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IMDbPro

Roots of Evil

  • 19921992
  • RR
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
3.7/10
225
YOUR RATING
Alex Cord and Delia Sheppard in Roots of Evil (1992)
CrimeDrama
A serial killer is after hookers and strippers. A male detective and his female partner are assigned to stop him.A serial killer is after hookers and strippers. A male detective and his female partner are assigned to stop him.A serial killer is after hookers and strippers. A male detective and his female partner are assigned to stop him.
IMDb RATING
3.7/10
225
YOUR RATING
    • Gary Graver
    • Adam Berg
  • Stars
    • Alex Cord
    • Delia Sheppard
    • Charles Dierkop
    • Gary Graver
    • Adam Berg
  • Stars
    • Alex Cord
    • Delia Sheppard
    • Charles Dierkop
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 7User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Roots of Evil (1992)
    Roots of Evil (1992)
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    Top cast

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    Alex Cord
    Alex Cord
    • Jake
    Delia Sheppard
    Delia Sheppard
    • Monica
    Charles Dierkop
    Charles Dierkop
    • Collins
    Jillian Kesner
    Jillian Kesner
    • Brenda
    Randall Brady
    • Johnny
    Deanna Lund
    Deanna Lund
    • Marissa
    Gregory Scott Cummins
    Gregory Scott Cummins
    • Gavin
    Brinke Stevens
    Brinke Stevens
    • Candy
    Jewel Shepard
    Jewel Shepard
    • Wanda
    Jack Margolis
    • Ralph
    Kate Murtagh
    Kate Murtagh
    • Mother
    Donna Spangler
    Donna Spangler
    • Scarlett
    Sam Menning
    • Wino
    Bob Bragg
    Bob Bragg
    • Paramedic
    Jean Clark
    • Bartender
    • (as J.L. Clark)
    James Dickson
    • Marine
    Daphne Cheung
    • Tina
    Marlene Casamento
    Marlene Casamento
    • Carla
      • Gary Graver
      • Adam Berg
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The film exists in two versions-an unrated cut and a R-rated cut. The R-rated cut removed all gore from the film including a throat slashing, a tongue being severed, and a finger being cut off. The uncut version includes all the gore as well as an extended Delia Sheppard sex scene.
    • Connections
      References Grave Robbers (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      Only Game in Town
      Words and Music by Duane Sciacqua

    User reviews7

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Another cinematic bowel movement from Gary Graver
    Gary Graver was a pretty talented and definitely very prolific cinematographer who did everything from hardcore porn to collaborations with Orson Welles(!). In his few efforts as a director, however, he proved to be pretty much cursed. This is definitely NOT a good movie. The plot, as others have said, was borrowed from a hardcore flick (a genre not exactly known for its great plots). It has a police detective couple (Alex Cord and Jillian Kesner)carrying on two separate investigations which have nothing to do with each other (other than they're both very lame) and will really confuse the few viewers who don't just fall asleep out of sheer boredom. The acting is terrible, even that of relatively talented thesps. like Cord. And there are bizarre throwaway scenes and bits of dialogue such as when Cord's characters gives an Asian hooker his card, but it isn't his card, it's the card of a bar he hangs out in a lot, which is apparently soaked in urine because he got it off the men's room floor(?!)--but then she takes it anyway(?!?).

    I suspect Graver was not taking this movie all that seriously. The serial killer they're chasing ,for instance, not only chews the scenery like a rabid beaver, but Graver then has him making a tearful phone call to his mom after each murder! There is some pretty gruesome violence--a prostitute getting her finger cut off, a vagrant who witnessed a murder getting his tongue cut out. This may bother some, but it does make this slightly less boring than most 90's "erotic thrillers", which were rarely "erotic" or "thrilling" but were lousy with too-long sex scenes and bad saxophone music.

    This movie also boasts an impressive female cast (not necessarily talented but impressive). Jillian Kesner had been a popular jiggle-queen since the early 70's (mostly on television). Deanna Lund, who had provided cheesecake in 60's TV show "Land of the Giants", was even older (and has even more nude scenes) than Kesner. She would marry CNN's Larry King(!) shortly after appearing in this. Both women still look pretty good, but if they're a little too ripe for your taste, there's also the voluptuous Delia Shephard from "Rocky IV" as a stripper who, thankfully, does a lot of stripping and not much acting. The movie also features two of the more talented (relatively speaking) of the 80's "scream queens", Brinke Stevens and Jewel Shephard.(Jewel Shephard gives perhaps her best acting performance ever as a near-sighted hooker--unfortunately it was in this dim-bulb movie). There's certainly no lack of T and A (although a lot more T than A). None of which is to say I would in any way recommend this, but if you just have to see it. . .
    helpful•5
    4
    • lazarillo
    • May 27, 2010

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 2, 1992 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 35 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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