Lisa

This was a beautifully crafted suspense thriller about an overprotected 14-year-old girl named Lisa (played by Staci Keanan) who, in her innocent attempts to have some involvement with the opposite sex, becomes tied up in conversing by phone with a handsome guy, who unknown to her is the crazed serial killer responsible for several murders of young single women in the area where she and her single mom live.

Staci Keanan and Cheryl Ladd made a wonderful mother-daughter team. There are many suspenseful moments involving Lisa and the killer, yet the whole time she has no clue just how dangerous this handsome young man she stalks really is. It would make any teen think twice before trying to pick up a handsome stranger. I was thirteen when this film was first released in 1990. "Lisa" sure scared the hell out of me when I first saw it.

Staci Keanan of 'My Two Dads' and 'Step by Step' stars as the title character, a girl in her early teens. She's a little too eager to grow up, especially since her mother Katherine (Cheryl Ladd), doesn't want her dating for at least another two years. One night, Staci literally runs into older man Richard (D. W. Moffett), and is struck by his good looks. She develops an obsession with Richard that includes following him to see where he works (he runs a restaurant). This escalates to a point where she goes ahead and phones him, and they engage in some seductive calls, with him not knowing that this mystery caller is the young girl whom he's just met. Ultimately, she's playing with fire: we learn early in the movie that Richard is the evil Candle Light Killer who has been offing various unlucky local women.

People who love the other works of director Gary Sherman, such as his horror features "Deathline" (a.k.a. "Raw Meat") and "Dead & Buried", and his sleaze drama "Vice Squad", may be caught a little off guard at first with the tamer nature of this film. But in his own words, he basically made this for teenage girls, having also co- written it with Karen Clark. Taking it for what it is, it's watchable enough, with some adequate suspense and a climax that actually doesn't go overboard with violence. Joe Renzettis' music is good, and the lighting by Alex Nepomniaschy is appropriate from scene to scene.

Keanans' appealing performance does go a long way towards making this work as well as it does. Moffett is similarly effective - he's charming when he needs to be, and refrains from being an over the top bogeyman, playing the part with some restraint. Ladd is good as the overprotective mom who believes to have the best interests of her daughter at heart; she doesn't want her to make the same mistakes she did as a kid. Tanya Fenmore is engaging as the best friend, and a rather under utilized Jeffrey Tambor gets little to do as the best friends' father.

Even if "Lisa" is not really anything special, one could also do a lot worse.

Six out of 10.

This film begins with a young teenager by the name of "Lisa Holland" (Staci Keanan) who enjoys playing flirtatious pranks on slightly older men. As it so happens, one night while returning from a nearby grocery store, she happens to bump into a man by the name of "Richard" (D. W. Moffett) and she immediately becomes mesmerized by his good looks. Determined to know more about him she secretly follows him and upon learning his name decides to tease him in her usual manner. What she doesn't realize, however, is Richard is a psychopath who the newspapers have dubbed "The Candlelight Killer" who has recently raped and killed 8 other women-and he now wants to find out more about Lisa in the worst sort of way. Now, rather than reveal any more, this film had a bit more suspense than I initially expected and for that reason it left me pleasantly surprised overall. Likewise, having a beautiful actress like Cheryl Ladd (as Lisa's mother "Katherine Holland") certainly didn't hurt in any way either. Be that as it may, while this film may not be a blockbuster by any means, it was certainly good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Chilling, well-observed thriller, whose message seems to be: "Careful when you're making telephone pranks, you never know whom you might mess with!". The bland cinematography gives it a TV-movie look, but it still has natural , believable performances by Ladd and Keanan, a well-cast actor as the handsome psycho, a good ear for dialogue and some moments that would make Hitchcock proud (especially the scene where the girl is trapped in the back seat of the killer's car). (***)

A 14 years-old girl (Staci Keanan) inadvertently strikes up a secret relationship with a distinguished restauranteur in Hollywood (DW Moffett). Unfortunately, he might also be the notorious Candlelight Killer, which would put her and her mother in danger (Cheryl Ladd).

"Lisa" (1990) is a coming-of-age drama meshed with PG-13 slasher. Writer/director Gary Sherman knows how to make atmospheric horror in view of his well-done "Dead & Buried" (1981). I happened to see Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill" (1980) the night prior and it was thoroughly artistic and well-written with genuine surprises. This film, by comparison, strikes me as by-the-numbers, which no doubt had to do with the modest budget.

Nevertheless, "Lisa" is a perfectly serviceable film in which the mother & daughter are successfully fleshed out and you find yourself caring for them and their outcome. Staci was only 14 during shooting while Cheryl was 38. If you're a fan of either, this is certainly worth checking out, even though it's not exactly high art.

The movie runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Hollywood (the apartment, flower shop and school) and Muse restaurant on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-