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I think the worst crime a film can commit is to be dull. It doesn't matter what your film is about, there is always a way to catch the audience off-guard and throw some surprises into the mix. 'The Mean Season' is one of those films that plays out exactly as expected. It checks all the boxes the studio would want it to, but man is it a forgettable ride.

Even when the killer is on the phone everything just feels so safe and watered down. The most daring thing the film does is a gratuitous nudity scene (seriously, where did that come from?). Near the end there is a little mini-twist I'll give the film credit for, however it's a bit late by that stage.

I didn't hate this film though. It was just such an interesting premise that I wanted more out of it. I wanted it to fire some shots and take some risks. It didn't though and for that reason I suspect I will have forgotten about this film by tomorrow morning. 6/10.

Decent enough movie, with an absolutely menacing performance by Richard Jordan as the sick, deluded serial killer.

Kurt Russell was...just okay. I couldn't quite figure out what he was getting at. He was burnt out in his job with the newspaper in Miami. He seemed to be craving just the situation that he found himself in. Conversing with a serial killer, and writing about it; Having a literal front row seat at the story of the year; being the central figure in a national story; "approaching pulitzer territory". However, Russell erupted into attitude with just about everybody he came into contact with. At one point, he's smugly satisfied to have found himself to be so deeply involved in an emerging story of a sadistic serial killer, then he snaps at the killer when events aren't turning out favorably. This doesn't seem like the emotional response you would expect from a seasoned reporter. A serial killer is doing something like this just to play with the heads of authority. To expect him to behave rationally is naive and foolish.

However, Russell gamely does generally well with the character, and there are effectively troubling and suspenseful aspects to the film. The subject of newspaper ethics is broached and discussed, although I'm not sure all that effectively.

Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford and Richard Masur were excellent.

Mariel Hemingway was absolutely terrible. She either was giggling, looking completely bewildered, or hysterical. Granted, the script gave her little else to do, but a creative actress could have made something out of it. She completely distracted me every time she was on screen. Just a terrible job.

All in all, a decent, flawed movie with a first-rate performance by Jordan. He made the movie worth it.

****SPOILERS**** Superior crime drama set in South Florida during it's "mean season" when the winds pick up and the storms and hurricanes come rolling in and with them rolls in a serial killer who's more interested in publicity for his crimes then his victims who are a result of them.

Coming back from a vacation in Colorado Miami Journal reporter Malcolm Anderson, Kurt Russell, is assigned to the murder of teenager Sarah Hooks, Tamara Jones, who was found dead by the beach that morning. A few days after filing the story Malcolm gets a phone call at his desk at the Journal from someone claiming to be Sarah's killer.

Told by the caller a fact that is not known to the public about the crime Malcolm as well as the police officials Ray Martinez & Phil Wilson, Andy Garcia & Richard Bradford, that he got in touch with who were on the case realize that the caller is the real McCoy and begin to tape Malcolm's phone at the newspaper to identify and capture the killer. The killer, in his calls to Malcolm, tells him that he's duplicating a number of killings that he did some time ago and got no recognition for.It's later found out by someone who knew him Albert O'Shaughnessy, William Smith, that his name is Alan Delour, Richard Jordan, and that those killings were in Chicago a number of years ago.

The serial killer wants Malcolm to be his link to the outside world, via his newspaper to prove that he's the one who committing those crimes and tells Malcolm that there will be, like those that he didn't get credit for, five more killings before he's finished. As his murder spree continues it's Malcolm who's getting all the publicity and the killer feels cheated and takes it on on Malcolm for his failure to get him the recognition that he wanted. That leads in the killer kidnapping Malcolm's girlfriend Christine, Mariel Hemingway, and threatens to murder her.

One of the better crime dramas that came out of the 1980's thats smoothly paced and finely acted as the serial killer gets bolder and bolder with each killing to where he unnecessarily exposed himself, to Malcolm, in order to get his ego enhanced.

Malcolm's life becomes a horror as the killer starts to take it out on him for his overshadowing his actions which lead to Christine's kidnapping. Tense suspense murder drama with an unsuspecting ending makes "The Mean Season" a modern Film Noir classic.

