You gotta love Mr Hauser. He's one of my favorite actors, and now he's turn to directing, it would seem, while he also co wrote the ambitious violent flick, No Safe Haven, years earlier, which wasn't a bad flick either. Here, he's experimented and dabbled in an excitingly violent and sleazy manner with this film, that sees some budding and aspiring actors/actresses, some real beauties, die at the hands of two homosexual sicko's, parading as film makers in the city of broken dreams. The would be actors, re enact death/murder scenes from classic movies, whether Deer Hunter, Psycho, Scarface (one sickeningly violent chainsaw scene here), of course, unaware, it's for real. Hauser plays a cop with a soft heart, dating one sexy woman, where we're granted some real tasty making out/sex scenes, where the viewer can't help feel envious. One early sex scene, of course, seems spawned by 9 And A Half Weeks. Sexy Kinmont (Hauser's girlfriend here) another actress used as eye candy, is not the only beauty in this either. Hauser becomes a one man vendetta, unleashing a personal hatred for one of the lowlife, pimp/pornographers, named Latin Jerry, stylish huh. It's after a budding beauty, very close to him, who he tried to get out of the city, returns and becomes as what he terms, just another statistic on the homicide bureau. TAOD is classy, original, and slick, but one can't overlook, not just the sleaziness, but the sickening themes in it, violence a strong attribute. Hauser is Hauser, who sometimes had me laughing the lines he was given. He delivers a human and very real performance, where he had me truly believing him. More so the performance that really struck (the older head sicko was good) but was that of Michael J Pollard as the veteran social worker/pscyhe cop, Delbert. I really couldn't narrow it down to one occupation, it was really hard to pinpoint who he was. It's just the one performance that stays with me. TAOD is entertaining all through, with an explosive, if shocking start, where a partner squabble doesn't go the way you think. Hauser has an ambitious vehicle, and I like the originality of the film, as much as I like the film itself, with some classic and admirable touches and attachments. But as you know, with quality in film, sleaze, and sickening themes, aren't real positives. One unpredictable moment, I loved and was impressed by, was Hauser's sexy home invasion, that first return home, by a disgruntled and avenging party of a brother, Hauser killed.
