With the success of films like WHITE LIGHTING, CANNONBALL, DEATH RACE 2000, and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (not to mention the continuing fascination with Evel Knenevel), movies revolving around stunts and stuntmen were big box office in the 1970’s. New Line Cinema took note and produced STUNTS, a murder mystery about stuntmen being killed off that gives us a behind-the-scenes look at low-budget filmmaking in addition to a good cast and well-staged action.
When stuntman Greg Wilson’s hanging from a helicopter gag goes horribly awry, resulting in him plummeting to his death, his brother Glen arrives on the set determined to do the stunt himself and investigate Greg’s demise. Along the way he picks up B.J. Parswell, an attractive reporter doing a story on stuntmen. Glen’s fellow stuntmen start getting picked off one by one in gruesome “accidents”, and he must find the killer before he becomes next.
Hi there and welcome to another edition of Lisa Marie Watches An Obscure Film Via On Demand And Then Reviews It.
Last week, I watched and reviewed a 2001 guilty pleasure called Tart.
This week, I watched another film from 2001, Instinct to Kill.
Instinct to Kill begins with homicide detective Jim Beckett (Tim Abell) sitting outside a suburban house and secretly filming Tess (Missy Crider) as she dresses. As Jim watches, Tess joins her parents for dinner. Tess’s father strikes her mother. In case we needed anymore reason to hate him, Jim chuckles.
A day later, Tess is at cheerleader practice and again, she is being watched. Sitting in the bleachers, Jim films her until he finally approaches her and strikes up a conversation. Jim may be creepy but he’s also charming. Agck!
The film jumps forward 3 months. Tess and Jim are getting married. Jim and his partner Lance (Kadeem Hardison) spend the reception filming the bridesmaids and leering over all the cleavage. Bad Jim, bad!
And again, the film moves forward by 3 months. As all too often happens, the daughter of an abusive father has ended up with an abusive husband. As Jim attempts to murder Tess, Lance rushes into the house with his gun drawn. Jim is arrested and sent to prison.
3 months later, Jim escapes from prison and, after retrieving a disguise kit from his own abusive father, Jim starts to stalk his ex-wife, her family, and her friends. As Lance attempts to track down his former friend, Tess gets a bodyguard and a self-defense instructor in the form of J.T. (Mark Dacascos).
According to the imdb, Instinct to Kill was rated R for featuring “brutal violence and strong sexual content” and yes, it certainly had both of those. However, to be honest, if you toned down the violence and edited out all of the boob shots, Instinct to Kill would be an almost prototypical Lifetime movie. After all, it has all the classic Lifetime elements: a sociopathic ex-husband, a sensitive guy who teaches self-defense, and a female protagonist who comes out of it all newly empowered and confident. Fortunately, I happen to love Lifetime movies and maybe that’s why, somewhat to my surprise, I actually found Instinct to Kill to be an effective B-movie.
Some of that may also be due to the fact that Instinct To Kill’s executive producer was Mark L. Lester, who has directed some of the best B-movies of all time. (He also directed The Ex, which has become a bit of a staple on the Lifetime Movie Network.) I don’t know how involved Lester actually was with the production of this film but it feels much like a Lester film — the villain is flamboyant, the action moves quickly, and the end result packs much more of an emotional punch than you would expect.
Instinct to Kill may have a generic title but it’s definitely not a generic film. Tim Abell makes for a genuinely scary villain and Mark Dacascos is the epitome of strength and sensitivity. That said, the film’s best performance comes from Missy Crider, who believably transforms from being a helpless victim to an empowered warrior over the course of the film and, as a result, elevates the entire film.
Last night, I watched The Ex on the Lifetime Movie Network.
Why Was I Watching It?
As I was feeling ill, I had already made myself a little pillow fort in the living room and I was curled up with my wonderfully soft Hello Kitty pillow. It just seemed, at that moment, that watching the Lifetime Movie Network was really the only appropriate thing to do. (Plus, quite frankly, my options are limited now that we’re between seasons of Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and Hell’s Kitchen.)
What’s It About?
Psychotic Yancy Butler, having already committed two murders, decides to move to New York and stalk her ex-husband (played by Nick Mancuso). Since leaving Butler, Mancuso has married Suzy Amis and now has a five year-old son who is dealing with rage issues of his own. After befriending Amis, Butler forces her way into Mancuso’s life and kills a lot of people.
What Worked:
Yancy Butler gives a wonderfully over-the-top, campy performance that is full of arched eyebrows and sardonic smirks. She delivers every line as if she’s auditioning for a community theater production of Double Indemnity. She appears to be having so much fun with her role that you actually end up hoping that she’ll manage to kill both Mancuso and Amis (both of whom are far less entertaining).
Director Mark L. Lester is an exploitation vet (he’s best known for directing The Class of 1984) and, as a result, this film has a bit more flair than what you typically find on the Lifetime Movie Network.
What Didn’t Work
This is a Canadian film that apparently went straight-to-video in the States. As a result, New York City looks a lot like Toronto.
“Oh My God! Just Like Me!” Moment
I have almost the exact same outfit hanging in my closet that Yancy Butler wears in the 1st few scenes of this movie.
Lessons Learned:
Your man’s ex really is as much of a psycho bitch as you think she is.
Through the Shattered Lens 