House of the Rising Sun

My review was written in December 1987 after watching the film on Prism video cassette.

The third in a series of music video-styled feature films, "House of the RIsing Sun" never gets below the surface of a cornball story about glamorous call girls in L. A. It's pretty to look at but pretty empty.

Frank Annese gives a well-shaded performance as the suave pimp, whose real trade is blackmailing rich executives who have dallied with his girls. Jamie Barrett plays a reporter who, after a chance encounter with a call girl (Tawny Moyer), goes undercover, living at Annese's mansion to do an expose on the life of a prostie. Final twist provides a surprise in who has been killing Annese's girls.

Apart from Annese, the acting is way too laid back here to whip up any drama, with Barrett particularly unconvincing. Director Greg Gold uses some interesting editing effetcs plus the usual musicvid montages, and the pic features some stunning photography by Amir Mokri (who shot Wayne Wang's "Slam Dance" around the same time).

There is much less use of hit songs on the soundtrack than in previous Mediacom films, relying mainly on Bryan Ferry and TIna Turner offerings. The title song does not appear until the end credits, ably voiced in a gospel-type rendition by Denise Mitchell.

This is quite a strange film. The cinematography is well done and the women are very easy on the eyes. The soundtrack is also quite good, featuring hits by Bryan Ferry and Icehouse. The main antagonist even drives a sleek DeLorean that sadly only gets about 20 seconds of screen time. The budget for this flick was definitely quite low, but the movie is entertaining nonetheless. I watched it on Tubi tonight and was immediately struck by the unique editing of the opening title sequence. The main antagonist's house reminds me of Angel Maldonado's home with the tram in the film 8 Million Ways to Die, also filmed in 1986. If you have Tubi, I recommend watching this film. I don't think it's available on DVD or Blu Ray, as I've already searched for it. As I mentioned earlier, the women are gorgeous in this movie, but Tawny Moyer steals the show.

Filmed in the Hollywood Hills area and environs, this movie tells of an adventure occurring to Janet (Jamie Barrett), a young and appealing reporter for an unidentified Los Angeles region newspaper, and how journalistic ambition causes her to go too far. The plot includes an unplanned meeting between Janet and Corey (Tawny Moyer), a highly-paid lady of the evening, and a conversation with her recently acquired friend leads Janet to attempt creating a major feature article under her byline. This low-budget production calls for the young reporter to work undercover as a prostitute in a house under the aegis of Louis (Frank Annese) and, while in preparation for her new "assignment" she discovers evidence of murder and blackmail. Although apparently physically attracted to Louis, who is training her for a premiering stint as a scarlet woman, Janet quickly becomes aware that her new employer is not reticent about eliminating troublesome subordinates. When Louis and his henchman Frankie (James Daughton) begin to suspect the tyro hooker's motives for her fresh career choice, Janet realizes that she must work to not only obtain information, but to survive, as well. One sees here a storyline not terribly different from many others of its ilk and in itself not without interest, but the amateurish direction and generally shoddy production values leave the engaged artists open to carping. There is precious little character development, a point of view is missing as is needed editing, and some scenes are excruciating to watch due to erratic pacing by the director in his initial feature.