Rating: ** out of ****

I must admit to having a particular fondness for the glut of crime thrillers that lasted from the late 80s to the mid-90s. Chief among these guilty pleasures are fun movies like Harold Becker's Malice, the horribly titled Jack's Back, the Goldie Hawn flick Deceived, and the terrific Jagged Edge. 1985's The Mean Season is apparently one of the earlier entries in the beginning of this trend so it earns a few points there; otherwise, it's a pretty average effort, certainly not helped by far superior films of its ilk in the years to come.

Kurt Russell stars as Malcolm Anderson, a Miami journalist who's getting burned-out covering eight years worth of deaths. Just as he's planning to leave his job behind and move with his girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) to Colorado, his latest assignment takes him on a wild spin. While covering the murder of a teenage girl, he receives a phone call from the girl's killer himself, who reveals that he plans to take four more victims. This soon-to-be serial killer is out for fame and wants Anderson to report his crimes and whatever bits of info he chooses to give him. But as the murders progress, the killer is dissatisfied with the media coverage, believing too much of the focus is on Anderson, and as he sees it, the only way this can be remedied is by eliminating the center of attention.

Though the film is ultimately mediocre, it does get off to an effective start. The premise is fairly interesting and an instant grabber. The filmmakers' do a good job of building some mild suspense by keeping the killer's face hidden; the voice acting for this particular character is also quite effective, occasionally reminding me of the similar voice work in Joy Ride.

But the movie never really takes off like it should. Though we're intrigued by the bits and pieces of info that are revealed by the killer, very little is ultimately revealed about his motives or his past. While this is an approach that often works (The Silence of the Lambs and Seven are perfect examples), it backfires in this case, primarily because one of the more intriguing mysteries is wondering why he's duplicating these certain murders; a lot of hints are given, but trying to piece them together doesn't add up to any satisfying answers.

Once the killer's face is revealed, a lot of the movie's charm is worn off. The guy was creepy as a voice that nobody could match a face to, but feels like a generic psycho once he's fully revealed. The film also fails to take advantage of the stormy weather that's promised in the title; what could have been an instance of great visual atmosphere is totally squandered. The same goes for the Everglades setting, which I've always found had a tinge of dread and mystery to it.

For the most part the cast is quite good, especially Kurt Russell, who's one of the few movie stars out there who can exhibit a perfect balance of charisma and emotional intensity, which he does here. He's always likable, even when we think his character could use a little more common sense. A fresh-faced Andy Garcia turns in solid support as the investigating police detective. Only Mariel Hemingway comes across as subpar, but it doesn't help that her role amounts to little more than playing damsel in distress. One also wonders why Anderson and his girlfriend weren't given stronger police protection, but that's probably just for the sake of moving the plot ahead.

Middling stuff overall, but watchable enough to be worth a viewing for Russell fans or, if you're like me, you just like to watch this kind of Hollywood thriller from the 80s (and early 90s). But as far as this genre goes, all the flicks I mentioned above are preferable to this.

Based on the John Katzenbach story "In the Heat of the Summer", this Florida-lensed crime thriller does hold ones' attention with its straightforward telling of an intriguing tale.

Kurt Russell is aces as Malcolm Anderson, a star reporter for the Miami Journal who is contacted by a murderous psychopath (Richard Jordan) who has killed once and who promises that there will be other murders. The killer, who craves the spotlight, decides to use Anderson as his mouthpiece, creating a very uneasy "collaboration" between killer and reporter. Things start to really turn South when Anderson starts getting the bulk of the attention, leaving the killer feeling resentful.

This is an interesting set-up for a movie that ultimately does indeed lose a fair deal of its impact by turning conventional for its final act, but until then it's solidly entertaining, with the performances of Russell and Jordan serving as effective anchors. The give and take between their two characters is compelling stuff, and it's a good thing that Anderson isn't treated as some typically infallible movie hero.

