It seems that there is a new serial killer in the Los
Angeles area and he’s modeling his kills after the infamous Jack the Ripper
killings from a hundred year ago. This
is the premise for the thriller Jack’s
Back (1988) which stars James Spader as twin brothers John and Rick
Wesford. It seems that Rick’s brother
John committed suicide and was the new Jack the Ripper serial killer. This isn’t possible as Rick had a nightmare
of this brother being hanged by an unknown man; he believes that his brother
was killed and framed and will stop at nothing to find the person
responsible. He finds help in a
co-worker of his brother by the name of Chris Moscari (Cynthia Gibb) and
together they seek to discover the truth before the cops and the real killer
get a hold of Rick.
Jack’s Back is a
tight mystery and suspense thriller with a strong yet subtle performance by
Spader (which he was known for in the ‘80s and early ‘90s). There is not much differentiation between the
two brothers but that okay because even this early in his career Spader has an
undeniable star presence and carries the whole film. Written and directed by Rowdy Herrington this
is a concise and straight forward thriller (similar to his Striking Distance – 1993 and A
Murder of Crows – 1998).
This film ages better than most thrillers of this time
period as Jack the Ripper is always a topical subject for films but it lacks
the wham-bang punch of more modern thrillers (which I actually like the film
more for) and may seem more passé to modern audiences. Regardless, it remains a gem of Spader’s
earlier exploits as an actor and that right there elevates it above the other
cannon fodder.
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