Lisa

Lisa (the lovely Staci Keanan) is 14 and boy-crazy, but Katherine, her overprotective single mother, refuses to let her date until she turns 16. While Lisa is out getting groceries one night, she literally runs into Richard and instantly develops a crush on the much older man. Along with her best friend, she finds out where he works and uses sneaky tactics to get his phone number. She begins calling him repeatedly, engaging in seductive conversations without revealing her identity. When Lisa's stalking gets more and more risky, her friend convinces her that if she revealed herself to Richard, he'd be furious about the age difference. Lisa then devises a plan to push Richard and Katherine together in an attempt to get her mother's mind on something other than controlling her life. What Lisa doesn't know is that Richard is a serial killer who was leaving the scene of his latest crime when she bumped into him.

Director Gary Sherman's output has always been largely ignored. Even "Dead & Buried", which is one of my absolute favorite horror films, wasn't widely known for the longest time. "Lisa" is no different. Unlike the aforementioned gem, however, it doesn't have a DVD or Blu-ray release to help it gain more viewers. That said, it is certainly worth seeking out.

The film contains some strong performances. Staci Keanan, who was the sole reason to watch popular sitcom, "Step by Step", carries the picture. She is infinitely charming with a quick wit and my kind of quirkiness. She's also great at portraying this naive, vulnerable girl who thinks she's tougher than she is. Lisa and her mother share a good relationship, but we see the wedge that is driven between them as the former grows increasingly bitter due to the rules placed over her. It doesn't help that she witnesses Katherine spurn a friendly guy at the local bowling alley, an act which leads Lisa to believe that she's being punished for her mother's past mistakes. Cheryl Ladd is well-cast as Katherine, and her chemistry with Keanan is palpable. Short of casting Jordan Ladd herself in the titular role, I don't think we could have seen a more believable mother and daughter pairing. D.W. Moffet makes for an interesting maniac. Rich, good-looking and suave, he could easily get women, but he would rather slaughter them. Dubbed the "Candlelight Killer" by the press, he leaves messages on his victims' answering machines warning them of what he's about to do before he does it. Jeffrey Tambor is in the film too, but he's underused in a throwaway role.

We get some solid suspense here, particularly during a scene where Lisa finds herself stuck in Richard's vehicle. It's made worse by the fact that she doesn't know just how bad it would be if he found her. The film's climax is also tense and surprisingly violent. We also get an amusing bit, be it intentional or unintentional, where Richard uses Katherine to head-butt her own daughter. I will say that the film falters a bit towards the end, mainly due to a poor decision made by one of the characters. This in turn makes for a predictable finale. I also thought that the look of the film wasn't as impressive as it could have been, especially taking into account the eerie, fog-drenched photography of "Dead & Buried". The score sort of made up for the generic look, being moody whereas the atmosphere wasn't.

In the end, this is a worthwhile effort thanks in large part to the performances on display. It's a well-acted film, and the suspense benefits as a result.

I remember watching this when I was a kid and my own growing pains were starting to act up.

This film is about 14 yr old Lisa. She lives with her single, over protective mother and is in a hurry to grow up. She's like most teenage girls. Boy crazy, eager to date and loves her best friend, Wendy, who seems to have all the freedom Lisa so desperately wants.

After accidently running into an older, but attractive man, she gets his phone number by way of his license plate and begins making flirtatious phone calls. Little does she realize the dashing man is a crazed rapist killer who has earned the title of "The Candlelight Killer" due to the romantic candle lit atmosphere he sets up for his victims just before killing them. Her playfulness creates an obsession within the killer and soon the prankster becomes prey.

I think this is a pretty solid, yet understated, thriller. While it holds some nostalgia for me, it has a decent storyline and the lead actress does a wonderful job with her character. It's also filmed well aside from a slight "made for tv" vibe.

This is a great film for a bit of suspense and remebering the innocent naivety of youth. I'd recommend it but it's not likely to be a film for everyone. I was just tickled to come across it after all these years.

Staci Keanan of 'My Two Dads' and 'Step by Step' stars as the title character, a girl in her early teens. She's a little too eager to grow up, especially since her mother Katherine (Cheryl Ladd), doesn't want her dating for at least another two years. One night, Staci literally runs into older man Richard (D. W. Moffett), and is struck by his good looks. She develops an obsession with Richard that includes following him to see where he works (he runs a restaurant). This escalates to a point where she goes ahead and phones him, and they engage in some seductive calls, with him not knowing that this mystery caller is the young girl whom he's just met. Ultimately, she's playing with fire: we learn early in the movie that Richard is the evil Candle Light Killer who has been offing various unlucky local women.

People who love the other works of director Gary Sherman, such as his horror features "Deathline" (a.k.a. "Raw Meat") and "Dead & Buried", and his sleaze drama "Vice Squad", may be caught a little off guard at first with the tamer nature of this film. But in his own words, he basically made this for teenage girls, having also co- written it with Karen Clark. Taking it for what it is, it's watchable enough, with some adequate suspense and a climax that actually doesn't go overboard with violence. Joe Renzettis' music is good, and the lighting by Alex Nepomniaschy is appropriate from scene to scene.

Keanans' appealing performance does go a long way towards making this work as well as it does. Moffett is similarly effective - he's charming when he needs to be, and refrains from being an over the top bogeyman, playing the part with some restraint. Ladd is good as the overprotective mom who believes to have the best interests of her daughter at heart; she doesn't want her to make the same mistakes she did as a kid. Tanya Fenmore is engaging as the best friend, and a rather under utilized Jeffrey Tambor gets little to do as the best friends' father.

Even if "Lisa" is not really anything special, one could also do a lot worse.

Six out of 10.

This film begins with a young teenager by the name of "Lisa Holland" (Staci Keanan) who enjoys playing flirtatious pranks on slightly older men. As it so happens, one night while returning from a nearby grocery store, she happens to bump into a man by the name of "Richard" (D. W. Moffett) and she immediately becomes mesmerized by his good looks. Determined to know more about him she secretly follows him and upon learning his name decides to tease him in her usual manner. What she doesn't realize, however, is Richard is a psychopath who the newspapers have dubbed "The Candlelight Killer" who has recently raped and killed 8 other women-and he now wants to find out more about Lisa in the worst sort of way. Now, rather than reveal any more, this film had a bit more suspense than I initially expected and for that reason it left me pleasantly surprised overall. Likewise, having a beautiful actress like Cheryl Ladd (as Lisa's mother "Katherine Holland") certainly didn't hurt in any way either. Be that as it may, while this film may not be a blockbuster by any means, it was certainly good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

A 14 years-old girl (Staci Keanan) inadvertently strikes up a secret relationship with a distinguished restauranteur in Hollywood (DW Moffett). Unfortunately, he might also be the notorious Candlelight Killer, which would put her and her mother in danger (Cheryl Ladd).

"Lisa" (1990) is a coming-of-age drama meshed with PG-13 slasher. Writer/director Gary Sherman knows how to make atmospheric horror in view of his well-done "Dead & Buried" (1981). I happened to see Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill" (1980) the night prior and it was thoroughly artistic and well-written with genuine surprises. This film, by comparison, strikes me as by-the-numbers, which no doubt had to do with the modest budget.

Nevertheless, "Lisa" is a perfectly serviceable film in which the mother & daughter are successfully fleshed out and you find yourself caring for them and their outcome. Staci was only 14 during shooting while Cheryl was 38. If you're a fan of either, this is certainly worth checking out, even though it's not exactly high art.

The movie runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Hollywood (the apartment, flower shop and school) and Muse restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-