunately, Dourif makes this worth watching, even if the plot is quite routine. In an interesting twist, the insane killer is a painter with a taste for the macabre, and a belief that he will always find the inner impurity of his models (whom he frequently murders). In his only feature role, David Ledingham ratchets up the intensity, as if he's trying to compete with Dourif.
Isaac Hayes (as the investigating detective) and Karen Black (as the killers' mother) are rather wasted in their supporting roles; other familiar faces such as Maria Ford (endearing as a dancer), Orson Bean, and Toni Naples also turn up.
A highly grandiose score by Terry Plumeri, a respectably high trash quotient (a couple of the actresses bare their tops), and some dark humor help to make this watchable, but ultimately, Dourif is the main reason to watch this. He makes this just a little bit better than your average exploitation picture.
Six out of 10.