Mortal Sins (TV 1992)

A serial killer confesses to a priest, who becomes a suspect and a sleuth because he cannot tell the police.

Director:

Bradford May

Writers:

Greg Martinelli, Dennis Paoli

Stars:

Christopher Reeve, Roxann Dawson, Francis Guinan

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Reeve	...	Father Thomas Cusack
Roxann Dawson	...	Maria Croce (as Roxann Biggs)
Francis Guinan	...	Father Daniel Simmons
Weston McMillan	...	Paul Kaye
Phillip R. Allen	...	Lt. Williams
Lisa Vultaggio	...	Nina Croce
George Touliatos	...	Monsignor McCleery
Mavor Moore	...	Archbishop
Karen Kondazian	...	Rose Croce
Thomas Peacocke	...	Father John Bianchi
Blu Mankuma	...	Det. Rollie
Julie Satterfield	...	Terry
Michael Iacobucci	...	Tony
Rene Mankuma	...	Ronald
Vicki Gabereau	...	Bingo Nun

Storyline

Cops find themselves dealing with a string of homicides with a twist, each victim was given the last rites, this leaves local priest Father Thomas Cusack to startlingly conclude that it can only be the work of someone linked to the church. When the suspect begins confessing his sins to Thomas, he knows it must be a seminar student who's suffered a severe crisis of faith. Unable to aid the police due to his oaths, he decides to do what he can to understand why this would-be man of the cloth has become so twisted.

---

Plot Keywords:

police | priest | last rites | church | serial killer | 

---

Genres:

Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

5:e budet - du skall icke dräpa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barry Weitz Films, Blake Edwards Televison

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the article Father Cusack is reading on microfiche, the word "raging" is misspelled "ragging".

---

Quotes

Father Thomas Cusack: [to the dying killer] May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up

User Reviews

A Frightening picture of a psychopath !

This is an excellent film with all the ingredients for an hour and a half of nervous tension - beautiful girls, a handsome (if scarred) priest, enormous churches, fairground music etc etc .......... not to mention the terrifying face of the killer. In many ways it is related to Hitckcock's "I Confess" ( also an excellent film in its own right and with beautiful music ) but this killer is more perverted and more devious than that of Hitchcock and continued to kill in a religous manner. We do have course have the same dilemma as that of Montgomery Clift in that a priest is not allowed to divulge what has been said to him in the confessionnal. As a catholic I understand this, even though it is frustrating that Christopher Reeves "won't tell" so to speak. Anyway, suspense is maintained throught the film and it all works out quite cleverly so that Reeve is not confronted with the situation where he must spill the beans. The police are obviouly very pragmatic and materialistic and they have difficulty coming to grips with the spiritual problem involved. There are also one or two "decoys" such as the priest's colleage who also uses a respiratory device like that of the killer. The finale of the film is magnificient and worth any of those used by Hitchcock. In fact I would bet my bottom euro that the film director must be a great fan of Hitchcock. When oh when will this be issued on DVD ???????????????