Der Mörder in mir

Yes, this was the original that sparked off the not so good and badly favored remake, that we didn't really need, though personally, I'm glad we got. Is this one better? What do you think. Yes. Of course. Like Affleck who was amazing in the remake, Keach gives another individualized performance of excellence like to Afleck's, which again is riveting and compelling, as a reason to watch. But Keach also is matched by Susan Tyrell, looking her sexiest and is so darn cute here, in the role as the white trashy harlot (Alba's in the remake). The plot is basically the same with unbalanced cop, but all psycho ness aside (my own word there) is forced to kill, backed into a corner when blackmailed, by you know who. Don Stroud, one of the great 70's actors, is just well.... great and fun too, as rowdy and not too bright, love struck dummy, Elmore, who does has feelings, not so really, when getting smashed over the head with a bottle, by an offended party. This movie is so beautifully and well shot, and made, with music to suit. One too will judge the difference in the standard of violence and the rating system, to nowadays, where the MA remake was much bloodier than the limited gore in this R pic. It's crazy. There's some really confining moments of terror, we get off Keach, but there's not really any shocks or surprises, but the ending that ensued, sucked, a real, downfall of ordinary, and was Tyrell an apparition at the end? You decide.

Although Stacy Keach is quite good as the delusional sheriff of a small Montana mining town, it is Susan Tyrell as the local lady of the night, who is absolutely amazing in "The Killer Inside Me". The film opens weakly with some totally unnecessary narration, but gradually builds momentum. Don Stroud's performance, as the wild son of Mayoral candidate Keenan Wynn, is notable, and John Carradine also appears in a small role. There are a couple of minor surprises, along with some nice character development. If you are enamored with either Stacy Keach or Susan Tyrell, I say seek this one out, because you will not be disappointed. - MERK

The low budget and the talent of Burt Kennedy (working in a rare venture outside the western genre) add to the striking atmosphere of this largely unseen, barely released Jim Thompson adaptation. After the critically lauded Fat City, Stacy Keach had quite a few star turns in alternative fare during the 70s, of which this is among the best (though his decade-wrapper with The Ninth Configuration is awfully hard to beat.)

Susan Tyrell rejoins him here after her acclaimed Fat City turn, with many terrific character actors throughout the cast. Technical work is top-drawer with the William Fraker photography as good as ever.

One of the first budget DVD's released, (naturally unletterboxed) the Panavision cries out for a redo. Sadly, the small resurgence in Thompson adaptations in the early 90s ended rather quickly; still plenty of great material there for dedicated crime filmmakers.

A real let down, the novel is such a brilliant stomach churning journey into madness but this made for TV movie style nonsense is turgid and painfully slow. Stick to Mike Hammer. I find it hard to believe that no body has made a brilliant version of this book, Kubrick gushes over it on the cover, he should have taken over the reins on this one. Stacey Keach is too soppy as Lou Ford, and the whole thing has the same production values as that seventies TV spin off, of Planet Of The Apes. I thoroughly recommend that you go out and buy lots of Jim Thompson novels though, actually The Grifters isn't done too badly, thats one of his, starring Jon Cusak.

I did not expect anything like this from director Burt Kennedy, who used us more with comedy westerns, more or less in the Andrew McLaglen's style, than to this kind of stuff. I know that in the early sixties he gave us the magnificent MONEY TRAP, another surprising crime film from a director like him, starrring Glenn Ford and Elke Sommer. So this one is also a crime drama, but totally different from MONEY TRAP though. It is adapted from a Jim Thompson's novel. I have never read the book, so I won't tell if this film is faithful or not to the genuine material. But if you like borderline, rotten cops tales; psychotic, sadistic police officers or sheriffs, this movie is for you. Definitely.