Usually in crime related thrillers, the viewer is exposed to the killer quite early. Everyone is introduced to what they look like, the faces they make, and how they speak. And along with this key element, are the police. This is obviously one of the main materials that's needed for a "police" thriller, but even that is not the main substance in this film. But what makes this film different from the others is that the killer is NOT exposed until very late in the movie. In my opinion, this is a great psychological effect that heightens the senses of the viewer and makes them more intrigued about seeing the killer. I'm disappointed that this film wasn't critically acclaimed. The body of the plot is more or less the same as Law Abiding Citizen (2009): an individual with psychological issues makes calls to a contact and tells them whose next to be killed.Kurt Russell stars as a Miami news reporter who's tired of writing stories about the recently deceased/murdered. Unfortunately, his co- workers are not willing to let him go so easy. Co-starring with Russell is Mariel Hemingway who plays his girlfriend. Both of them want to move out of Miami to escape to a place that is less crowded. Unfortunately, Russell's character, Malcolm Anderson, is having a hard time convincing his boss that he's tired and wants to leave. Kurt Russell is great actor and he plays well at being a tired reporter. Mariel Hemingway is convincing as Russell's girlfriend and although we never see her actually doing her "job" as a teacher in this film, she is good at caring for her and her boyfriend's safety.The real problem arises when a person calls confessing that he killed one of the people Anderson reported about. The killer is played by Richard Jordan. I think Jordan is a very competent actor. I say this because of the way he portrays his character. The personality of the killer is very stealthy. Whenever his voice is heard on the phone, it has a very unpleasant sound. The way he talks isn't smooth; he pauses with his sentences. This can make the conversation sound even more uncomfortable. That is how good Richard Jordan is at his character. Every time I listen to his voice it still gives me the goose bumps. It's unfortunate that his career never took off to big heights. I know that he was cast in many movies, but very few were well known films.Lastly, what really makes this an effective thriller is the suspense, and the music. The suspense in this film is different from the regular action thriller. For every scene, the viewer must listen to what is going on. Without the conversations, the viewer will be lost on what is happening. I would suggest watching this film like it was regular horror flick. The difference is that the story is on a more personal level. It's very rare someone will have a spirit haunting him or her inside their house, but when serial killer is on the loose, one can never really feel safe. Adding to the suspense is the musical score provided Lalo Schifrin. There are two different tones that Schifrin puts in this movie: the first is when the film is focused more on the press. Schifrin has the music sound like everyone's busy and scrambling about. The other side to that is when Anderson talks to the killer. When the camera is focused on them, it has a very ominous feel, in a sense that something bad will happen in a couple minutes. All these factors of music, suspense, and character personalities add up to a strong thriller. I'm glad I was able to see it.The Mean Season is a gripping crime thriller that deserves more than what it has minimally achieved. The tension between scenes are really agitating thanks to a chilling performance by Richard Jordan.

Kurt Russell and Andy Garcia are good eye candy and pretty believable in their roles but this is a kind of run of the mill thriller. The issue of the reporter's complicity in the story he's writing about just isn't developed as well as it should be, probably because the plot twists in a direction it shouldn't have gone. You could easily put this film aside, except that Richard Jordan is so frightening, so intelligent, manipulative and totally psychotic as the killer that you can't look away. He puts more electricity in the film than the lightning does, and it's worth watching just to see him give acting lessons. Just make sure you leave the lights on while you're watching.

The first half of this find-the-serial killer movie was excellent. The story was very interesting and got me hooked into it, big-time. That made the second half really disappointing as the story evolved into one cliché after another. Two big examples: the killer abducting the hero's girlfriend and then making a surprise showing at his house at the end when everyone presumes he's dead. Man, how many movies does that happen? Too many.Kurt Russell plays his normal macho role and Mariel Hemingway joins him as the female lead. She looked nice. Overall, if you like crime movies it's worth seeing. But, rent it, don't buy it.

Kurt Russell has spent most of his career playing a big, dumb oaf (Overboard, Big Trouble In Little China, Tango & Cash, etc.), so it's refreshing to see him in a more serious role. The Mean Season is taken from a novel entitled In The Heat Of The Summer by John Katzenbach (whose other books include Just Cause, later filmed with Sean Connery). The film is a fairly engrossing, if familiar, serial killer story, set in Florida just as the summer ends and the stormy season begins.Miami Journal reporter Malcolm Anderson (Russell) writes a piece about the murder of a woman. Malcolm is getting bored of his job at the Journal and plans to move to pastures new with his girlfriend, teacher Christine Connelly (Mariel Hemingway). However, he receives a mysterious phone call from the murderer, congratulating him on his report and informing him of several more murders that he intends to carry out. Seems the killer wants to use Malcolm as his "conduit to the public". More murders follow, as promised, and each time Malcolm is given exclusive information from the killer. Soon, Malcolm is the toast of the journalistic world - every reporter wants his story, every TV station wants to interview him, and there's even talk of him being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. But the psycho at the centre of the whole business is enraged that his acts are being overlooked in favour of Malcolm's new-found celebrity status. And so he plans to teach Malcolm a lesson.....There's a little suspense in the story, especially when the unseen killer is on the phone to Malcolm. Also the gradual disintegration of Malcolm and Christine's relationship (he's seduced by the media spotlight; she wants him to end his liaisons with the murderer) adds a further layer to the story. The main problem with The Mean Season is that its second-half drifts into the kind of silliness that the first half is so careful to avoid. After setting up an exciting and intriguing premise, this comes as a disappointment. The killer, who has been ruthlessly efficient to this point, suddenly becomes sloppy and tries to make his murders ludicrously elaborate (even though the story has already made it obvious that he's supposed to be unswervingly cold-blooded). Also, the film can't resist one of those clichéd endings - a final frisson, if you like, which has been an overused device since Carrie (1976) - in which the killer "returns from the dead" to terrorise his victims one final time. The Mean Season is an OK thriller, but frustratingly it never quite becomes the first-rate movie that it might have been.