The supporting cast is mostly strong; Mariel Hemingway as Andersons' schoolteacher girlfriend Christine is appealing as she always is, but her character has little to do besides look and act concerned and eventually be put into peril. Richard Masur (reunited with Russell, along with producers Lawrence Turman and David Foster, three years after "The Thing") is Andersons' editor, Andy Garcia (in one of his earliest movie roles) and Richard Bradford are the weary detectives on the case, Joe Pantoliano is a photographer, and the almighty movie tough guy William Smith appears briefly as a character supplying critical information.

The Miami setting adds a lot of atmosphere, especially as the storms start coming up towards the end of the story. Lalo Schifrins' music is also highly effective. Even in light of the clichéd climactic confrontation, there is some enjoyable resonance to "The Mean Season" as it deals with the big issue of journalistic culpability, and the role that the media play in our receipt of the news. An overall grim feel to the presentation, and a spooky opening, are also assets in this generally good, if not great, and reasonably convincing movie.

Seven out of 10.

Richard Jordan who has played a number of really psychotic villains is the main reason to see The Mean Season. He quite steals the film from Kurt Russell a crime reporter and Mariel Hemingway who is Russell's girlfriend and the last woman Jordan stalks.

Russell has truly grown to dislike his job on a big city paper in this case Miami where he's gotten a specialty in crime reporting, the more lurid the better. He's considering an offer from a small town Colorado paper to take over as editor.

That's when things get interesting. Jordan is a serial killer who Russell has been writing about and in his twisted way considers Kurt to be some kind of personal publicist for him and his peers. Now he starts calling to give him heads up exclusives knowing that this will lead to Mariel's own abduction.

That's the one thing about criminals of the psychotic mind. They don't reason like the rest of us. It sounds wild and improbable the notion that Jordan has, but that's the hard part for FBI and local profiler's jobs, getting in those sick minds to see how they work.

Jordan is one sick and twisted puppy. The rest of the cast is fine, but he really stands out in The Mean Season.

The reporter Malcolm Anderson (Kurt Russell) is contacted by a serial killer, Alan Delour (Richard Jordan), who seeks promotion of his acts in the news. The only leads for the police force, commanded by Detectives Ray Martinez (Andy Garcia) and Phil Wilson (Richard Bradford), are the contacts of the criminal through Malcolm and the bodies of his victims. When Malcolm becomes more important for the media than Alan, the killer becomes jealous and kidnaps Malcolm's girlfriend, Christine (Mariel Hemingway), looking for revenge and more attention for his crimes.

"The Mean Season" is an efficient thriller, mostly supported by the great performance of Kurt Russell, in excellent physical shape. The story has minor flaws and some clichés, but hooks the attention of the viewer until the last scene. Watching it again in 2005, we can see a not famous Andy Garcia in the beginning of his brilliant career. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Temporada Sangrenta" ("Bloody Season")

This is definitely a thriller. And one of the reasons why is Richard Jordan who plays the psychopath, Alan Delour. He is so convincing he is absolutely frightening. Especially his last scenes, he gives me shivers every time I watch him. He was definitely one of the finest actors that ever was and when he passed away, we lost a great talent. Kurt Russell also did a find job as Malcolm Anderson and the two worked really well together.

This is one scary movie. Richard Jordan is one of the finest actors ever to grace stage and screen. He died too early, and we were the losers. Jordan's talent makes this movie a TEN.

This is a movie called " The Mean Season " and stars one of the best action actors of today's cinema. Kurt Russell is Malcolm Anderson a Miami reporter working for a Florida newspaper called the Journal. He is suppose to be an experienced hard hitting journalist who's immediate future is to retire his position, get married and move to a small town and settle down. His girlfriend's idea, not his. Unfortunately, a serial killer appears and calls him with the shocking details of a recent murder. Thereafter he is hooked into covering the macabre story for national coverage and that does not sit well with his girlfriend Christine (mariel Hemingway) who is stunning in her role. Richard Jordan is Alan Delour a mad killer out to prove he is not mad at all, but desires some half witted attention from the reading public. Andy Garcia in his debut appearance is Ray Martinez, a police detective. William Smith is Albert O'Shaughnessy, a veteran counselor and is surprisingly good in the small role. But it is Russell who despite his best with his character is less than convincing. The story line is clear cut and chasing Jordon proves elusive. For Russell fans, there is much to be desired and waiting for the finale is disappointing. Still, I like to see Kurt Russell and so the film is sadly relegated to his second string. ****

