Hit-man Johnny (well played with brooding intensity by Brad Rijn) carves up a guy in an alley way. Two-year-old boy Matthew (a remarkably good portrayal by the adorable Matthew Stockley) witness the rub out. Johnny befriends Matthew's spunky and self-reliant single mom Sally (a fine and sympathetic performance by Anne Carlise of "Liquid Sky" fame) and plans on eventually killing Matthew. Cult writer/director Larry Cohen makes vivid and inspired use of the dingy New York City locations, firmly grounds the story in a totally plausible everyday reality populated by complex and credible true-to-life characters, and wrings plenty of white-knuckle suspense from the absorbing premise (a scene with Johnny and Matthew on a swing in an empty public park is truly harrowing). Rijn's Johnny makes for a fascinatingly conflicted main character: While his capacity for savage violence is genuinely frightening, Johnny's smooth charm, handsome looks, and anguished struggle with his own conscience ensure that he's nonetheless still a likable guy. The sound acting from a tip-top cast qualifies as a major asset: Rijn and Carlise do sterling work in the lead roles, with excellent support from John Woehrle as Sally's jerky ex-husband Fred, Stephen Lack as meddlesome detective Lieutenant Burns, Ann Magnuson as Sally's angry man-hating radical feminist friend Malda, and Zachary Hains as wise old Mafia capo Moletti. Paul Glickman's slick cinematography gives the picture a nice bright look. Dwight Dixon's moody'n'jazzy score also does the trick. An unjustly neglected and underrated sleeper.

After a Mafia hit man kills his target in a back alley, he looks up to notice a toddler has seen what he has done. When the mother comes out and notices the body, she goes about things as if her son didn't see anything. Under pressure by the Mafia to do something about it, he befriends the mother of the child to see how much the kid can put together of what he saw. The pressure starts to build as the Mafia is constantly on his back to rid the kid, while the boy's estrange father is trying his best to get back into the child and mother's life and the police are getting suspicious.Style and mood features strongly in director/writer Larry Cohen's understated low-budget noir-like thriller. It's an atmospheric nail-biter in the old tradition of showing little in the way of explosive currents, but rather developing on the tight and emotionally realistic situation captured in the authentically haunting and forcible New York locations. Cohen's serviceable direction clearly cooks up an eerie presence from its shadowy urban backdrop that works favourably with Dwight Dixon's lingering smoky jazz cues throughout the stirring score and Paul Glickman's prominently moody cinematography complements it all nicely. The editing is swiftly concise. Even with its cheap origins, it has a solid professional ambiance that goes onto make it one highly effective presentation. Cohen's cynically terse script swoops right into the social commentary, as on today's menu is a feminist stance, children caught between feuding parents and the exploitation of their naïve innocence. There are few offbeat touches, but for most part the premise is played straight, as it did lack the sharp-laced wit we've come to expect. This dry touch only heightened the taut nature, which leads to a potent conclusion. Sometimes holes can show up and at times the pacing can succumb to stodgy handling, but these moments are a minor fracture to the overall feel. Anne Carlisle's soothing performance is that of elegance, but also burning conviction as the mother. In a disquieting and subtle turn, Brad Rijn perfectly portrays his laconic character with a lurking menace that might drop his guard. Mathew Stockley as the child definitely passes the muster. In short, but extremely quirky parts are Ann Magnuson (as a feminist man hater) and Stephen Lack (stuck up police Lieutenant).Re-watching this interesting and sorely overlooked Cohen entry, goes on to prove what a versatile filmmaker he is.

Writer/Director Larry Cohen offers an interesting thriller with 'Perfect Strangers,' which would have been more logical had it not been premised around such a stupid plot. That is, a young mafioso who's stabbing of another man is witnessed by a two year-old from behind a fence. At first, certain that the boy is too young to act as a reasonable witness for the cops (and I doubt any court would let a kid that young testify anyways...and doing so would give a defense attorney good grounds for appeal), but later doubts the boy's ability to identify him, and gets nervous. What is even dumber is, that his crime associates, want to kill the kid because they're worried he may be a viable key witness. In they end, they turned out to be dumber than the guy who actually committed the crime.To get close to the kid, I suppose as a way of testing what the kid knows and can tell, he hooks up with the boy's mother who is also a stupid character. Although it may be harsh to criticize her for getting cozy so quickly with some guy she met on the street, she always ignores many of the warning signs that this is the guy that stabbed the man just behind their backyard fence. She is aware that a crime occurred, and rushed her boy inside when she saw that he was standing in the backyard by the fence staring at the dead man. Inconsistent in attitude, this sense of emergency never seems to grip her much or make her changes her ways throughout the rest of the film. And the only one who might actually be able to get her to wake up and realize what is going on (too late) is her estranged husband who is suspicious of the new beau and warns her about him for the sake of her and the kid.The story was at least entertaining enough, offering at least some mystery where the plot is based along too many logical flaws--namely, the stupidity of the main characters. But it might nonetheless be worth checking out. Unfortunately, Cohen doesn't offer some of the good-natured quick wit or brief, black comedy he does in his later films. But what the heck, it's a low-budget production. Look for Ann Manguson (of 'Making Mr. Right') in a brief role as the main woman's feminist sidekick, Malda.

This low-budget crime drama deserves a second look (unfortunately it is currently unavailable in video). It is a good example of modern film noir, with its gritty realism, excellent New York location photography, and moody score.The story involves, Johnny, a hitman (played by Brad Rijn), whose contract hit on a gangland rival is witnessed by a three year old boy, playing in his backyard. Johnny's initial motivation to "eliminate" the one witness to the crime (under orders of his mob boss) becomes conflicted by his growing romantic involvement with the boy's mother, Sally, (played by Anne Carlisle). Occasional semicomic relief is provided by the incomparable Ann Magnuson, in the role of a male-hating ultra-feminist and best friend of Sally.The story is by no means perfect and the ending somewhat disappointing. But its appeal lies in its offbeat look and quirky directing and acting. This is a film with definite cult potential.