Reaper (2000)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

John Bradshaw

Writers (WGA):

Vincent Monton (written by) and
Matt Dorff (written by)

Genre:

Thriller | Mystery

Plot:

Horror novelist Luke Sinclair retreats to a small town to finish writing his latest book. No sooner has he arrived...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Writer's Block | Investigation | Alcoholism | Detective

Cast

Chris Sarandon	...	Luke Sinclair
Catherine Mary Stewart	...	Sonya Lehrman
Vlasta Vrana	...	Sheriff Norris
Joanna Noyes	...	Wilma
Rob Pinnock	...	Deputy Hopppe
Gillian Ferrabee	...	Melanie Sinclair
James Bradford	...	Dr. Goulding
Isabelle Cyr	...	Finola
Doug Sutherland	...	Donald Hughes
John Sanford Moore	...	Gabriel Gold (as John Moore)
Stephen Morgan	...	Joe Kopinsky
Bruce Dennis	...	Detective Carl
Elizabeth Stevens	...	Daphne Dumont
Susanne McDonald-Boyce	...	Martha Stedman
Kevin Ryan	...	James Russel

Also Known As:

The Reaper (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, language and nudity.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Brunswick, Canada

Company:

Allegro Films

You might as well read a book instead.

Luke Sinclair (Chris Sarandon) is a novelist who specializes in serial killer stories; despite his uncanny knack for getting into the heads of these degenerates, he claims he does no research; he simply is good at seeing things from their point of view.

Luke, suffering from a bad case of writer's block, retreats to rural Maine (this film was actually shot in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, which is certainly close enough to Maine geographically). Instantaneously, a series of sex-related murders occur that seem to be patterned after the kills in "Reaper", a previous Sinclair novel.

Sexy state detective Catherine Mary Stewart and local sheriff Vlasta Vrana represent the law in this story that trods on awfully familiar thriller turf. I wouldn't consider it inept - it's made well enough - but it just seems too routine to work overall. The actors are good - veteran character actor Vrana gets a rare featured role here - but their roles are absolutely nothing special. All revelations made here are not exactly earth-shattering; there's an obvious red herring and there's not a single story twist here that no-one could see coming.

Just another paint-by-the-numbers B-grade thriller; it might serve its purpose for less demanding viewers but if you want something original look elsewhere.

5/10