Night Visions (1990)
** (out of 4)
Sergeant Thomas Mackey (James Remar) is a smart-mouth, sometimes jerk who will stop at nothing to solve a crime. His latest investigation has him after a serial killer known in the media as the "Spread Eagle Killer." After getting kicked off the case, the only way Mackey can get back on is by helping a psychic (Loryn Locklin) around in hopes that she can help solve it.
NIGHT VISIONS was a made-for-television movie, which was meant to kick-off a series but this aired to poor ratings and mixed reviews so nothing else followed. It's easy to see why this thing didn't take off because it's screenplay is all over the place and never really knows what it wants to be about. It really does seem as if writers Wes Craven (who also directed) and Thomas Baum wanted to do so much with a series that they put all of the elements into this 91 minute movie and there's just too much here and there's never anything clear going on. I say that because all sorts of subplots are thrown in including the psychic having a personality disorder, Mackey having a drinking problem and then there's the search for the killer.
The actual search for the killer turns out to be incredibly boring because if you've ever seen a movie then you're going to figure out the identity within twenty minutes. I thought it was painfully obvious, which just made the movie feel long and boring. Craven added a few nice touches especially during the opening murder sequence and there's no doubt that the ending was quite good. I found Remar to easily be the best thing about the picture and certainly his tough guy approach. Locklin was also good in her role.
In the end, NIGHT VISIONS is just too bland and boring to make much of an impact.
