When scanning the shelves of your local video store, what do you see more often then generic covers of "Basic Instinct" wannabes in the thriller/mystery section? Let's face it, they are a dime a dozen, however once in a blue moon you stumble upon a diamond in the rough that exceeds expectations. Well look no further than "Probable Cause" for one hell of a good movie...
The plot is this: A serial killer is bumping off cops and the experts on the case are clueless as to who is doing this and why (an important and more than resonable answer as it turns out). The lead detective (Michael Ironside) is coupled with a sexy female partner to try and shed some light on case, but not all is well between them. You see, Ironside's character is under investigation for sexual harrassment and she is less than thrilled to have to work with this manly pig. This sets up great chemistry between them, and leaves the audience wondering if he in fact is guily of this or not. A fantastic subplot that we never actually get an answer to. The female partner has trouble sleeping at night, is plagued with nightmares, and can't figure out why, and between the body count and the rising tension surrounding the ongoing case, sparks fly and things really begin to heat up.
*SPOILERS AHEAD* The two soon discover that all the cops that have been off-ed, graduated from the same academy and hold a dark secret amoungst them. It turns out, the group of "perfect new recruits" raped a fellow officer while they were rookies, and left the victim with zero self esteem to say the least and a taste for revenge that she would take on them some ten years later. Well it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the female partner turns out to be the guilty party (hence her sleeplessness) however we sympathize with her character and in a twist ending, Ironside covers for her and she gets away with the murders, making look like one of the other corrupt cops.
The movie moves like a bullet, and keeps the suspense and whodunit factor in high gear the whole way through, without following the trend of bad "sexy thrillers" before them. The story is fresh, the acting is top notch, and in the end it actually has a message behind it...all done with better than average taste.
"Probable Cause" is the type of film that if it had more marketable actors in the leads (by Hollywood's standards anyway) it would have blockbuster status written all over it. But, since it is a direct-to-video release, it barely gets any recognition at all, and unjustly so. However, that is an element that makes this a stand out. You do not need the flavor of the month superstar to carry a film like this, because the story (which somehow seems to get lost in today's films) carries it all by itself. My Lord, what a silly concept!
So do yourself a favor, and rent this surprisingly solid thriller because it is a worthwhile "Cause."
The plot is this: A serial killer is bumping off cops and the experts on the case are clueless as to who is doing this and why (an important and more than resonable answer as it turns out). The lead detective (Michael Ironside) is coupled with a sexy female partner to try and shed some light on case, but not all is well between them. You see, Ironside's character is under investigation for sexual harrassment and she is less than thrilled to have to work with this manly pig. This sets up great chemistry between them, and leaves the audience wondering if he in fact is guily of this or not. A fantastic subplot that we never actually get an answer to. The female partner has trouble sleeping at night, is plagued with nightmares, and can't figure out why, and between the body count and the rising tension surrounding the ongoing case, sparks fly and things really begin to heat up.
*SPOILERS AHEAD* The two soon discover that all the cops that have been off-ed, graduated from the same academy and hold a dark secret amoungst them. It turns out, the group of "perfect new recruits" raped a fellow officer while they were rookies, and left the victim with zero self esteem to say the least and a taste for revenge that she would take on them some ten years later. Well it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the female partner turns out to be the guilty party (hence her sleeplessness) however we sympathize with her character and in a twist ending, Ironside covers for her and she gets away with the murders, making look like one of the other corrupt cops.
The movie moves like a bullet, and keeps the suspense and whodunit factor in high gear the whole way through, without following the trend of bad "sexy thrillers" before them. The story is fresh, the acting is top notch, and in the end it actually has a message behind it...all done with better than average taste.
"Probable Cause" is the type of film that if it had more marketable actors in the leads (by Hollywood's standards anyway) it would have blockbuster status written all over it. But, since it is a direct-to-video release, it barely gets any recognition at all, and unjustly so. However, that is an element that makes this a stand out. You do not need the flavor of the month superstar to carry a film like this, because the story (which somehow seems to get lost in today's films) carries it all by itself. My Lord, what a silly concept!
So do yourself a favor, and rent this surprisingly solid thriller because it is a worthwhile "Cause."