Lisa

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.

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-

I remember watching this when I was a kid and my own growing pains were starting to act up.

This film is about 14 yr old Lisa. She lives with her single, over protective mother and is in a hurry to grow up. She's like most teenage girls. Boy crazy, eager to date and loves her best friend, Wendy, who seems to have all the freedom Lisa so desperately wants.

After accidently running into an older, but attractive man, she gets his phone number by way of his license plate and begins making flirtatious phone calls. Little does she realize the dashing man is a crazed rapist killer who has earned the title of "The Candlelight Killer" due to the romantic candle lit atmosphere he sets up for his victims just before killing them. Her playfulness creates an obsession within the killer and soon the prankster becomes prey.

I think this is a pretty solid, yet understated, thriller. While it holds some nostalgia for me, it has a decent storyline and the lead actress does a wonderful job with her character. It's also filmed well aside from a slight "made for tv" vibe.

This is a great film for a bit of suspense and remebering the innocent naivety of youth. I'd recommend it but it's not likely to be a film for everyone. I was just tickled to come across it after all these years.

"Lisa" takes me back when I was about 11 or 12 years old. Sometimes bad movies can be good if you grew up watching them. I watch this movie now and I say: "Ok it was kind of stupid, but I still like it". I don't know, I guess I am hooked on the whole fact of Lisa being this stupid kid doing the exact opposite of what I would have done. I get a kick out of watching movies; especially if it is dealing with other people's problems,it makes me feel better if I am having a bad day. Still the movie has it's suspense, and charm, and its about a 14 year old girl making really stupid mistakes, and of course paying for them! Haven't we all! I still love this movie and I'm still going to buy it!