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I think the worst crime a film can commit is to be dull. It doesn't matter what your film is about, there is always a way to catch the audience off-guard and throw some surprises into the mix. 'The Mean Season' is one of those films that plays out exactly as expected. It checks all the boxes the studio would want it to, but man is it a forgettable ride.

Even when the killer is on the phone everything just feels so safe and watered down. The most daring thing the film does is a gratuitous nudity scene (seriously, where did that come from?). Near the end there is a little mini-twist I'll give the film credit for, however it's a bit late by that stage.

I didn't hate this film though. It was just such an interesting premise that I wanted more out of it. I wanted it to fire some shots and take some risks. It didn't though and for that reason I suspect I will have forgotten about this film by tomorrow morning. 6/10.

THE MEAN SEASON (1985) **1/2 Kurt Russell, Mariel Hemingway, Richard Jordan, Richard Masur, Richard Bradford, Andy Garcia. Not bad suspenser with Russell as a newspaper reporter suddenly caught up in the story of a serial killer and himself in harm's way. Surprise ending.

This was a pretty good movie. Its got good suspense towards the end but it will never top BREAKDOWN, which is his ultimate suspense movie. Mariel Hemingway was a good choice, she hasn't been in much lately. I think she is still pretty. Well, Kurt does a good job. This is worth seeing and its from 1985. It has violence, language and nudity.

Richard Jordan who has played a number of really psychotic villains is the main reason to see The Mean Season. He quite steals the film from Kurt Russell a crime reporter and Mariel Hemingway who is Russell's girlfriend and the last woman Jordan stalks.

Russell has truly grown to dislike his job on a big city paper in this case Miami where he's gotten a specialty in crime reporting, the more lurid the better. He's considering an offer from a small town Colorado paper to take over as editor.

That's when things get interesting. Jordan is a serial killer who Russell has been writing about and in his twisted way considers Kurt to be some kind of personal publicist for him and his peers. Now he starts calling to give him heads up exclusives knowing that this will lead to Mariel's own abduction.

That's the one thing about criminals of the psychotic mind. They don't reason like the rest of us. It sounds wild and improbable the notion that Jordan has, but that's the hard part for FBI and local profiler's jobs, getting in those sick minds to see how they work.

Jordan is one sick and twisted puppy. The rest of the cast is fine, but he really stands out in The Mean Season.

This is definitely a thriller. And one of the reasons why is Richard Jordan who plays the psychopath, Alan Delour. He is so convincing he is absolutely frightening. Especially his last scenes, he gives me shivers every time I watch him. He was definitely one of the finest actors that ever was and when he passed away, we lost a great talent. Kurt Russell also did a find job as Malcolm Anderson and the two worked really well together.