Blowback: Anjo da Morte

I tend to agree with most other reviewers on this page that this movie's plot was predictable, but I stop short of calling it boring. Yes, there are lots of mediocre cop movies out there about good cops that get too personally involved in a homicide case and get kicked off the case by their superior, then continue to investigate on their own. But this one has a somewhat new twist in that the killer seems to be a man who's already been executed for similar crimes. Another new twist is that his latest choice of victims are the jurors who voted to execute him. These two new twists keep the movie from being overly predictable, and keep it entertaining. However, I think the script should have kept secret until the end whether or not the killer is actually the executed man or not; the answer is revealed early in the film, and I think they should have made use of the suspense they would've generated by not telling us so soon. All in all, this is not a great movie, but it's not a total waste of time.

Blowback is a Mario van Peebles movie, so if you're a fan of him, you should be fine with it. This movie has relatively poor production values, and the shootouts are badly staged and edited, however, it does pour on the exploitation, with lots of naked chicks and gory murders. Also, it's been a long time since I've seen Stephen Caffrey (Tour Of Duty, Longtime Companion), and the first time I've seen him playing a bad guy. The main theme of Blowback is a serial killer who murders his victims and then cuts them up as martyred saints. Unfortunately, the production values don't allow for much special effects, but they're pretty grisly. 6 out of 10

Okay, if you fast forward through the chase scenes and the sex scenes you will have about 20 minutes to watch. The plot is there but it takes 70 extra minutes to complete it. The idea that you can revive a dead man executed by the state in a gas chamber is still sci-fi. Too many holes to be an enjoyable experience. Be glad you didn't rush out to the nearest video store to rent this one.

A cop scarred by his last case begins to investigate murders that are very similar to the biblical serial killer he caught and killed years before. With a series of taunting notes and scriptures left beside death scenes made to look like the death of martyred saints, Morrell begins to suspect that this may be more than a copycat – but in fact the very killer back from the dead.

Stupid, stupid story! The setup is ok, but when we start talking about the killer being a serial killer who was trained by the FBI but then went nuts again – or the fact that he didn't really die originally – then you know the film's just looking for any excuse to make itself a serial killer movie and go to video! The plotting is so dumb that even the final reel's attempt to give the killer a motive is based on stupid logic. The dialogue is just as bad and could come from any dtv movie.

Mind you – it doesn't help that its delivered by actors who make planks look like they could do Shakespeare. Peebles once did a few OK movies – those days are gone! Here he is a cardboard cut out of a cop `haunted by past' although he just walks round and looks shocked by the murders. Remar is an OK killer – he's good at times and does well despite a poor character but the rest are just fodder for gory deaths.

Overall this is poor – watch Se7en or Silence of the Lambs. But direct-to-video serial killer movies like this are two-a-penny and should be avoided on the whole.

If you liked Se7en or Resurrection, then i suggest you see this film. Its not as good as those 2, but its decent. Its got some gruesome deaths just like the other 2 flicks mentioned. But that sort of thing is expected in serial killer movies. 6/10