****SPOILERS**** Low budget serial killer flick with Toronto Canada subbing for the Big Apple New York City having a killer on the loose with a strange hang-up of not only murdering his victims but photographing them and hacking off a part, an arm leg and even head, of their bodies. It's burned out FBI Agent Jason Enola, Chris Penn, who's recruited by his friend and fellow FBI Agent Brad Abraham, Michael Madsen, to track the killer down since he was on his case some 4 years ago that lead him to flip out in not being able to solve it. It's then that he locked himself away from society and become a recluse as well as have his wife with his two young daughters walk out on him.It's the movie's low production values that make it work by concentrating on Agent Enola & Abraham's mostly police work and not much else to get the job done. There's also a major side plot about psychiatrist Dr. Alyce Robertson, Jennifer Dale, who accidentally stumbles on to the killer during a group session involving a number of her patients with serious mental problems; One just released from prison after serving four years for murdering his wife. The movie teases us as well as Agent Enola in just who the killer is. And the clues to his identity is kept form the audience as well as Agent Enola until he himself becomes a victim and is on the brink of death and as if having an out of the body experience puts two and two together.****SPOILERS**** With Agent Enola shot and about to expire he suddenly gets superhuman strength and dashes out of the ambulance that's taking him to the hospital emergency ward to confront the killer who by then revealed who he or she is to a shocked Dr. Robertson the person whom the killer was after all along. Like Dr. Frankenstein the crazed and vengeful, towards Dr. Robertson, serial killer wanted her head to complete his operation in making the perfect woman from the parts of the women victims that he already murdered and hacked to pieces! But ended up a head short by the time the movie was over.

They were selling this one at the supermarket for $3.99, the same price as the six-roll package of toilet paper. I made the wrong choice, as usual. A gruesome film noir about a serial killer who hacks off pieces of his victims' bodies before killing them. Hard to tell what was going on because both the lighting and sound recording were so poor, but there was some connection to a psychotherapist and her group therapy patients. Needless to say, lots of people had to die before the killer is identified and caught. (Partial spoilers ahead.) Don't bother trying to guess whodunit, because it is impossible to tell until the last minute, when the missing information is abruptly supplied out of nowhere. There is an (unintentionally) hilarious sequence in which hero Chris Penn, who, let's face it, is built more like John Belushi than like Arnold Schwarzenegger, is shot in the chest, injected with a sedative and tied down in the ambulance taking him to the hospital -- but powered only by his obsessive hatred of the killer, he manages to break free from his restraints, overpowers the ambulance attendants, drives off at high speed, gets into a collision with two or three other vehicles, abandons the ambulance and runs to the location where he believes the killer is located, all based only on one of those infallible "hunches" law enforcement officers always have in these films. Yes, he manages to thwart the killer's attempt to kill the final victim, who then remarks that "we need to get you to a hospital." The toilet paper I could have bought would not only have been more useful than this film, but it likely would have had superior narrative and cinematic qualities. Live and learn.

Horrible acting, horrible writing, ridiculous story. I like Penn and Madsen and thought this may be good. Boy was I wrong. Like the earlier reviewer asked. Why was Madsen in this movie?? He did drift in and out and added absolutely nothing to the story and he did in fact disappear before the conclusion. Weird. I did get a laugh from how bad some of the writing was. Just listening to some of the lines being read was hilarious.

Yes I liked this movie. Why? because I didn't bother comparing it to others in the serial killer genre. It was low budget, yes, but it had strong performances from the always entertaining Chris Penn and Michael Madsen. Other performances (such as Jennifer Dale and the guy who played William) make this movie noteworthy as well. The first time I saw it, I wasn't too terribly impressed, but I watched it again, and I liked it far more the second time, and the third. There were funny moments (Enola talking to the lawyer) and heart-wrenching times (i.e. Enola calling his kids) and very nice tensions were built up in the therapist's office. I'd give this movie a 7/10, nice job all!