The Soft Kill (1994)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Eli Cohen

Writers:

Yitzhak Ginsberg (story)
Alex Kustanovich (screenplay)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Michael Harris	...	Jack Ramsey
Brion James	...	Ben McCarthy
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Jane Tanner
Matt McCoy	...	Vinnie Lupino
Corbin Bernsen	...	Martin Lewis
Kim Morgan Greene	...	Kimberly Lewis
Johnny Medina	...	Manny Ortega
Annie James	...	Allison Tanner
Ted Hayden	...	Mr. Feriolo
Gloria Hayes	...	Officer Miranda
Maxine James	...	Forensic Technician
Louise Lewis	...	Bag Lady
Alain Silver	...	Field Technician (as Alain Joel Silver)
Judith Ziehn	...	Widow
Robert Hoover	...	Cab Driver

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County, California, USA

Company:

Bleiberg Entertainment

Nothing special, but this mystery does keep you guessing

Former cop Jack Ramsey wants to move to Oregon, but there's a problem. Evidence has been found that makes him a suspect in the murder of gossip columnist Kimberly Lewis. His former partner Ben McCarthy, who visits his wife's grave frequently, is the lead detective on the case. Kimberly's sister Jane wants to hire Ramsey to find evidence that the killer is actually Martin (possible romance here?). Jane has a feeling it is, but she can't prove it. Ramsey and McCarthy work together to find out who committed the crime, and Ramsey gets in even more trouble as more evidence points to him. Ramsey also spends quite a bit of time with Jane. A number of people are identified as possible suspects, and we are deceived plenty of times as to who is doing the framing, and who is trying to blackmail whom and why. This is just as any good mystery should be, though there's nothing that great about it.

Brion James gave quite a performance, considering this is just an average movie. Later, he got to demonstrate a wide range of skills. We think he is tough and strong and not particularly nice, but there is more to him. I don't know what Brion James is supposed to look like, but unless the character was supposed to resemble something out of sci-fi or horror, that was one hideous makeup job. I suppose the chemistry between Ramsey and McCarthy was supposed to be an attraction, but I didn't think there was much to that. Ramsey and Jane, on the other hand, made a more interesting team. Jane was the guardian for Allison, who was adorable and almost made the movie worth seeing.

This movie is not for kids, in spite of Allison's presence. The first recognizable image is that of Kimberly topless in bed (on TV, certain body parts were blurry). The male leads seemed to like using the f-word a lot (at least I think that's what it was). There is some violence but not a great deal, though Allison is in danger at least once.

I've seen better mysteries. This one wasn't too bad.