Occasional gallows humour and a stellar cast somewhat redeems an unevenly paced tale based on the true story of the 'boy in the box', whose identity was unknown for more than sixty years. Medical investigator (Granger) becomes obsessed with the boy's identity, himself struggling to come to grips with his own personal grief. Gradually his life and that of his fragile family spirals as the mystery deepens threatening to consume everything in his orbit.
Supporting former Hitchcock leading man Granger is an impressive cast including veterans Bryant, Warrick, McCurry, Johnson and Aiello, whilst knowing viewers will recognise adult performers Veronica Hart and short-lived mainstream leading man Robert Kerman (aka R. Bolla) as the elusive Dr Howe and his scorned wife. Whilst Kerman's role is only momentary, Hart gives a moving, convincing performance in a key supporting role.
Grim and tragically sombre in tone, 'Death Mask' is akin to its mid-eighties police thriller contemporaries, with moments of seemingly heavy empathy offset by bursts of apathetic violence where suffering is the common theme. Banal dialogue and a misfit score aside, overall it's a sufficiently gripping B-thriller (not unlike the scale of a telemovie) and gritty fictionalised account of what was until only recently an enduring and captivating unsolved mystery.
Supporting former Hitchcock leading man Granger is an impressive cast including veterans Bryant, Warrick, McCurry, Johnson and Aiello, whilst knowing viewers will recognise adult performers Veronica Hart and short-lived mainstream leading man Robert Kerman (aka R. Bolla) as the elusive Dr Howe and his scorned wife. Whilst Kerman's role is only momentary, Hart gives a moving, convincing performance in a key supporting role.
Grim and tragically sombre in tone, 'Death Mask' is akin to its mid-eighties police thriller contemporaries, with moments of seemingly heavy empathy offset by bursts of apathetic violence where suffering is the common theme. Banal dialogue and a misfit score aside, overall it's a sufficiently gripping B-thriller (not unlike the scale of a telemovie) and gritty fictionalised account of what was until only recently an enduring and captivating unsolved mystery.