STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits
Johnathon Corliss (Matt Dillon) uses his hidden intelligence to hatch a scheming plot. Since childhood, his gifts have gone unappreciated and, on the railtrack outside his window, he sees the Carlson company trains go rolling by and dreams of one day being as rich as him and hatches a scheming plot to worm his way into the family fortune. First, he dates Carlson's (Max Von Sydow) daughter and kills her when she becomes pregnant. But when her older sister Ellen (Sean Young) starts digging into the events surrounding her sister's death, it isn't long before he's struck up a relationship with her. But, as Ellen pieces events together, the shattering truth could end up costing her her relationship...and her life.
Admittently, looking at this little thriller today there are flaws I can see in it that I might not have seen when I first saw it maybe eight years ago. The acting is of a very poor standard (not surprising that none of the stars ever went on to any bigger things!) and the plot has a number of holes in it. But it's an engaging story with an impressively dark quality to it. It may just be that it kinda stirs up some fond memories for me, but I didn't find it a totally unenjoyable watch. ***
Johnathon Corliss (Matt Dillon) uses his hidden intelligence to hatch a scheming plot. Since childhood, his gifts have gone unappreciated and, on the railtrack outside his window, he sees the Carlson company trains go rolling by and dreams of one day being as rich as him and hatches a scheming plot to worm his way into the family fortune. First, he dates Carlson's (Max Von Sydow) daughter and kills her when she becomes pregnant. But when her older sister Ellen (Sean Young) starts digging into the events surrounding her sister's death, it isn't long before he's struck up a relationship with her. But, as Ellen pieces events together, the shattering truth could end up costing her her relationship...and her life.
Admittently, looking at this little thriller today there are flaws I can see in it that I might not have seen when I first saw it maybe eight years ago. The acting is of a very poor standard (not surprising that none of the stars ever went on to any bigger things!) and the plot has a number of holes in it. But it's an engaging story with an impressively dark quality to it. It may just be that it kinda stirs up some fond memories for me, but I didn't find it a totally unenjoyable watch. ***