There is nothing worse than a dull serial killer thriller, but somehow "The Mean Season" manages not only to be dull but redundant as well. Phone call after phone call to Kurt Russell, with little or no forward movement of the storyline. There are absolutely zero creative moments in this movie, and the cast seems uninspired to say the least. Special mention must be made of Mariel Hemingway's performance, which can only be described as dreadful. The ending is especially weak, with some totally unacceptable police work, not to mention the killer's unbelievable good fortune. Even for Kurt Russell fans, this will be a disappointment. - MERK

This was a pretty good movie. Its got good suspense towards the end but it will never top BREAKDOWN, which is his ultimate suspense movie. Mariel Hemingway was a good choice, she hasn't been in much lately. I think she is still pretty. Well, Kurt does a good job. This is worth seeing and its from 1985. It has violence, language and nudity.

Malcolm - Kurt Russell - has been a crime reporter eight years for a major Miami newspaper. Mostly, the job has worn him down. He's a day away from handing in his resignation and moving to Colorado. His lovely school teacher girlfriend Christine - Mariel Hemingway - is eager for the change also. Called out to crime scene where a young girl has been shot, Malcolm is glad he's moving on. Yet, when he gets back to his desk, he receives a call from a man who says he's the killer. Sure enough, he is as he has information only the perp would know. Not only that, he tells Mal he's going to kill 5 times. As the killer has personally involved Malcolm, his plans for Colorado must be put on hold. The killer calls after the next murder, but will anything he says help find him before he kills again? Also, a hurricane is approaching. This standard thriller has an attractive cast and good performances. The Miami setting is nice, too. However, its not compelling enough to be on an A list of movies. If you are intrigued by serial killers, you may want to try it.

Another reviewer said that this movie is just not good compared to Silence of the Lambs, but, I think that's not the fairest comparison in the world. It's not as good as that, but it's certainly not any Uwe Boll film either.

It's a decent film noir, even reminds me of some of the old film noirs from the 50s, but with the 80s touch. It's a nice psychological exploration of a killer, which is something I enjoy. Granted, the killer being an attention hungry psycho is played a lot, but still I enjoy this specific trope of that kind of killer character.

I thought Mariel Hemmingway was lousy in this film, she knows how to emote in only the most basic way. I've seen a lot better, she was a weakness, not only that but so was her character. Her man is going through this dramatic stuff, and what does she do? Leaves him... only to get captured by the villain. If this happened to me, I'd be happy to save her, but then I'd kick her to the curb when it was over. I'm going one on one with a psychotic nut of a serial killer, and you're going to ditch me because it's too heavy for you? She really brings the whole thing down.

Kurt Russell is strong, Andy Garcia, strong, Richard Bradford is good in his subdued rule, Richard Bradford is an actor I am happy to praise, he's one of those unsung great character & supporting actors, who brings quality and skill to whatever role he takes.

Richard Jordan plays our killer, and turns in what might have been one of the best performances of his career. He breaths life in the cliche caricature of a killer. Makes him feel real, and deadly, and finally psychotic. If his performance had not been so top notch, I wouldn't have scored the movie so well, even with my being a huge Kurt Russell fan

Anyway, 7 out of 10, good fun noir.

Malcolm Anderson (Kurt Russell) is a burned-out newspaper reporter for the Miami Journal looking to quit. His boss Bill Nolan (Richard Masur) has him cover the murder of a young woman. Andy Porter (Joe Pantoliano) is his friend and fellow reporter. Ray Martinez (Andy Garcia) is the friendly cop investigating the case but his partner Phil Wilson (Richard Bradford) distrusts him. His grade school teacher girlfriend Christine Connelly (Mariel Hemingway) is planning to move back home to Colorado. Then Malcolm gets a call from the killer claiming to want to help him. He claims that there will be 3 female and 2 male victims. Malcolm becomes part of the story as his relationship falls apart. Then he is contacted by Mike Hilson (Richard Jordan) with information.

