Killing Cop

This thriller is really good, especially if you take into consideration that it's only a low-budget made-for-television movie. Even though it was produced in 1989, it has a somewhat neo-noir look and feel to it that rather resembles 1970s cop thrillers. 'The China Lake Murders' was directed by TV veteran Alan Metzger ('Kojak') and is based on Robert Harmon's 1983 short 'China Lake,' which got Harmon the directing job for the now classic 'The Hitcher.' There are a couple of similarities between the latter movie and 'The China Lake Murders.'

The plot is relatively simple, but the fantastic performances by Tom Skerritt in his typical sheriff role and Michael Parks as the maniac cop elevate 'The China Lake Murders' above the majority of television movies. Michael Parks in particular is chilling but also congenial as the stone-cold killer cop, who believes that the system is broken and he can get away with anything. His character Donnelly is an intriguing villain with traits reminiscent of Max Cady from 'Cape Fear' (portrayed by Robert Mitchum in 1962 and Robert De Niro in 1991), Eric Roberts' Dusty from 'The Nature of the Beast' (1995), Michael Douglas' D-Fens from 'Falling Down' (1993), and of course Rutger Hauer's Hitcher. The beautiful desert landscape and the skillful way it was shot also contribute to the impressive overall picture.

'The China Lake Murders' is not very widely known, and it was never released on DVD to my knowledge, even though it "held the record for the highest rated basic cable film" for many years according to Wikipedia. I was very lucky to have recorded a high quality native 720p HD transfer on TV a couple of years ago that has an excellent, crisp and detailed picture, especially for a TV movie that is more than a quarter-century old. Let's hope this transfer finds its way on Blu- ray at some point. I very much recommend this movie to fans of classic thrillers.

"Unsettling in the best tradition of film noir" -Time Magazine

I have forever been a fan of made-for-TV movies and their genre. And this was no exception. I revisited it the other day and was quite impressed by the atmosphere and believability of the cast. Set in Arizona along a lonely expanse of road we have a rogue cop who at some point has gone quietly insane and kills people randomly. Tom Skerritt effortlessly occupies any role he plays and this is no exception. As the sheriff of a small town in the Southwest he wears the role as one would wear a second skin, yet he is more intuitive than most folks realize. But beyond a shadow of a doubt the long dusty stretches of road with nothing in sight for miles, the heat, cacti, and hillsides and shrubs are the biggest actor of all. There is something undaunted and oppressive about this type of scenery which takes us back to Westerns about cowboys and frontiersmen, Las Vegas victim's burial grounds, badlands, bad people, and lost people. And this movie is no different. Michael Parks in the early years had played such interesting roles as well. The movie becomes a race to the truth and the final conclusion and it held my attention until the end. Not bad for a movie of the week and it must be looked at in that context.

The desert plays a central role in this fascinating portrayal of a serial killer's mad pursuit of self-fulfillment. Michael Parks's character—a big-city police officer who spends his vacation in the desert killing people—is as simple and arid as the desert he makes his yearly hunting ground, a place where his victims fall into his deadly trap as quickly and easily as a rodent in a rattlesnake's jaws. Parks's character lacks passion and depth in a way that suggests, paradoxically, a cavernous psychosis. His eyes are pitiless and impenetrable, and his slow, quiet way of talking gradually shifts from easy friendliness to menacing madness. Tom Skerritt offers an equally adept performance as a sheriff who at first simply wants to help out a fellow officer. The more his suspicions of this odd newcomer grow, the deeper into self-destructive madness does the killer descend. The sheriff's understated normalcy provides an effective measure of the killer's increasing detachment from reality. The fact that the killer has no clear motive to kill the people he chooses on empty stretches of desert highway makes the story all the more compelling and memorable. The murders are pointless to everyone except the killer, and he ain't talking.

This is not a bad little police thriller - some intrigue as our small time sheriff try to solve a string or murders that he suspects attributes to a rogue city cop that takes his vacation in the town.

The plot does tend to sway away from the main crime story occasionally with the subplots, but the movie still holds up pretty well with the decent acting, pacing, and scene setting of the desert and town.

Not too many unpredictable or surprising moments, but the movie does keep you amused and sympathetic to the protagonists.

Grade B-

Vacationing psycho cop (Michael Parks) is an opportunistic serial killer, whose visits to a small desert town coincide with disappearances and unsolved homicides. New sheriff on the scene (Tom Skeritt) takes an interest in Parks as a suspect, and thus commences a cat and mouse game between the hunter and the hunted. Parks is certifiably creepy, with his pompous personality. Some eerie flute music, and great desert locations add immeasurably. For Michael Parks admirers this is a must see. Overall "The China Lake Murders" succeeds as entertainment, and is definitely recommended. ...................... - MERK