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A demented serial killer is wrecking havoc on the streets of L.A. It's up to a rookie and a veteran cop to stop him.

Sound familiar? You bet. Yet this film seems to creep up above most other films of the similar genre, thanks in most parts to an unusually effective performance from Judd Nelson. Most of the times I don't particularly like him, but here he fits the bill perfectly.

The supporting performances are also quite good. Robert Loggia plays it straight as the veteran cop and Leo Rossi has never been as appealing as here. Director William Lustic creates a reasonable amount of suspense and keeps things moving at an adequate pace. But mostly, this film will be remembered (by me anyway) as the best Judd Nelson film, and his best performance. He plays a psychopath to a tee.

Judd Nelson rules in this flick. I'm surprised nobody seems to know about this one. If you see in the store, give it a try. I think you'll be entertained. Rossi is pretty good in this too. His banter with Loggia is straight out of a buddy-cop movie encyclopedia, but it works.

I am a really big fan of Judd Nelson and he ruled in this movie. He's so good at being the bad guy. Judd plays Buck Taylor, a demented serial killer who picks his victims from a phone book and calls them before he enters their house and kills them. And the victims' names resemble his. And he tears the pages out with the victims' names underlined in red with messages like "catch me if you can" that he leaves on the dead bodies for the police. Buck does these horrid things because his father was abusive and he kills to show his dad that he's good at something. I really enjoyed this movie and it showed how good of an actor Judd is. Great film!

Two Los Angeles detectives (one a veteran, the other a rookie) work the case of a psychopath who is killing people in the Sunset Blvd. area of L.A. The film is not a whodunit. The script's POV alternates between the Sunset killer (played by Judd Nelson), and the two cops (played by Robert Loggia and Leo Rossi).

The only mystery is at the beginning, with the killer's motivation. But that clears up as the plot moves along. The film offers a fair amount of suspense, as the killer pops into scenes unexpectedly to assault his victim. Some of the drama involves feisty banter between the two detectives, with the rookie showing insight and unorthodox determination, while the veteran seems slightly bored and wants to follow conventional police procedures.

Though fictional, the overall story is believable enough that something like this could happen in real life, if the dreadfully clichéd ending had been excised and replaced with an unexpected and more potent climax.

Visuals are dark, consistent with the thriller genre. Cinematography is conventional but competent. I really liked the opening credits' sequence with that overhead perspective that traverses a stretch of Sunset Blvd. Acting is competent.

"Relentless" manages to present a more believable villain than what we typically see in fictional serial killer scripts. And the plot steers clear of silly absurdities that plague similar films. I just wish the ending had been stronger and more original.

Young Buck (character actor Judd Nelson) is depraved, demented, and mentally disturbed. Rejected from the Los Angeles Police Department on psychological grounds, this young lad has seemingly transformed from a once benign albeit afraid soul, to a psychotic serial killer. Now, Buck goes on an inevitable killing rampage as he picks his victims' names at random from a telephone directory. He calls and informs his victims ahead of time of their demises to-be before he enters their residencies and coerces the victims to participate in their own grisly deaths.

Enter Sam Dietz (Leo Rossi), a tough New York City police detective who's quickly being transferred to the L.A.P.D. Soon enough, Dietz has been assigned to track down this notorious serial killer. Dietz is to work with

his partner, Det. Bill Malloy (veteran actor Robert Loggia), who shows a lot less alacrity and more apathy than his younger counterpart, Det. Dietz. Eventually, as the body count rises, Buck has been dubbed the "Sunset Killer."

RELENTLESS is a tantalizing yet insipid thriller. There are tons of slow moving scenes in this movie, and the film doesn't offer any kind of novelty from the rest of the serial killer movies. Yes, there are profound moments in this movie. For example, the audiences plunge into the mind of Buck, seeing his past life in flashbacks as an abused child who had to partake in rigorous "boot camp" type activities, setup by his own strict father. In fact, Buck is so mentally insane that he often sees images of his late father in the mirror, telling him what to do. Judd Nelson deserves some approbation for tackling the difficult role of a mentally scarred serial mass murderer.

Another aspect of RELENTLESS that made the film slightly worthwhile to watch was the relationship between the two police detectives out to catch Buck, a.k.a. "The Sunset Killer." We see two different worlds conflict with each other as New York native Det. Dietz demonstrates a "let me at him" attitude, with plenty of intensity and anxiousness. On the other hand, Det. Malloy, who's a Los Angeles native feels that Det. Dietz is taking this case way too seriously. Malloy is more laid back, figuring that the press will blow over and the Sunset Killer will eventually disappear. The chemistry between the two police detectives is interesting, with the younger one, Dietz showing more enthusiasm and energy for catching this psycho. Meanwhile his older, more sardonic partner Det. Malloy doesn't want to pull any punches or put too much effort into solving this case. He also thought that many of what Dietz's statements were given were foolish. Malloy is admittedly lazy, letting other people do all the work for him.

RELENTLESS is not a one-of-a-kind thriller. It descends into cliche territory throughout most of this film, especially by the finale. This is not a very exciting movie with no true memorable moments. RELENTLESS is also relentlessly (no pun intended) boring at times, and it may not appeal to many moviegoers unless they have an interest in criminal psychology. Still, RELENTLESS was a satisfactory, though not a terrific effort from director William Lustig (MANIAC, MANIAC COP 2, UNCLE SAM). Although the performances throughout this film were well illustrated and persuasive, they were uninspired. Watching the two detectives argue with each other was fun, and Nelson did his best at portraying a serial killer.

RELENTLESS opened to brisk business at the box office, and it was understandable, due to this film's limited audience appeal. Next time, a thriller movie needs to offer a whole new horizon in order to grab viewers' attention.

RATING: ** out of ****.