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==Plot==
==Plot==
A young [[Physician|doctor]] in Los Angeles named John Wesford becomes a suspect when a series of [[Jack the Ripper]] [[copycat crime|copycat killings]] is committed. He and another young doctor (Jack Pendler) are at the scene of the final crime in the series; they know each other because they both work for the same medical unit, reporting to the abusive Dr. Sidney Tannerson. Pendler seems to realize that John Wesford's testimony will likely lead to his being arrested as the killer, and in an ambiguously staged scene, murders him, staging the scene to resemble a suicide. The police quickly name John Wesford as the copycat killer and hypothesize that he killed himself out of guilt.
In [[Los Angeles]], a young [[Physician|doctor]] named John Wesford becomes a suspect when a series of [[Jack the Ripper]] [[copycat crime|copycat killings]] is committed. John and another young doctor, Jack Pendler, are at the scene of the latest crime in the series; they know each other because they both work for the same medical unit, reporting to the abusive Dr. Sidney Tannerson. Pendler seems to realize that John's testimony will likely lead to his being arrested as the killer, and in an ambiguously staged scene, murders him, staging the scene to resemble a [[suicide]]. The police quickly name John as the copycat killer and hypothesize that he killed himself out of guilt.


To the surprise of everybody involved, John Wesford's [[identical twin]] brother, Rick, arrives and claims to know his brother did not kill himself because he has seen visions of the true killer. In flashbacks, the viewer sees that Rick Wesford saw Jack Pendler killing his brother. The police humor Rick briefly, but only because his existence calls into question the eyewitness testimony that had put the identical-looking John at the scene of the crime, and Rick's suspicious knowledge of the crime scene (from his visions) make him an attractive suspect himself. Under scrutiny by the police, Rick allies himself with another of his brother's colleagues, Dr. Chris Moscari, and carries out his own investigation. He successfully identifies, tracks down, and confronts Pendler, who attacks him and is arrested. Pendler is in some regards an excellent suspect — physical evidence puts him at the scene of the final murder. But in other regards he is a terrible one, not matching known characteristics or habits of the killer.
To the surprise of everybody involved, John's [[identical twin]] brother, Rick, appears and claims to know his brother did not kill himself because he has seen visions of the true killer. In flashbacks, the viewer sees that Rick saw Pendler killing his brother. The police humor Rick, but only because his existence calls into question the eyewitness testimony that had put the identical-looking John at the scene of the crime, and Rick's suspicious knowledge of the crime scene makes him an attractive suspect himself. Under scrutiny by the police, Rick allies himself with another of his brother's colleagues, Dr. Chris Moscari, and carries out his own investigation. He successfully identifies, tracks down and confronts Pendler, who attacks him and is arrested. Pendler is in some regards an excellent suspect — physical evidence puts him at the scene of the final murder. But in other regards he is a terrible one, not matching known characteristics or habits of the killer.


Rick continues to dream about his brother's murder and asks the police psychologist to hypnotize him to clarify these visions. In the refined vision he again sees Pendler attack his brother, but also notices that Pendler's shoes do not match those worn by the copycat killer, and that Dr. Tannerson had been at the scene. He intuits that Tannerson will next attack Dr. Moscari and speeds to her house, attracting a string of police cars with his reckless driving. Moscari survives and Rick avenges his brother's death by killing Tannerson, who (it is implied) had manipulated Pendler into murdering the unfortunate twin.
Rick continues to dream about John's murder and asks the police psychologist to [[hypnosis|hypnotize]] him to clarify these visions. In the refined vision he again sees Pendler attack his brother, but also notices that Pendler's shoes do not match those worn by the copycat killer and that Dr. Tannerson had been at the scene. He intuits that Tannerson will next attack Chris and speeds to her house, attracting a string of police cars with his reckless driving. Chris survives and Rick avenges his brother's death by killing Tannerson, who (it is implied) had manipulated Pendler into murdering the unfortunate twin.


==Cast==
==Cast==

Latest revision as of 22:47, 20 October 2024

Jack's Back
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRowdy Herrington
Written byRowdy Herrington
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyShelly Johnson
Edited byHarry B. Miller III
Music byDanny Di Paola
Production
company
Palisades Entertainment
Distributed byPalisades Entertainment
Release date
  • May 6, 1988 (1988-05-06)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[1]

Jack's Back is a 1988 American mystery thriller film written and directed by Rowdy Herrington in his directorial debut. It stars James Spader in a dual role, Cynthia Gibb, Jim Haynie, Robert Picardo, Rod Loomis, and Rex Ryon. It follows a serial killer who celebrates Jack the Ripper's 100th anniversary by committing similar murders.

The film began a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 6, 1988. It received mixed reviews from critics, while Spader's performance was praised and earned him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor.

Plot

[edit]

In Los Angeles, a young doctor named John Wesford becomes a suspect when a series of Jack the Ripper copycat killings is committed. John and another young doctor, Jack Pendler, are at the scene of the latest crime in the series; they know each other because they both work for the same medical unit, reporting to the abusive Dr. Sidney Tannerson. Pendler seems to realize that John's testimony will likely lead to his being arrested as the killer, and in an ambiguously staged scene, murders him, staging the scene to resemble a suicide. The police quickly name John as the copycat killer and hypothesize that he killed himself out of guilt.

