Jennifer 8 (1992)

A big-city cop from L.A. moves to a small-town police force and immediately finds himself investigating a murder. Using theories rejected by his colleagues, the cop, John Berlin, meets a ... See full summary »

Director:

Bruce Robinson

Writer:

Bruce Robinson

Stars:

Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, Lance Henriksen

5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Garcia	...	John Berlin
Lance Henriksen	...	Freddy Ross
Uma Thurman	...	Helena
Graham Beckel	...	John Taylor
Kathy Baker	...	Margie Ross
Kevin Conway	...	Citrine
John Malkovich	...	St. Anne
Perry Lang	...	Travis
Nicholas Love	...	Bisley
Michael O'Neill	...	Serato
Paul Bates	...	Venables
Bob Gunton	...	Goodridge
Lenny von Dohlen	...	Blattis (as Lenny Von Dohlen)
Bryan Larkin	...	Bobby Rose
Debbon Ayer	...	Amanda

Storyline

A big-city cop from L.A. moves to a small-town police force and immediately finds himself investigating a murder. Using theories rejected by his colleagues, the cop, John Berlin, meets a young blind woman named Helena, who he is attracted to. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose and only John knows it.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | blind woman | christmas | blindness | number in title | 

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Taglines:

On the trail of a serial killer, Detective John Berlin has no clues. No suspects. And no alibi.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and terror, and for language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jennifer 8

Filming Locations:

Eureka, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$11,390,479

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Bruce Robinson wanted composer Christopher Young to write the score for the film and the studio rejected him because of his lack of credits at that point. The studio then hired Maurice Jarre to write the music for the film who was their "lucky charm" after the success of films such as Ghost, Almost an Angel and School Ties and did not get along with Robinson, who felt that Jarre's music for the film did not fit what he was aiming for with the story. Young would be hired and after the first recording session, the studio backed off and agreed to the choice.

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Goofs

When Berlin is searching through Taylor's filing cabinet, his hands jump in position while flipping through the folders just before he finds the folder marked "Jennifer".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Travis: You can drive down there, sir.
Freddy Ross: I'm already walking. Where is it?

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Connections

References Flashdance (1983)

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Soundtracks

Someone To Watch Over Me
by George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin
Performed by Willie Nelson
Courtesy of Columbia Records by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

The blind leading the blind.

Jennifer 8 is written and directed by Bruce Robinson. It stars Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, John Malkovich, Lance Henriksen, Kathy Baker and Graham Beckel. Music is by Christopher Young and cinematography by Conrad Hall.

The small town of Eureka and John Berlin (Garcia) is the new cop in the precinct. When a severed hand is found at the local dump it leads Berlin to believe a serial killer is at work. One who has a penchant for blind girls.

The problems quickly mounted up for Jennifer 8, it flopped big in America and went straight to home format release in the UK. Problems back stage got so bad that Bruce Robinson quit Hollywood and never made another film for 19 years! In spite of these facts, it's not the monstrosity it was originally painted as back on its "limited" release.

It's a frustrating film in many ways because it promises so much. There's bags of moody atmospherics wrung out by Conrad Hall's superb photography, where he filters most things via minimal lighting. Much of the play unfolds in ominous surroundings, where dialogue exchanges are either hushed or laced with harried fervour, and the writing is actually quite smart as it blends psycho thriller staples with strong characterisations that are in turn boosted by committed acting performances. Yet these things can't compensate for the too long run time, a rushed ending and some awkward tonal shifts that often take you out of the required mood. The rushed ending is particularly galling, after asking the audience to stay with the pic for two hours, it's not unreasonable to expect a good long and dramatic finale, sadly that's not the case.

Fans of neo-noir type visuals have some interest here, as does anyone who likes the type of serial killer movies that dominated the late 80s and early 90s before Fincher's Seven raised the bar. 6/10