1987·Crime·1h 31m
7.0
★
Liberal district attorney decides to seek the death penalty for a man who slaughtered a family at Christmastime, then drank their blood. He escapes, though, and starts killing again.
Directed by William Friedkin
death penalty
insanity
capital punishment
courtroom
courtroom drama
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Michael Biehn
Anthony Fraser
Alex McArthur
Charlie Reece
Nicholas Campbell
Albert Morse
Deborah Van Valkenburgh
Kate Fraser
John Harkins
Dr. Keddie
Art LaFleur
Mel Sanderson
Billy Green Bush
Judge McKinsey
Royce D. Applegate
Gene Tippetts
Grace Zabriskie
Naomi Reece
Carlos Palomino
Nestode
Donald Hotton
Dr. Leon Gables
Andy Romano
Spencer Whalen
Crew
William Friedkin
Director
William Friedkin
Writer
Ennio Morricone
Original Music Composer
Robert D. Yeoman
Director of Photography
William Friedkin
Producer
Pablo Ferro
Visual Effects
Popular Reviews
12 reviews
Martin ScorsesePRO
5.0★ · 06/20/26
Too much death penalty debate ad nauseam not enough delicious bloodshed. I guess that's the point of the movie and I guess it works in certain courtroom scenes near the end. Doesn't know what it's doing with its lead character and his dead daughter. Features a really nice and nasty throat slice. Those donuts sure were good.
Too much death penalty debate ad nauseam not enough delicious bloodshed. I guess that's the point of the movie and I guess it works in certain courtroom scenes near the end. Doesn't know what it's doing with its lead character and his dead daughter. Features a really nice and nasty throat slice. Those donuts sure were good.
Featuring
8.0★ · 05/19/26
yes i'm embarrassed i liked this movie and before watching this i was fully prepared to give it a 2 stars
yes i'm embarrassed i liked this movie and before watching this i was fully prepared to give it a 2 stars
Jake McCoy
9.0★ · 03/20/26
I left this as a reviewless log initially but holy shit, days later and it’s still sticking with me, fuck it, I gotta say something!
Damn this is powerful! You almost expect a rampage type movie as the title would suggest, then suddenly it’s a courtroom drama trying to figure out if this guy is insane or knows completely what he’s doing! And let me tell you, I’ve never been in so much anticipation of hearing a verdict in a movie so much!
The ending, it kinda pissed me off. But now that I think about it, that might have been the intention! After all, this is based on a true story and unfortunately real life doesn’t have a lot of happy endings.
God, why is this so underrated, how have I just heard of it recently? Friedkin was such a brilliant filmmaker!
And on a lighter note, I’ll just quote Sterling Archer:
RAAAAMMMMPAAAAAAGE!
Damn this is powerful! You almost expect a rampage type movie as the title would suggest, then suddenly it’s a courtroom drama trying to figure out if this guy is insane or knows completely what he’s doing! And let me tell you, I’ve never been in so much anticipation of hearing a verdict in a movie so much!
The ending, it kinda pissed me off. But now that I think about it, that might have been the intention! After all, this is based on a true story and unfortunately real life doesn’t have a lot of happy endings.
God, why is this so underrated, how have I just heard of it recently? Friedkin was such a brilliant filmmaker!
And on a lighter note, I’ll just quote Sterling Archer:
RAAAAMMMMPAAAAAAGE!
I left this as a reviewless log initially but holy shit, days later and it’s still sticking with me, fuck it, I gotta say something!
Damn this is powerful! You almost expect a rampage type movie as the title would suggest, then suddenly it’s a courtroom drama trying to figure out if this guy is insane or knows completely what he’s doing! And let me tell you, I’ve never been in so much anticipation of hearing a verdict in a movie so much!
The ending, it kinda pissed me off. But now that I think about it, that might have been the intention! After all, this is based on a true story and unfortunately real life doesn’t have a lot of happy endings.
God, why is this so underrated, how have I just heard of it recently? Friedkin was such a brilliant filmmaker!
And on a lighter note, I’ll just quote Sterling Archer:
RAAAAMMMMPAAAAAAGE!
Damn this is powerful! You almost expect a rampage type movie as the title would suggest, then suddenly it’s a courtroom drama trying to figure out if this guy is insane or knows completely what he’s doing! And let me tell you, I’ve never been in so much anticipation of hearing a verdict in a movie so much!
The ending, it kinda pissed me off. But now that I think about it, that might have been the intention! After all, this is based on a true story and unfortunately real life doesn’t have a lot of happy endings.
God, why is this so underrated, how have I just heard of it recently? Friedkin was such a brilliant filmmaker!
And on a lighter note, I’ll just quote Sterling Archer:
RAAAAMMMMPAAAAAAGE!
Douglas Lancaster
4.7★ · 01/03/24
I would have never watched this but it's coming out on BR and saw this poster on FB so I looked into it. It's not a bad one. It's like a crazy tv movie. I like court room thrillers, too.
I would have never watched this but it's coming out on BR and saw this poster on FB so I looked into it. It's not a bad one. It's like a crazy tv movie. I like court room thrillers, too.
angie
6.0★ · 07/19/23
terrifiant
terrifiant