Nervios de acero

My review was written in May 1991 after watching the movie on AIP video cassette.

Unusual casting perks up this perfunctoiry murder mystery. Released at regional theaters on May 24, "Raw Nerve" is primarily a video title.

Eyebrows may be raised at a pic co-starring Glenn Ford and Traci Lords, but pic proves to be a significant transitional film for the ex-porn queen. She handles dramatic scenes well in the firt feature not to treat her as a caricature.

She plays the 18-year-old sister of Ted Prior, a young man troubled by nightmarish visions that prove to be accurate accounts of serial murders. He goes to the police with this info but is brushed aside as akook by the captain, Ford, and detective on the case, Jan-Michael Vincent.

Vincent's ex-wife, Sandahl Bergman, is an aggressive reporter who listens to Prior and writes up his story. Of course Prior becomes the No. 1 suspect, but after a revelation of incest (a la "Chinatown") the killer is identified. A final twist comes as an anticlimax.

Acting is good, with actio vet Prior showcased opposite Lords in a complicated central role. Name talent in support delivers pro turns.

Director David A. Prior makes good use of Mobile, Alabama locations but the film is too talky to qualify as an action pic, his prior specialty. A final reel stunt is well-done, however.

During the 1980s and 90s, several of Hollywood's leading men of the classic era kept making film appearances...and in really, really terrible films. Anthony Quinn made dreck like "Ghosts Can't Do It", which is a soft-core porno film! Robert Mitchum made LOTS of terrible late career films, including "Woman of Desire". And, Glenn Ford made "Casablanca Express" and this film, "Raw Nerve". These films were so bad, so low budgeted that it makes you wonder WHY...why would these respected actors make crap films instead of just enjoying their retirement? Perhaps they needed the money...perhaps they were too vain to call it a day. All I know is that during this period of time, a lot of bad films starred these and other actors like Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney and others who simply were better than the material they were given.

When the credits began to roll as the film began, I realized this would be a bad movie. After all, in addition to Ford, the film also features Traci Lords, the ex-teen porn queen as well as Jan-Michael Vincent whose career clearly was on the skids.

The plot is strange...not bad, not good...just strange...and a story you would NOT expect Glenn Ford to do. A race car driver finds he cannot see to drive during a race as he keeps seeing flashbacks of some serial killer murdering some woman. He goes to the police about it, but not surprisingly they just assume he's some crank. But some pretty lady takes a REAL shine to him and takes Jimmy home for some good lovin'...which is odd since she just met him AND he could be a weirdo. But even then, the weird visions continue and Jim thrashes about wildly as he sees these murders.

So where does Glenn Ford come into this...especially since he received top billing? Well, he plays a cop but doesn't even appear in the movie until well into the story and really isn't the star. I'm sure they put his name first in order to give an air of legitimacy to the project.

So is this film any good? Well, not particularly. It looks cheap, features only okay acting and could have been a lot better. In fact, aside from seeing Ford in his final film, I can't think of much reason to watch the movie. But, if you are curious (and a bit of a masochist), the film is currently posted on YouTube.

RAW NERVE is an extremely cheap little B-movie combination of slasher movie and cop thriller, made in Alabama by the prolific David Prior, who churned out dozens of by-rote action flicks during his career. This one's notable for its cast and its bizarro storyline, which has an ordinary guy experiencing visions of a serial killer going about his work. The main guy (Prior's brother, I think) is hopeless, but the supporting cast includes Traci Lords as his little sister, Randall Tex Cobb as his uncle, Jan-Michael Vincent as the cop, Sandahl Bergman as a nosy reporter and Glenn Ford (!) in his final role as police chief. With all that talent, it's hard not to get some amusement from this one...

I only watched this because Glen Ford plays the sheriff character. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the simple yet stylish cinematography and flow of the story. There is a slight comic book element but somehow it doesn't follow the usual US made formulas. That's a good thing.

Time isn't wasted on building up complex characters except the necessary background of the suspects. The script is simple, the action is believable and the story is interesting.

On the negative side I didn't have any nail biting experiences or thrills. The outcome was predictable quite early on, so no surprises there.

This is an incredibly bad movie. I didn't expect anything of it and I still felt short changed. Not the worst £1 I ever spent but it's close. Ted Prior has to be the worst actor i've ever seen. I have to say the ending was a surprise but it still dumb. Traci Lords was okay for a while but her performance goes downhill. Anyone else think Jimmy and Gina were a little too 'close' for family members? It's a shame Sandahl Begman and Traci Lords had to make movies like this. They'd both been in far better movies than this (Conan and Cry-Baby, respectively). I wouldn't watch it again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. 1/10.