Burnt out retired cop Lou Cherney (Robert Forster) reluctantly takes the case of a missing 19-year-old girl. He has no clues until a model is killed in downtown L.A. and a search of her apartment produces a picture of the missing girl. This leads Lou to a modeling agency run by Nicole St. James (Lydie Denier), who just may or may not be a soulless human (like everyone else in the fashion industry). This was Bert I. Gordon's last film to date and nary a colossal beast is seen during its quick running time. Instead, audiences get a real genre blender that is part cop flick, part satanic possession flick, part softcore Skinemax outing, and part monster movie. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of it is that that Forster really gives his all for the performance of the wounded ex- cop. There is also a good performance given by the kid who plays Cherney's retarded son (Phillip Glasser, who did the voice of Fievel in the AN American TAIL flicks). Denier is stunning, but has a really thick French accent that makes her "w" heavy dialog rough to hear. Gordon is definitely trying to deliver a competitive modern flick with all the T&A on display (including a Forster/Denier sex scene where he slaps her ass), but it is surprisingly low on blood. Well, until the end where St. James rips off her skin to reveal a goofy SPECIES-looking dread-locked beast underneath.
