Molly
Jackson stars as Mary Selby, who tells us (in flashbacks) how
this once-respected TV reporter ended up a Death Row inmate.
The tale kicks in when Selby dives headfirst into an investigation
a notorious prostitute killer, ignoring the warnings of her
Police Lieutenant boyfriend. But when this serial slayer gets
wind of Mary's new reports, she becomes the object of his attention.
The
Mad Slasher/Female Investigator duo initially smacks of a SILENCE
OF THE LAMBS cone, But DiPaolo takes the plot in some extreme
directions, especially when Mary is kidnapped by Mr. Psycho
(Marc St. Camille). While in his care she;s forced to watch
him slice up a new victim, and even after the ordeal is over,
her traumatic experience sends her life into a drunken, self-destructive
spiral downward (though personally, I thought Mary's change
from uptight reporter to rabid dominatrix was a distinct improvement).
DiPaolo
successfully digs into the lifestyle of the sick and psychotic
(he has a solid background in the area, since he spent nine
years videotaping confessions for the Brooklyn D.A.'s office),
and the pic is packed with wild, bloodthirsty sequences. The
scenes of St. Camille with his pick-ups are particularly nasty
and DiPaolo's camera never flinches - whether this sickie is
smearing blood over his bare chest, sporting a chic leather
hood, or staking a cheap whore onto a makeshift cross (for a
little of that always-welcome anti-Christian imagery).
Shot
on 16mm, in-and-around New York City in only 12 days, the pic
looks terrific. And although the script gets heavy-handed with
ponderous revelations about The Beast inside us all (snore...),
it's DiPaolo's atmospheric, in-your-face direction that puts
this slasher pic several notches above the usual, generic fare.
At its best, it achieves a brutal, Abel Ferrara-esque honesty,
as well as a willingness to confront the darkest niches of human
behavior. Shock Cinema - Number 7 - Steve Puchalski