It's a nice performance from Kurt Russell. This is a simple serial killer movie. There isn't any great style but has a good sense of impending doom. That probably has more to do with Richard Jordan's voice. The stormy weather motif also adds to the dark tones. It builds to a good storm-filled climax. There isn't much of a plot or an investigation. I do like the hard-boiled sensibilities a lot even if the movie is filled with those clichés. There are a couple of twists that is a bit too obvious. Overall, Russell is good, the plot is unremarkable and the brooding tone is compelling.

This flick will pass the time, and Kurt Russle is always interesting to watch, but JEEEZ is this one clichéd. Every standard suspense element is there:

1: Several scenes where you think the killer is coming, big scary music, then it turns out to be someone else. Ooooh, I'm soooo scared!

(spoilers ahead, I guess)

2: the good guys girlfriend ends up s the final target. gee, never woulda' thought of THAT....

3: Oh heck, why waste time listing them all. I have already taken more time with this review than the production team took making the movie.

The score is absolutely hilarious. It goes from nothing, to Hitchcock-on-steroids about fifty times. Might as well have a narrator shouting "here comes something scary! hear comes something scary!"

Russel and Garcia manage to come off OK despite the hackneyed script. However, Mariel Hemmingway makes a fool of herself with her overacting in the end. Well, at least she shows her tits in the requisite, early shower scene (gotta' get that "R" rating, after all.) Big woop.

I can't say I'm surprised that Phillip Borsos only directed two more films after this one.

Don't go out of your way to watch this, though as I said, it WILL pass the time. I've seen MUCH worse.

In the eighties, the serial killer subgenre upgraded its position within the thriller genre, together with other subgenres such as bombastic gangster epics (Scarface), and court crime novels. Brian De Palma was the one who coined the genre with his Hitchcock and Antonioni touches, but then there came the lousy exploitational underground ("Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer") Historically speaking, it was "The Mean Season" that started the combination of violent criminals and information media and their reciprocal dependency relationshipsIn Florida, a serial killer named Alan Delour (Richard Jordan) begins to perpetrate his bloody bustle. Immediately after his first murder, he includes the newspaper journalist Malcolm Anderson (Kurt Russell) in his perfidious game: Anderson gets his information first-hand while the killer can capture the hoped-for media attention. Anderson tries to work hand in hand with police officers (Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford), but Delour proves to be smarter. When Delour kidnaps Anderson's girlfriend, the teacher Christine (Mariel Hemingway), the situation deteriorates. The phrase "Mean Season" refers to both the killer's meanness and to Florida's late summer dog days, the time in which sultry climate can suddenly turn into strong storms that pull up from the Gulf Stream. Kurt Russell is sufficient in the lead. Mariel Hemingway not perfect for the role of the kidnapped girlfriend. The result is utterly routine, but not a complete disappointment from director Philip Borsos.

THE MEAN SEASON (1985) *😼 (CB, see below)

BASIC PLOT: Malcolm Anderson (Kurt Russell) is a Miami crime reporter, that's begun receiving phone calls from a serial killer. Malcolm was about to move away, and start a crime free life with his nagging girlfriend, Christine Connelly (Mariel Hemingway). But before he can, he receives phone calls from the killer he's been writing about. Before he knows what's happening, he's been injected into the story, and put in danger. Can he extricate himself, before his story consumes him?

WHAT WORKS: *ANDY GARCIA GIVES AN AUTHENTIC PERFORMANCE Andy Garcia's portrayal of Ray Martinez, one of the cops assigned to the case is believable. He never phones in his roles, and is always a pleasure to watch.

*ANOTHER QUALITY PERFORMANCE FROM RICHARD MASUR Richard Masur's performance as Bill Nolan, Kurt Russell's pain in the ass editor, is fantastic. (He's one of my favorite character actors of the 70's & 80's) All of the ancillary characters do a great job, and are well cast, except for Mariel Hemingway.

*CONVINCING PORTRAYAL BY JOE PANTOLIANO Joe Pantoliano plays a squirrelly photographer, with questionable moral values, and he plays it well.

