Still angry over an affair, Betty (Ramsey) being driven by her boyfriend (Evans) through the Northwest. They stop for the night in a town gripped by the disappearance of heiress Emma (Clemens). Then they have an encounter with a gang of burglars (Tergesen, Magyar, Olivo, Knapp and Clay) who have just killed a family in a sudden act of violence. But when the goons steal their car, they discover Emma hidden in the car, and she warns them that the driver is actually a psychopathic maniac. By all evidence, she may be right.

Director Kitamura is a little too enthusiastic about grisly violence, indulging in appalling nastiness. But this makes the whole film feel faintly ridiculous, as it wallows in graphic carnage and torture that's both psychological and physical. The script raises tension by focussing on the power struggle between Tergeson's cool-headed gang leader and Magyar's trigger-happy hotheaded, because as they clash over everything, they cause much of the mayhem in the film.

Meanwhile, Evans prowls menacingly around the edges of every scene like an almost comically inventive avenging angel, creating mind-boggling implements of terror from handy objects like a remote control or a wood-chipper. Through all of this, the criminals loudly lash out with displays of empty bravura, while Clemens' Emma stares into the middle distance whispering about unstoppable, unspeakable horror. No, there isn't a subtle performance in the whole film.

The film's main message seems to be that if you're going to plan a crime, you'd better think it through first. Waving a big gun around isn't enough. "You know what I hate about the modern criminal?" Evans' never-named killer growls. "They're so mediocre!" This is a delightful message for the kids in the audience, although by the end even they'll know that they shouldn't take anything in this film seriously.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

18.Aug.13