Back to Even (1998)

Director:

Rod Hewitt

Writers:

Kevin Gebhard (story)
Kevin Gebhard (screenplay) ...
(more)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

No one escapes the collection agency

Plot Keywords:

Factory Owner | Blood On Clothes | Shooting | Beating | Abused Woman

Cast

Lorenzo Lamas	...	Mitch
Michael Paré	...	Boyle
Herb Mitchell	...	Des
Angela Jones	...	Kim
Bo Brundin	...	Bernie
Heidi Thomas	...	Arden
Daniel Quinn	...	Russell
Robert Miano	...	Volanta
Richard Zavaglia	...	Narducci
Craig Wasson	...	Sasso
Vito D'Ambrosio	...	Gazda
Pierrino Mascarino	...	Krachek (as Perrino Mascarino)
Diane Robin	...	Connie
Frank Rivera	...	Alcazar
Andrea Kim Walker	...	Lydia
Chris Byrne	...	Pressman
Jody Wood	...	Pressman
Aileen Pare	...	Sheila
Alex Demir	...	Skully
Shauna Sand	...	Nurse (as Shauna Sand-Lamas)
Monty Bane	...	Jimmy
Joey Lotito	...	Printer
Joseph Carberry	...	Printer
Paulo Tocha	...	Graphic Arts Camera Operator (as Paolo Tocha)
Carl Strano	...	Doctor

Directed by
Rod Hewitt

Writing credits
Kevin Gebhard		(story)
Kevin Gebhard		(screenplay) and
Rod Hewitt		(screenplay)

Produced by
Tani Cohen	....	co-producer
Randy Lippert	....	co-producer
Alfred Sapse	....	producer
Timothy Snell	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Alain Auger

Cinematography by
Garrett Fisher

Film Editing by
Timothy Snell

Casting by
Cathy Henderson
Dori Zuckerman

Production Design by
Alec Hammond

Art Direction by
Suttirat Anne Larlarb		(as Anne Larlarb)

Makeup Department
Moni Mansano	....	key hair stylist (as Monet Mansano)
Moni Mansano	....	key makeup artist (as Monet Mansano)

Production Management
Scott Putman	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Martha Demson	....	first assistant director
Paul Domick	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Eva Firshein	....	property master

Sound Department
Brandon Kubisen	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Michael Haynes	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Barry Norwood	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Selvyn Price	....	assistant camera

Music Department
Rich Dickerson	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Patrick Jack Lee	....	production financing
Scott Putman	....	production coordinator
Alfred Sapse	....	legal services
Mike Tristano	....	armorer

Production Companies

• Lions Gate Films

Distributors

• Ascot Video
• Europa Carat (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Transition Music  music provided by

Also Known As:

"The Debt" - USA (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and a scene of sexuality

Runtime:

Canada:89 min | Argentina:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

423 W 8th St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lions Gate Films

The makers of this film have a debt of $5.88 they owe me.

Welp, against her better judgment, Stephanie bought Michael Paré's latest bomb on DVD the other day. You know you're in for trouble when a newly released DVD costs ONLY $5.88 and stars Michael Paré AND Lorenzo Lamas.

We knew we were in for a stink-fest, so we invited a couple of friends over and made an evening of it. How bad was the movie? It was horrible. It would be in my "Top 5 Worst Movies" list, but I've seen more than 5 Michael Paré movies, so that makes it harder to judge. It was pretty bad even by Michael Paré standards though, so it's definitely high on the list. What makes this movie even worse is that everybody made it seem like they were trying. Some highlights:

*The bright beam of light coming from Lamas' refrigerator. I have no idea what that was about. Either the Heavenly Host was hanging out in his fridge, or he had a pair of headlights in there.

*Paré has a strong-arm (i.e. a bodyguard/enforcer) that has no muscle tone, a pot belly, is about 60 years old, and wears some outfit that you'd expect your grandpa to wear while on vacation in Florida. They couldn't get somebody that fit the role? Come on.

*In one scene, after Paré has hit Lamas in the face, the strong-arm says to Lamas, "It looks like you just drank sour milk." I'll have to remember to use that one at work sometime.

*While visiting his dad in the hospital, Lamas actually says to him, "I hear you took a turn for the nurse." Whew.

*Lamas' dad's arm got cut off when it was caught in a printer. I can't even begin to describe how fake it looked when they showed where it was cut. And the length of the remaining part of his arm kept fluctuating throughout the movie. The best was when you could see the elbow poking out through dude's shirt. Wait a minute! I thought he lost his arm! What's going on here?!?!?

*The vocals would fade in and out. Sounded like a warped tape. Many times you couldn't hear the vocals and other times they'd be bursting your ear drums. AND THIS IS A BRAND NEW DVD!

*The production values are about what you'd expect from a 1970 made-for-TV movie, yet the movie was made in 1998.

*The tagline on the DVD reads, "No one escapes THIS collection service."

You should know by now whether this is something you wanna check out.

THE GIST:

I think you get the point. If you like to watch really bad movies for a laugh, then this one might satisfy your appetite. It's best to watch it with some friends though so y'all can make fun of it together. I definitely couldn't have sat through this alone.