Ladykiller (1996)
Over a year after a chase to catch a serial slayer dubbed the 'LADYKILLER' ended in the death of his old partner. Lt. Jack 'Jigsaw' Lasky sees a chance too redeem himself in the eyes of his fellow cops, when another serial killer, 'The Piggy Bank Murderer' starts preying on female students at a local campus. Slashing his victims throats with a switchblade before stuffing loose change into their mouths leaving behind the words "She Needed The Money" wherever he goes. Jack's search leads to a number one suspect in the form of Richard Darling an out-of-work actor drawn to the case for reasons unknown as he is drawn to the Jack's art student daughter, Jennifer who studying at the exact same college as the murders occur. As Jack finds himself becoming partnered to Richard who continues on being never far away when the next homicide occurs. Jack searches to uncover this killer of girls before he concludes his slaughter spree with Jennifer.
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Very disappointing...
Such a frustrating disappointment
People are voting emotionally.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Ben Gazzara, at one time thought to be another Brando phones in his predictable grouchy, heavy-drinking "rogue" cop performance. The plot is a shambles, a masked killer is prowling a campus (which apparently has NO security patrols, even after the first death) and murdering girls by choking them with coins.Gazzara fiddles with a blank jigsaw and is sometimes called "Hey, Jigsaw" but this has no bearing on the plot, similarly his agonizing over the accidental shooting of his partner is repeated several times for no good effect. The moment we realize that the dumb, blonde art student is his daughter the signposts are erected to the predictable outcome. In these days of CSI and Law & Order it's amusing to see cops trampling all over a crime scene and inviting an initial prime suspect to assist in the investigation.Conclusion: Life's too short to visit the scene of this cinematic crime
OK Roger Corman cable production delivers pretty much what you'd expect. A maniac kills shapely nude models on a small college campus by slitting their throats after force-feeding them coins. Troubled ex-policeman Jack `Jigsaw' Lasky (Ben Gazzara), who's haunted by memories of accidentally shooting and killing his partner, becomes personally involved when the prime suspect, cocky actor Richard Darling (Alex MacArthur), becomes involved with his blonde artist daughter (Renee Ammann).The plot is often highly implausible and some of the characters behave brain dead, but some witty dialogue and good interplay between Gazzara and MacArthur are enough to keep you tuned in.Score: 4 out of 10
All in all this is not too bad. The film has some moments of real suspense and drama, however they are unfortunately counterbalance by some appalling script points. Ben Gazzara is OK as the cop, not too nasty and not too nice. Alex McArthur is the other main character, and he turns in a pretty decent performance. In summary, a little brainless at points but not a bad film.