Killers (1996) The James boys, two of America's most media-oriented killers, Odessa and Kyle have escaped from San Quentin's Death Row. In the...... more
Killers (1996) The James boys, two of America's most media-oriented
killers, Odessa and Kyle have escaped from San Quentin's Death Row. In the midst of a fierce storm and pursued by law-enforcement officers, they find sanctuary by bursting in on and taking hostage the ideal American family, or so they think. After they discover that the daughters are two of their biggest fans, the mother isn't quite what she seems, and the father is perhaps more than their equal, the
killers realize the cops are the least of their worries. And as the rain pours down and the dragnet moves closer, the question that emerges is, "Will the
killers ever see the light of day?" I saw a midnight premiere of this movie in college and it quickly disappeared, but it stuck in my head long after I forgot the title, and I'm lucky I re-found it. No one in that theater knew what to expect from this movie, and it start out as everyone's worst nightmare: a cheap, clichéd crime drama. A lot of people walked out after the first 20 minutes, but I was determined to stick it through. And I'm really glad I did. At the twist point in this movie, the horrible clichés and acting and directing of the first half feel like an amazingly underplayed setup to a punchline with actual humor and shock. Imagine "From Dusk till Dawn" if the vampire angle hadn't been completely ruined by over promotion. It's really rare that a movie seems to be one thing but then turns completely around halfway through into something 10x better, but this is one of those. It used the low expectations and low budget to it's own advantage and turned out a movie I never forgot.
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