Murder Blues

Francisco Quinn (son of Anthony) is completely uninteresting as a detective who seeks help from incarcerated serial killer Brad Dourif to get his hands on another psycho who's been killing prostitutes. When released to video (in 1992 under the title DEAD CERTAIN), this got labeled as a SILENCE OF THE LAMB rip-off, but it was actually made first.

Too bad the script is dull, the acting is uneven and the scripter makes the mistake of giving us a "hero" who's an unsympathetic, heavy-drinking creep with a four-letter vocabulary who screws hookers and takes his young son to a strip club in the middle of a custody battle with his ex-wife (Karen Russell). The loud and grating jazz music score by Charlie Mole doesn't help either.

Score: 3 out of 10

Francesco Quinn plays an anti-hero cop, trying to track down a serial killer. His past intertwines with acquitted suspect Brad Dourif. There are plenty of creepy images, along with some pretty creepy music, and lots of neon lit wet streets. In other words, a weak attempt to stylize this weird and unsatisfying film. Francesco is not only foul mouthed and drunk most of the time, but his parenting skills are incredibly poor, taking his young son to a strip club. There are what seem like totally inappropriate religious overtones, almost all killing is done off screen, and the entire movie moves way too slow. You can also throw in at least a bunch of confusing flashbacks, and drug induced dreams. The one redeeming factor is the always intriguing Brad Dourif. - MERK