Relentless (1989)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

William Lustig

Writer:

Phil Alden Robinson (written by)

Release Date:

30 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Two Los Angeles police detectives, cynical veteran Malloy and cocky rookie Dietz, hunt for a serial killer, an ex-cop named Taylor, whom randomly chooses his victims from a phone directory.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Strangulation | Villain Played By Lead Actor | Revenge | Murder

Cast

Judd Nelson	...	Arthur 'Buck' Taylor
Robert Loggia	...	Bill Malloy
Leo Rossi	...	Sam Dietz
Meg Foster	...	Carol Dietz
Patrick O'Bryan	...	Todd Arthur
Ken Lerner	...	Arthur
Mindy Seeger	...	Francine
Angel Tompkins	...	Carmen
Robert Madrid	...	Swarthy Cop
Beau Starr	...	Ike Taylor
Harriet Hall	...	Angela Taylor
Frank Pesce	...	Marra
Ron Taylor	...	Captain Blakely
Roy Brocksmith	...	Coroner
G. Smokey Campbell	...	Terrell

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cinetel Films

Trivia:

Joe Spinell was originally cast to play the role of Captain Blakely, but died shortly before filming was to begin.

Quotes:

Terrell: I'd like to meet the brain donor who came up with this brilliant idea.
Malloy: Hey, you're looking at him. You don't like it, kiss my ass.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dead On: Relentless II (1992)

killer on the loose with a twist

There have been a million wacko on the loose with two determined cops on his trial type of movies, but this one at least tries something new with the murders. They are your standard knifed or strangled variety but the killer doesn't just do it. He makes the victim help out somewhat, by putting the knife, piano wire, etc. into their hands and then forcing them to effectively off themselves. The film goes at a pretty good pace if you like the usual killing and then police work routine. Though only on the job 3 days together, Rossi and Loggia develop a terrific rapore that would've been nice to see continued in future films perhaps. And you also wonder if this is what John Bender (Nelson's character in "The Breakfast Club") would've gone on to if he hadn't had that enlightening day in the library with his schoolmates. This was suprisingly penned by the writer/director of "Field of Dreams"(!), which I found out by accident in some sort of trivia page on the net. An oddity is that despite the fact that two of the lead actors in the film are killed, this spawned 3 sequels! Rossi, the real star of the film (though credited behind Nelson and Loggia because of their fame) went on to do all of the follow ups. Even Ken Lerner, who has one scene and is killed, pops up in part 4! Some will go along with the psychology used in the final scene, others will either be confused or roll their eyes. But all in all a pretty good suspense/slasher/cop/buddy film.