Kill Me Again (1989)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

John Dahl

Writers:

John Dahl (written by) and
David W. Warfield (written by)

Release Date:

27 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Her last request was his first mistake.

Plot:

A young detective becomes involved with a beautiful woman on the run from the mob and her psychopath boyfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Drowning | Craps Game | Sunglasses | Imperative In Title | Briefcase

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Pat Mulligan	...	Sammy
Nick Dimitri	...	Marty
Michael Madsen	...	Vince Miller
Joanne Whalley	...	Fay Forrester (as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer)
Robert Schuch	...	Collection Agent #1
Duane Tucker	...	Collection Agent #2
Val Kilmer	...	Jack Andrews
Molly Flanegin	...	Gossipy Motel Clerk
Dominic Dinino	...	Rest Stop Little Boy
Daniel Dorse	...	Rest Stop Father
Bibi Besch	...	Jack's Secretary
Jim Boeke	...	Javonovitch
Jon Gries	...	Alan Swayzie (as Jonathan Gries)
Michael Sharrett	...	Tim the Motel Clerk
Debby Lynn Ross	...	Kathy the Drowned Wife

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Boulder City, Nevada, USA

Company:

Propaganda Films

Trivia:

In the yellow pages, the address of the PI is on Dahl Ave.--a joke by the art department to the director, before they knew the address would be visible on-screen.

Goofs:

Continuity: The semiautomatic pistol that Fay loads with a fresh clip in the white Cadillac suddenly becomes a revolver when she points it out of the car's window and fires at the police officer following them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey (2003) (V)

The first chapter of John Dahl's entertaining Noir Trilogy.

"Kill Me Again" (1989), followed by "Red Rock West" (1992) and "The Last Seduction" (1994) comprise a trilogy of sorts for Dahl. Like all good noir, it's basically pulp with a bit of violence and a dark sense of humor.

Michael Madsen and Val Kilmer are uniquely well-suited to this sort of tale, playing off each other with the same traditional lack of dialogue reserved as a counterpoint for the femme fatale and the hero. Joanne Whalley as the former makes the appropriate appearance without making too much of an impression. Jon Gries usually plays scum, but he's quite likable this time around.

Perhaps signifying where Dahl's storytelling ability lies, these noir flicks are the only which he has assumed writing credit. It really does feel like a young man's movie, all attitude and no class, all speed and no pace. Not that any of that is bad in a movie such as this, but it certainly makes the running time conspicuously short - clocking in at just 90 minutes, minus credits.

After recently viewing two other early Kilmer films - "Thunderheart" (1992), "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains" (1987) - I've become impressed with his charisma and ability to fit into character. He doesn't have quite as much success here as in "Thunderheart", but reaches the audience quite well as a man in totally the wrong place and time.

RATING: 7.5 out of 10