Hit List (1989)

Gangster boss Vincent Luca shall appear in court to account for his crimes - but he has a man at the police who tells him names and locations of the witnesses, so he can kill them all - but... See full summary »

Director:

William Lustig

Writers:

Aubrey K. Rattan (story), John F. Goff (screenplay),

Stars:

Jan-Michael Vincent, Leo Rossi, Lance Henriksen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Jack Collins
Leo Rossi	...	Frank DeSalvo
Lance Henriksen	...	Chris Caleek
Charles Napier	...	Tom Mitchum
Rip Torn	...	Vic Luca
Harold Sylvester	...	Brian Armstrong
Jere Burns	...	Jared Riley
Harriet Hall	...	Sandy Collins
Ken Lerner	...	Gravenstein
Jack Andreozzi	...	Abe Fasio
Nick Barbaro	...	Mario
Lou Bonacki	...	Johnson
Barry Brenner	...	Doctor
Geoff Brewer	...	Brock
Richard E. Butler	...	Wink

Storyline

Gangster boss Vincent Luca shall appear in court to account for his crimes - but he has a man at the police who tells him names and locations of the witnesses, so he can kill them all - but one: In the last hit, the professional killer gets into the wrong house. When the owner Mark Collins comes home, he finds his pregnant wife unconscious in the kitchen, his friend dead in the living room and his son kidnapped. The police officer wants Luca to believe he has the real witness' son and sends Collins into prison. But he manages to escape and takes things into his own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | father son relationship | los angeles california | hitman | impalement | 

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Taglines:

He was the Mob's next target. But he would never be there victim.

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Genres:

Thriller | Action

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hell to Pay

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinetel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jan-Michael Vincent's substance abuse was reportedly so bad that William Lustig filmed many single shots of him because he thought he would later have to replace him with another actor.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Jack Collins: Where's my kid?

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Connections

Referenced in Urban Legend (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Bad News"
Written by Robby Weaver and Rusty Weaver
(C) Burtus Publishing (EMI)

User Reviews

Acceptable, if ordinary, action film.

"Hit List" is a perfectly acceptable little actioner. Anyone who has seen a fair amount of action pics will agree that the quality of this movie is average, and not nearly as low as it often gets in this genre. An extremely untalented lead is a major disappointment here, but the good supporting roles (particularly a colorful Torn, who seems to slightly imitate De Niro's version of Al Capone from "The Untouchables") make up for that. The script is ordinary, and gets far-fetched at the end, but the slick production values keep the film watchable.