The Rain Killer

Someone is brutally murdering a score of women, while in the rain. There is a connection. They're all part of a sewing circle. A tired looking cop, Sharkey, a cool vehicle role for him, is teamed up with new overriding DEA agent, Hot shot, Dalton (David Beecroft-Who the hell is he?) and it isn't very long before things get very personal as Sharkey gets personally involved with Beecroft's woman (Tania Coolidge-Who the hell is she) A stripper becomes tied in with the other victims. At first we question why this strip scene exists. Not that there's anything wrong with watching little hottie, Maria Ford, doing a little nude dance. And that's followed by a sex scene in a motel room, the young wealthy client, carrying a hefty suitcase containing some pretty kinky gadgets, amongst some pretty scary knifeware. This guy can handle himself too, as the two are intercepted outside, by Ford's black pimp, but he's soon taken care of. It soon makes sense why these scenes exist as Ford is killed, and this guy that Beecroft actually knows is being framed. See this macho's guys wife belongs to the same sewing circle. I knew who the killer was all the way through this, and someone who didn't, would have to have an IQ less than seven. I don't know how some of these movie writers think they can fool us. It was so patently obvious, by the figure's build and walk, the identity was staring me in the face. Are you f*****g kidding me? As a thriller The Rain Killer disappoints, but it's still quite engrossing, nonetheless, I guess partly due to it's idea. It's got a little nudity from hottie Maria Ford, some very occasional violence, and Ray Sharkey. It also stars Michael Chilkis in a much earlier acting role, before he became one of the fantastic four.

One of the worst films I have seen in recent times. It's so boring that right after 10 minutes you feel like you don't watch the film. The production value is not at it's best this where I felt like I'm not watching a film but some c grade tv drama. Acting , direction, dialogues, editing everything in the film is annoying and unbearable. I would recommend Lucio Fulci's 1982 Giallo "The New York Ripper" rather than this crap. 1/10

I have recently discovered, to my great surprise, that "The Rain Killer" has achieved a kind of cult status in Europe, especially Italy. An Italian journalist contacted me a few months ago looking for background on the film to be included in a forthcoming book about the genre.

I would not presume to review the film, in fact I have not seen it in many years. I have only a VHS copy that I recorded off cable, but the new interest in the film might finally generate a DVD release, perhaps as part of a Roger Corman retrospective. (Califilm was one of his subsidiary companies.) Anyway, the book should be released in Europe in 2014.

Ray Cunneff

Just as the Giallo genre was starting to decline in its country of origin, one of the most serious attempts to imitate it was produced in the United States under the auspices of Roger Corman's Califilm production company. Its plot follows a veteran detective (Ray Sharkey) and an FBI agent (David Beecroft) as they hunt down a serial killer who commits his crimes during torrential rains in Los Angeles. Deep shadows, colorful lighting, improbable plot twists, and a gloved killer stalking with a sharp knife easily reveal its influences, while Janusz Kaminski's cinematography creates a dark and wonderful atmosphere. Although it received criticism at the time, this mix of film noir and giallo deserves a rewatch, if only to be seen as a direct reference to Ty West's recent *MaXXXine* (2024).

This crude exhibition of zero talent is far worse than most actual porno films. Such films usually are at least somewhat funny. I watched it only because the usually excellent Ray Sharkey was the star. He is the only person in the cast you'll probably recognize. The film is degraded. It is filled with sex shots and sex plot line that don't make sense. It jumps from scene to scene very awkwardly. Sharkey himself shows little of his acting ability. The rest of the cast shows virtually no talent. A horrible movie. A true disappointment for Sharkey fans like me. I don't understand why he made it. Perhaps to give homosexuals some screen time.