The Face of Fear

What a dumb movie. These people had about 5 chances to disable the this "Vicious" inept killer and chose to run every time so he could have another chance at them (after the next commercial). This one really taxes one's patience. After a while I was routing for the killer, knowing it couldn't happen in such a perfect fairytale world, just to end it.

Based on an early Dean Koontz novel, adapted for the small screen by Koontz & Alan Jay Glueckman, this fun, formulaic thriller exceeded expectations. Fearfully trapped within a deserted skyscraper over a holiday weekend, telegenic married couple, Connie Weaver (Pam Dawber) and Graham Harris (Lee Horsley) are relentlessly stalked by buff, self-aggrandising, luxuriously coiffed maniac Bollinger (Kevin Conroy). Competently performed by amiable telly titans, Pam Dawber and effortlessly hunky Lee Horsley, Farhad Mann's slick serial killer TV frequently delivers the escapist goods. While the familiar plot is the purest piffle, the film's stronger points are the likeable protagonists, with some fine supporting work from Bob Balaban, William Sadler, and a neat-o nemesis in the sinisterly smug, baritone-voiced guise of Nietzschean nutball, Frank Dwight Bollinger. No masterpiece, but a worthy time-killer for thriller fans. No explicit language, zero T&A, The Face of Fear's exploitative elements are batso Bollinger's surprisingly intense kills.

"The Face of Fear" is one of the best television movies I've ever seen. The underrated Kevin Conroy (best known as the voice of the animated Batman) plays one intense and psychotic serial killer. It's great to watch his character go from calm and laid-back to burning mad with frustration as his intended victims - a psyhic (Lee Horsely) and his assistant (Pam Dawber) - continue to stay one step ahead of him as he stalks them throughout the empty skyscraper where they're working. The other actors give solid performances as well, but Conroy is the stand-out talent in this flick. Chase scenes and occasional physical encounters all lead to a thrilling climax as Horsely and Dawber attempt to scale the side of the building in their desperate attempt to reach the streets below, and safety. Great score by John Debney, too. Check it out next time to see it listed!