This is a weak entry in the serial killer genre directed by actor Tim Matheson, with a teleplay by Miguel Tejada-Flores based on a short story "Liar's Dice" by Bill Prozini. At the centre is Ted McGinley, who seems to think sighing is acting, as a family man who is the 13th target of the attentions of Corbin Bernsen. Matheson draws parallels between Bernsen and McGinley, with a satanic stone figure on a bar after Bernsen exits, and a pan from McGinley's lunchtime motel sex with his own wife to the touch of their weddings rings then to a painting of angels. Although Bernsen is livelier than usual his persona is still non-threatening, and McGinley is such a pain that we never empathise with his victimisation. It's like watching a Punch and Judy who never connect. The dice/game metaphor isn't extended, though it may explain the lack of reality of Bernsen's previous behaviour. Matheson casts himself as a private detective with a buzzcut, a Southern accent, and a stuffed alligator on his desk. It's easy to imagine him playing McGinley's role, at times they even look similar, but his part is as negligible as any other here. He supplies the thriller cliches like a frightened cat, but also a Brian DePalma split screen and hand-pans. There is some suspense created from scorpions placed in a bed, but an unsatisfying resolution to their appearance. Perhaps because of the short story source material, this TVM actually reads like an extended anthology episode, with an underpopulated universe and wooden supporting parts, and the DePalma touch is later echoed in McGinley's nightmare, though Matheson's vision isn't as dark.
