Meurtres sous tensions

I'd read somewhere that David Prior was a bad director, but I find he falls somewhere in the middle. His films are made well enough, star people you've heard of, but it's the stories themselves that make you do a double take and think 'that doesn't make much sense'.

This one stars Glenndon Fordham, Sandy Bermanster, Traci Lordy Lordy, Micheal Vincent Van, and Tex 'Randall' Cobb. Them are all folks caught up when a crazy killer type person starts going around shooting women in the face with a shotgun. Don't expect gore here though, because there's none. No boobs either.

Ted Prior is Jimmy, a stock car driver who starts getting visions of the killings. His sister is Traci Lords, whom he's overly protective of (no wonder!). When Jimmy starts seeing the visions and goes to the police, they don't believe etc etc.

As this is a David A Prior film, there ain't much action but there are plenty of twists, so I never found myself bored throughout. Loads of interpersonal drama threaten to sink the film, but Prior knows when to speed things up a bit. Not too bad.

A journalist (Sandahl Bergman of 'Conan' fame) believes Jimmy (Ted Prior), suspected of several murders, is innocent. The cop in charge (Jan-Michael 'Airwolf' Vincent) doesn't believe her, but he has personal reasons, while his boss (Glenn Ford) never trusts anyone, anyway. So it is a difficult job for her, and also she needs to keep an eye on Jimmys younger sister Gina (Traci Lords) who is in danger to become the next victim of the killer, whoever that is.

Well, despite the famous cast, this could as well be episode 99 of a good quality TV series. It is OK to watch, but not outstanding; I don't think I'll remember it next month, especially since movies about psychopathic killers are 'a dime a dozen'. It's rather mild for this kind of subject, by the way: no nudity, minimum violence which is over very quickly, could almost pass for PG instead of R in my opinion.

My review was written in May 1991 after watching the movie on AIP video cassette.

Unusual casting perks up this perfunctoiry murder mystery. Released at regional theaters on May 24, "Raw Nerve" is primarily a video title.

Eyebrows may be raised at a pic co-starring Glenn Ford and Traci Lords, but pic proves to be a significant transitional film for the ex-porn queen. She handles dramatic scenes well in the firt feature not to treat her as a caricature.

She plays the 18-year-old sister of Ted Prior, a young man troubled by nightmarish visions that prove to be accurate accounts of serial murders. He goes to the police with this info but is brushed aside as akook by the captain, Ford, and detective on the case, Jan-Michael Vincent.

Vincent's ex-wife, Sandahl Bergman, is an aggressive reporter who listens to Prior and writes up his story. Of course Prior becomes the No. 1 suspect, but after a revelation of incest (a la "Chinatown") the killer is identified. A final twist comes as an anticlimax.

Acting is good, with actio vet Prior showcased opposite Lords in a complicated central role. Name talent in support delivers pro turns.

Director David A. Prior makes good use of Mobile, Alabama locations but the film is too talky to qualify as an action pic, his prior specialty. A final reel stunt is well-done, however.

RAW NERVE is an extremely cheap little B-movie combination of slasher movie and cop thriller, made in Alabama by the prolific David Prior, who churned out dozens of by-rote action flicks during his career. This one's notable for its cast and its bizarro storyline, which has an ordinary guy experiencing visions of a serial killer going about his work. The main guy (Prior's brother, I think) is hopeless, but the supporting cast includes Traci Lords as his little sister, Randall Tex Cobb as his uncle, Jan-Michael Vincent as the cop, Sandahl Bergman as a nosy reporter and Glenn Ford (!) in his final role as police chief. With all that talent, it's hard not to get some amusement from this one...

This is an incredibly bad movie. I didn't expect anything of it and I still felt short changed. Not the worst £1 I ever spent but it's close. Ted Prior has to be the worst actor i've ever seen. I have to say the ending was a surprise but it still dumb. Traci Lords was okay for a while but her performance goes downhill. Anyone else think Jimmy and Gina were a little too 'close' for family members? It's a shame Sandahl Begman and Traci Lords had to make movies like this. They'd both been in far better movies than this (Conan and Cry-Baby, respectively). I wouldn't watch it again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. 1/10.