*CASTING WAS GREAT EXCEPT FOR MARIEL HEMINGWAY Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirshenson did a great job casting this movie. All of these quality actors were more than enough, to carry this middle of the road script. I'm sure Christine Connelly (Mariel Hemingway) was added, because some idiotic producer said, "this won't work without a woman". But it would have, and as a woman, I would rather see no women in a movie, than stereotypical nonsense. I don't know why movie executives think women won't go to a movie if there's not a love interest. This movie would have been much better without one.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Mariel Hemingway CAN'T ACT Her portal of Christine Connelly, is laughable and ruins the movie! It's offensive to put women (or anyone) in movies, just to fulfill a stereotype. In this case, Christine is a shrill, nagging shrew, who adds nothing to the story. It's not even good filler!

*THE CHARACTER OF CHRISTINE CONNELLY IS DELUSIONAL She's romantically partnered with an investigative reporter, in Miami, in the '80's, and she's surprised suddenly (after 8 years) that he works on crimes?! Has she never seen 'Deux flics à Miami (1984)'? Has she even read his column before? This is 1985 after all, Miami in '85 was a bit of a crime pit. But no....... She's surprised by this! WTF?! REALLY? Why is she SUDDENLY offended he writes about crimes (after 8 YEARS), and if this kind of job bothered her, why would she have gotten with him to begin with? Even if she's one of those delusional women who thinks they can "change" men, don't you think she'd have given up after 8 years? Plot holes this big end up swallowing the rest of the movie, there's just no way around it.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *This movie is hard to recommend because of the Christine Connelly character (Mariel Hemingway). She creates a distracting, badly acted plot hole, that the whole movie falls into. If you can ignore her, there are still things to be enjoyed here. If you just focus on the reporter/serial killer interplay, it's a decent enough watch. If you're a super fan of Andy Garcia, Kurt Russell, or Joe Pantoliano (as I am), you might enjoy this. Without Mariel Hemingway, this would have been a middle of the road, '80's thriller. Choose at your own risk.

CLOSING NOTES: *Contains A Cat Photo Bomb.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. This review was NOT written in ANY way by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews, and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.

Enjoyed the great acting performance that Mariel Hemingway did with her role as (Christine Connelly),"Lipstick",'76, in which she plays a very frustrated girl friend who is madly in love with Kurt Russell,(Malcolm Anderson),"Stargate",'94, who tries to retire as a reporter from a big city newspaper and go to a quite newspaper in Colorado. Malcolm goes to his Managing Editor and tries to resign but becomes involved with a young girl being murdered and from then on all kinds of hell breaks loose. There is lots of action and mystery involved and Richard Jordan,(Alan Delour), "Posse",'93 adds greatly to the plot and gets deeply involved with Christine and Malcolm. It is sad that Richard Jordan went to a higher stage to perform on and suddenly passed away at an early age. When ever Mariel Hemingway or Kurt Russell perform, you can always expect a great film to view and enjoy.

The main reason why I wanted to see this movie was an opinion of one IMDb user that this is "Zodiac" of the 80's. I couldn't ask for better recommendation. Unfortunately , "Mean season" turned out to be a disappointment. The fact that it has a decent (6.1) rating is beyond me. Considering the quality of the movie it should 4.5 or something.

I had quite high expectations , but I doubt that anyone with at least half of brain won't be angry at "MS". The story is very thin and predictable. There was only one real twist in the movie. There is no real interesting investigation here. The screenplay barely throws us any clues to work with. In David Fincher's "zodiac" there was quite a lot of possibilities and potential clues that made viewer's brain work.

There is awfully lot cliché scary tactics here. Unless you're 5 years old, you shouldn't be scared. The scenes of violence lack tension. The movie tries to be psychological , but fails. The red herring at the end was pathetic.

The acting is OK. Kurt Russell tries hard to put some life in a rather bland character. Andy Garcia is wasted here. Muriel Hemingway was rather annoying. The guy who plays a villain has a nice scary voice. Too bad his physical appearance is unimpressive.

There is one nice chase scene and twist. One scary voice. It's too little to make this dull movie worth watching. I give it 1/10.