"Lisa" is a thriller about a serial killer. It's a typical one and it's nothing new. But it's not dumb. It has logic, real characters and style. Nonetheless, it lacks something. Mr. Sherman is a clever skillful director, but never genius. He's a pragmatist. His approach is totally scientific. Even directing "Poltergeist 3" he turned Spielberg's fairy- tale into collective hallucinations caused by hypnosis of a troubled girl. OK, there are a lot of great atheistic directors, but anyway creativity requires some kind of irrationality – a little madness, a struggle within. Ingmar Begman was struggling with his childhood's beliefs. To Cronenberg, body is a religion – body (or mind) mutation is his understanding of sin. But Sherman knows there's no God, no soul, no afterlife, and he's cool with it. I guess that's why there's no nerve in his movies – there are too mundane. He sees no miracle in being alive, in trying to survive.The movie has a simple logical story about a girl named Lisa how's young pretty mother forbids her to date boys because she's afraid her daughter will end up pregnant just like herself 14 years ago. So Lisa had to find some alternative ways to get to the opposite sex – first she imagines some romances with George Michaels and other adult celebrities, then she starts a telephone relationship with a handsome man she met in the street. And that handsome man happens to be a serial killer…. Sounds a little bit like William Castle's "I saw what you did". Anyway.Everything in this movie is really good. Script is straight and honest. Acting is much better than you could expect from a typical thriller. Although the main character is a school-girl, the movie is never childish – surely it's not for teenagers, but rather for their parents. But overall it's not brilliant. Sherman never made trash or masterpieces – he was always somewhere above average, touching neither ground nor sky.In the end, I like the movie. It's not cheesy and the director doesn't treat the viewers for fools. But there's no "magical" spark. No poetry. It's nowhere near "Basic Instinct" – Verhoeven is pragmatist/atheist too, but he feels the sexual tension between his characters like it really matters to him and to us. I would recommend it - just don't expect too much.

Lisa (the lovely Staci Keanan) is 14 and boy-crazy, but Katherine, her overprotective single mother, refuses to let her date until she turns 16. While Lisa is out getting groceries one night, she literally runs into Richard and instantly develops a crush on the much older man. Along with her best friend, she finds out where he works and uses sneaky tactics to get his phone number. She begins calling him repeatedly, engaging in seductive conversations without revealing her identity. When Lisa's stalking gets more and more risky, her friend convinces her that if she revealed herself to Richard, he'd be furious about the age difference. Lisa then devises a plan to push Richard and Katherine together in an attempt to get her mother's mind on something other than controlling her life. What Lisa doesn't know is that Richard is a serial killer who was leaving the scene of his latest crime when she bumped into him.Director Gary Sherman's output has always been largely ignored. Even "Dead & Buried", which is one of my absolute favorite horror films, wasn't widely known for the longest time. "Lisa" is no different. Unlike the aforementioned gem, however, it doesn't have a DVD or Blu-ray release to help it gain more viewers. That said, it is certainly worth seeking out.The film contains some strong performances. Staci Keanan, who was the sole reason to watch popular sitcom, "Step by Step", carries the picture. She is infinitely charming with a quick wit and my kind of quirkiness. She's also great at portraying this naive, vulnerable girl who thinks she's tougher than she is. Lisa and her mother share a good relationship, but we see the wedge that is driven between them as the former grows increasingly bitter due to the rules placed over her. It doesn't help that she witnesses Katherine spurn a friendly guy at the local bowling alley, an act which leads Lisa to believe that she's being punished for her mother's past mistakes. Cheryl Ladd is well-cast as Katherine, and her chemistry with Keanan is palpable. Short of casting Jordan Ladd herself in the titular role, I don't think we could have seen a more believable mother and daughter pairing. D.W. Moffet makes for an interesting maniac. Rich, good-looking and suave, he could easily get women, but he would rather slaughter them. Dubbed the "Candlelight Killer" by the press, he leaves messages on his victims' answering machines warning them of what he's about to do before he does it. Jeffrey Tambor is in the film too, but he's underused in a throwaway role.We get some solid suspense here, particularly during a scene where Lisa finds herself stuck in Richard's vehicle. It's made worse by the fact that she doesn't know just how bad it would be if he found her. The film's climax is also tense and surprisingly violent. We also get an amusing bit, be it intentional or unintentional, where Richard uses Katherine to head-butt her own daughter. I will say that the film falters a bit towards the end, mainly due to a poor decision made by one of the characters. This in turn makes for a predictable finale. I also thought that the look of the film wasn't as impressive as it could have been, especially taking into account the eerie, fog-drenched photography of "Dead & Buried". The score sort of made up for the generic look, being moody whereas the atmosphere wasn't.In the end, this is a worthwhile effort thanks in large part to the performances on display. It's a well-acted film, and the suspense benefits as a result.

i was shocked cuz i placed a bid for a VHS on ebay and 10 other people wanted it also, so i lost. but i found another old VHS copy on ebay. it never got to DVD for some reason.so, great movie, mainly cuz its like a cautionary tale to warn girls a guy can be hot, rich and successful and still be a psycho. they need to make more movies like this, not a goofy scream type movie but a real edgy serious thriller like this one. richard is exceptionally hot in this film. great acting. whats creepy though is i did all this stuff when i was 14. i talked to strange men from chatlines. i thought i was so smart i never told them where i lived or met up with them. i also lied about my age. i was lucky i never met a psycho. or then again some of them were, but they never found out where i lived. my friend and i thought we were so cool we made our voices sound sexy and would have late night chats with 25 year old guys. i remember one night my mom walked in and heard me, of course i lied and told her it was a joke if she only knew what we were doing, so dangerous. Cuz chatlines are dangerous because predators go on there often looking for victims. And sometimes we'd randomly call people and start talking to guys. teen girls are boy crazy and there are a lot of psycho's out there. This movie is so creepy the way they did it was you knew all along who he was, instead of finding out at the end, it made it more creepy that she was playing with his mind and it turns out he was a serial killer. pretty spooky.also, the mouth on those girls, holy hell! "if you got laid every once and a while you wouldn't be such a bitch" "if you're mom had a boyfriend and "got it" once and a while she might leave you alone and let you date" lol, i forgot how sassy teenagers can be. i should know cuz a couple of those guys from the chatlines wanted to dirty talk and i may have let them so yeah, now that im much older, thats straight up creepy!! lol

I enjoyed this movie, and I don't enjoy most. This movie, although its main character is a teenie bopper, is quite satisfying. There is a killer, victims, suspense, and its surprisingly, interesting. It held my interest, and I wanted to know what would happen next. The acting wasn't that bad, either. This movie is surprisingly, good.