'The Catcher' is a low budget and obscure SOV baseball themed slasher flick from the late 90's that features an interesting concept, some memorable death scenes and a fantastic set location namely the baseball stadium that's perfect for a sports themed slasher flick. But despite a few fun moments and a handful of moments that show ambition, this movie falls rather flat due to its poor storytelling and lacklustre execution which makes this a wasted opportunity.
The Plot = Beginning in 1981 where a young baseball player named Johnny (Fred Meyers) murders his cruel and demanding father (Joe Estevez). Then 17 years later he's released from the local insane asylum and returns to the baseball stadium to begin a killing spree.
For a low budget direct to video flick the movie does looks quite decent with the production having a polished look to it with the stadium itself having a cool eerie vibe to it and gives off a sense of atmospheric dread. The use of dolly tracks and steady cams are handled quite well and there were a couple of inventive kill scenes. The biggest issue that I have with this is the narrative which felt like it was missing a lot of key elements especially when it comes to connecting the past with the present, it felt like it needed more fleshing out and the characters were way too paper thin and weren't given much to do apart from wonder around the dark and empty hallways. I know that this is a cheap slasher flick and not to go into this expecting something fantastic, but the lazy writing and lack of suspense really lets this one down.
The performances for the most part range from bad to unmemorable but there were a couple of standouts such as David Heavener who gives a noteworthy performance as Walker and Monique Parent adds a touch of class as the female lead Terry and gives an okay performance. Joe Estevez was really hammy in his small screen time and just comes off as an annoyance.
Overall 'The Catcher' does feature some fun moments and a brisk running time, but on the whole it's a pretty weak effort.
