Sacrifice

I guess the only redeeming factor about movies like this is that they supply Michael Madsen with money to buy liquor. I caught this in the wee small hours on cable one night and couldn't resist watching it. Madsen plays...a Michael Madsen character!! But less so. Michael really needs to pore over his scripts a bit better. I'm sure he gets some bad ones but one winner has got to come along once in a while. The serial killer scenes in this one reminded me of some early 80's Friday The 13th ripoff film.

Except for Michael Madsen, who was great as always, the acting and the writing were awful. The motivation of the serial killer was somewhat novel, but the rest of the plot was full of holes and dead ends. I don't know if the genre is cops-and-robbers, or whodunit mystery, or cheesey slasher.

"Sacrifice" is a gripping story of convict Tyler (Michael Madsen)who escapes from jail in order to find and punish the serial killer named "Sweetwater" because the killer murdered his daughter. With the help of a ex prostitute (Jamie Luner), Tyler pieces together the twisted mind of the killer. Although unrealistic, "Sacrifice" doesn't go on too long nor does it leave one bored.

I almost missed this movie in the list of Michael Madsens features as I just found it in the new release section today at the video store. This is strange as it is a film that was made in 1999. I like Madsen and he does to a slight degree make this laughably terrible film a little better. I am not one typically for pointing out plot holes but there were so many in this film it is impossible not to. Possibly a good film to rent simply because of the cheese factor.

Bookem Woodbine is terrible, simply terrible giving a worse performance than anything else he has done so far. Which is not saying a whole lot I guess. All in all if you are a Madsen fan then there may be enough in this one to interest you. If not then I recommend giving it a quick pass and finding something else.

To be honest, I didn't expect much of this film, given that it was being shown at 1 o'clock in the morning when no one would be watching, and the trashy title but it's a good little film.

Michael Madsen is good as the main character, who you root for despite his unsavoury nature. The supporting cast are also good, especially his ex-wife and her new husband and Agent Gottfried.

The tension ratchets up well, and the film moves along in a logical progression. Also, unlike many thrillers, there is enough revealed for the audience to work out who the Sweetwater killer is, without it being obvious. There are no illogical twists and turns which is always nice to see. The scenes with the killer are suitably scary, especially when the killer attacks his third on-screen victim.

The ending is good and well done, as is the rest of the film. It's not a classic, obviously, but watching the film is not a bad way of spending a couple of hours.