To the surprise of everybody involved, John's identical twin brother, Rick, appears and claims to know his brother did not kill himself because he has seen visions of the true killer. In flashbacks, the viewer sees that Rick saw Pendler killing his brother. The police humor Rick, but only because his existence calls into question the eyewitness testimony that had put the identical-looking John at the scene of the crime, and Rick's suspicious knowledge of the crime scene makes him an attractive suspect himself. Under scrutiny by the police, Rick allies himself with another of his brother's colleagues, Dr. Chris Moscari, and carries out his own investigation. He successfully identifies, tracks down and confronts Pendler, who attacks him and is arrested. Pendler is in some regards an excellent suspect — physical evidence puts him at the scene of the final murder. But in other regards he is a terrible one, not matching known characteristics or habits of the killer.

Rick continues to dream about John's murder and asks the police psychologist to hypnotize him to clarify these visions. In the refined vision he again sees Pendler attack his brother, but also notices that Pendler's shoes do not match those worn by the copycat killer and that Dr. Tannerson had been at the scene. He intuits that Tannerson will next attack Chris and speeds to her house, attracting a string of police cars with his reckless driving. Chris survives and Rick avenges his brother's death by killing Tannerson, who (it is implied) had manipulated Pendler into murdering the unfortunate twin.

Cast

[edit]
  • James Spader as John Wesford / Rick Wesford
  • Cynthia Gibb as Christine Moscari
  • Jim Haynie as Sgt. Gabriel
  • Robert Picardo as Dr. Carlos Battera
  • Rod Loomis as Dr. Sidney Tannerson
  • Rex Ryon as Jack Pendler
  • Chris Mulkey as Scott Morofsky
  • Wendell Wright as Capt. Walter Prentis
  • John Wesley as Sam Hilliard
  • Bobby Hosea as Tom Dellerton
  • Danitza Kingsley as Denise Johnson
  • Anne Betancourt as Mary
  • John Sutherland as Chooch
  • Diane Erickson as Andrea Banks
  • Sis Greenspon as Martha
  • Graham Timbes as Surgeon
  • Mario Machado as Anchorman
  • Paul Du Pratt as Collin Marsh
  • Rana Ford as Emily Miller
  • Kevin Glover as Neil Finchley
  • Daniela Petr as Sister
  • Shawne Rowe as Helen
  • Cassian Elwes as Pimp
  • Spencer Clarke as Pimp
  • Pola Del Mar as Mrs. Battera
  • Kathryn O'Reilly as Hooker
  • Brian Bender as Fatman
  • Cindy Guyer as Neighbor
  • Richard Parker as Reporter
  • Frances Fleming as 911 Operator

Release

[edit]

Theatrical

[edit]

Jack's Back premiered in New York City on May 6, 1988, and was released in Los Angeles and other Southern California locations on May 13, 1988. The film opened in Chicago on June 3, 1988.[1]

Home media

[edit]

UK-based distributor Slam Dunk Media released the film on DVD in May 2007 in 1.33:1 full frame format. It is the only DVD release to date in that area. It was available on Netflix video streaming service in SD widescreen format.[2] Scream Factory released the film in fall 2015 for the first time on Blu-ray Disc in the US, and also included a DVD in the package knowing that the film had never made it to the format in North America.[3]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 7 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[4]

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and stated, "It's not a great movie, but it's the kind of film that makes you curious about what Harrington will do next." Ebert particularly praised Spader's performance, writing that "But apart from the pleasures of the plot, what makes Jack's Back worth seeing is the work of Spader, a young actor who I believe has as much promise as anyone of his generation."[5]

Odie Henderson opined, "Jack's Back maintains a giddy storyteller's glee from beginning to end, painting itself into corner after corner, only to escape every time. It works because of its stubborn belief in all aspects of the pulpy yarn it spins. There's real charm in its compulsive desire to tie its preposterous loose ends, no matter how complicated the knots become."[6]

On the other hand, Caryn James of The New York Times gave the film a negative review and wrote that it "is so dull it leaves you plenty of time to marvel at how a plot can be this rickety, how a production can look this shabby, and how the first-time writer and director Rowdy Herrington could borrow a story with so relentless a grip on our imaginations and in no time at all declaw it."[7]

Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called the film "a psychological shocker that carves up the Jack the Ripper legend in convoluted but predictable ways" and wrote that "Herrington gets stuck in his triple-twists, stock characters, chases and movie-movie plotting." Wilmington also stated, "But beyond Spader's performance, the only really interesting thing about Jack's Back is the lighting."[8]

Accolades

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominee Result
1990 16th Saturn Awards Best Actor James Spader Nominated

Soundtrack and film's title

[edit]

Originally the director wanted to call the film Red Rain and have the song of the same name by Peter Gabriel playing as the opening credits theme. However the budget didn't allow for licensing the song, and so instead Paul Saax was brought on board to co-write a new theme "Red Harvest". The movie name was changed to Jack's Back as a result.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "JACK'S BACK (1988)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  2. ^ Cooper, Patrick (March 13, 2015). "Scream Factory Announces a Ton of New Blu-Rays!".
  3. ^ Steve Barton (13 March 2015). "Scream Factory Details Scarecrows Release; Announces Nomads, Jack's Back, Ghost Town and More!". Dread Central.
  4. ^ "Jack's Back". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 7, 1988). "Jack's Back". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  6. ^ Henderson, Odie (May 16, 2013). "Summer of '88: Rowdy Herrington's Jack's Back at 25". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  7. ^ James, Caryn (May 6, 1988). "Review/Film; The Ripper's Return". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Wilmington, Michael (May 13, 1988). "MOVIE REVIEW : Ripper Slashed in 'Jack's Back'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "THE SONGS THAT SCREAM TERROR: TEN GREAT SONGS FROM HORROR FILMS". Daily Grindhouse. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
[edit]
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