The Kill-Off

Murder, Sex, Lies and Plenty of Sleaze are intertwined to reveal a variety of characters each in their own unique and twisted way infatuated by Lust, Corruption and Revenge.

I was never a big fan of The Grifters, browsing through the shelves of my local video store many years ago I saw this little beauty sitting crying out to be hired, so naturally I did the decent thing, and WOW! was I bowled over.

From the script, the pitch perfect casting and the soundtrack, this is one of those whereby when you watch, you can feel yourself become uncomfortable.

The Director Maggie Greenwald made an impressive directing debut, and brought a touch of romantic sleaze to the proceedings. Go on and try it, and then go for a ten hour shower afterwards, Jim Thompson would be proud.

I can't believe this movie was made in 1989 & I never heard of it before its premiere on the Sundance channel. It's a riveting piece of work that's all of a piece: from the performances (the casting is about as eerily on-target as anything I've ever seen) to the lighting to the cinematography. I thought I was watching a Sam Shephard play with some kind of non-Shephard twist to it, only to find out at the end that it was based a Jim Thompson story. (Of course! - 1st cousin to Coup de Torchon/Pop. 1290.) Some of the scenes, especially the two women - Danny & Luane - dancing to the same record in crosscut scenes, are absolutely terrific. This movie beats all the major Hollywood products (including Hollywood "art" products like "Short Cuts") by light years. Highly recommended!!!

(with Tavernier's Coup de Torchon, of course). I would have given a note of 10 it certainly deserves, but the print I saw was from an old video cassette and couldn't find a DVD at decent price. From beginning to end, I rediscovered Jim Thomson's atmosphere, with poor characters with serious failures teasing nastily each other. Bravo to Maggie Greenwald who has directed this creepy drama with continuous invention in camera tricks and solid actors direction. Every shot is inventive, and no matter the casting is unknown, they believe in their characters. Creepy atmosphere with a creepy perfect soundtrack.

Far superior to the excessively violent and ridiculous Killer Inside Me with Casey Affleck, another adaption from Jim Thomson.