Kill Shot

"Kill Shot" was originally the 1995 pilot to a potential TV series called "PCH," as in Pacific Coast Highway. It stars Kimberly Goltry, Jacqueline Collen, Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards (in a small role) & many others and is similar in tone to Baywatch, but with less beach antics. The project was unfortunately shelved and didn't surface until its release on DVD in 2001.

Denise was 23-24 years old when this was shot and looks great. Some complain about her small role (limited to the first 15 minutes or so), but she does appear and, besides, there are plenty of other noteworthy women to be found, some more beautiful than Denise. More importantly, the characters are likable and the story keeps your interest.

As far as the "more beautiful" women go, "Kill Shot" is worth picking up just for the stunningly gorgeous Kimberly Goltry. Kimberly plays Becky, a single-mother Southern belle trying to relocate in S. Cal. and eke out a living as a night club singer.

Kimberly wasn't only physically gorgeous, she had a star quality and genuineness not unlike, say, Marilyn Monroe, albeit more intelligent, not to mention better looking. Unfortunately Kimberly turned in the acting towel not long after "PCF" was shelved, but at least we have this gift (the "Kill Shot" DVD) to eternally behold her awesome beauty and talents.

Not only is the cast likable, much of the acting is notable, which is surprising since this is an unrealized series pilot. For instance, Ria Pavia and Mushond Lee have a night scene on the beach that comes off so natural it's like witnessing real life.

Jack Scalia, as the trouble-maker from Stacey's past, also displays some great acting in a harrowing scene at the climax that ends in a surprising and shocking way.

FINAL SAY: Don't listen to the grumps. "Kill Shot" is a worthwhile TV movie detailing the fun times, drama and suspense of life on the Southern Cal coast.

The DVD runs 92 minutes and is inexplicably rated 'R' for brief/tame nudity that's tastefully done. And there's no potty language. It's more like PG or PG-13.

I was under the immpression that Denise would be in this film as a main character, but instead was in the film for about ten minutes as that guys girlfriend. The film turned out to be the typical American beach movie but with no real effort into making it any different. It could have been pretty good, but turned out pretty crap

Of all movies (and I'm a film graduate, if that's worth anything to you), this is THE WORST movie I have ever seen. I know there are probably some worse ones out there that I just haven't seen yet, but I have seen this, and this is the worst. A friend and I rented it one night because Denise Richards was on the cover. Talk about being young and retarded. She's uncredited! Her role was unbelievably small! How did she make it on the cover!? IMDb doesn't even list it in her filmography. This movie was so bad, we wrote a little note to the video store when we returned it, and slipped it inside the case. It read something like "please save your further customers from having to view this complete and totally bad movie!"

This movie's origins are a mystery to me, as I only know as much as IMDB did before I rented it. I assume that before "Starship Troopers", "Killshot" was one of the countless unaired pilots that never made it to network, cable, or otherwise. The new title of "Kill Shot" is comically thrown into the opening sequence, the first of many quick clues that this was not ever intended for the cinema. The quick cuts, cheesy "Melrose Place" music, and short 2-second close-up candid shots of the main actors let you know what you're in for.

And I don't mind at all. I rented this movie seeing the repackaging that puts Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards on the cover in front of a volleyball net thinking it would be funny to see them in a movie besides the SciFi travesty of Starship Troopers (an excellent book, in my opinion, not so hot a movie - but that's another review). After looking it up on IMDB, my roommate and I surmised that the pilot was dragged up after the apparent success of Troopers and Richards own career (see Bond-Girl and Wild Things references here). They threw in a sex scene involving a minor character to reach the coveted R-rated status - coveted in suspense Video Rental sections, that is. In any event, they should have left it unrated if you're trying to sell it in the suspense/softcore porn section.

All in all, it's entertaining. I hate to spoil the fun of telling you it's a TV pilot, though. That was the biggest pull while watching it - when you expect a cinematic movie and get a TV show, the differences between them make themselves more clear than usual.

Would I rent it again? No. Would I watch this TV show? Well, why not - it's better than Baywatch. And their meager attempts at hitting all demographics would have done well back in the mid 90s. Token black guy (who's gay to avoid the TV taboo of inter-racial dating), token Asian (Japanese, I assume from the name Koji) more adept at science and computers than talking to women, beautiful, intelligent Latina pre-med student who has everything going for her except her family's bank account - this show probably would have done ok.

But as a movie it just cracks me.

I gave it a 7 out of 10, considering what it was and what it was forced to become. It made for a very enjoyable evening, and that's all I ask of rentals.

To me this movie actually seemed like a TV series pilot because of the abundance of characters, attention to the detail of their lives and the fact that the sub plots didn't always connect. Later I found out on Casper Van Dien's message board, it WAS a pilot later souped up to be a stand alone movie. The back cover synopsis talks about a stalker guy threatening a bunch of college kids. The ACTUAL plot felt a lot like "Freshman Dorm." The stalker was a very tiny part of the movie and was only directed at one of the characters. If you want a light thriller, mostly focusing on the lives of its characters, give it a look-see!