Slaughter of the Innocents (1993) Reviews

• Enjoyable If You Ignore The Plot holes

  cosmic_quest2005-01-06

  This slightly violent thriller revolves around a serial killer who has now kidnapped a little girl. On his trail are the FBI and the twelve-year-old son of the agent leading the investigation. Although the acting is not too bad with the man playing the killer giving a very creepy performance, Scott Glen came off as being too cocky at times. On the whole, the film is quite enjoyable and stylish if you ignore the person making the most headway in the case is a twelve-year-old child! The film's main downfall certainly has to be this kid, Jesse, who is far too perfect and intelligent to be credible (although he does make a pleasant change from the snotty, rude brats that often pop up in films these days). Also, he brings about plot holes such, as how can a boy of twelve be allowed to buy himself a plane ticket to traverse the continent, what kind of man takes his young son to a murder scene, why does the FBI give a kid access to their mainframe and why on earth is a grown man intimidated by this boy? I think if you ignore the fact that there are many non-too-credible moments in the film, it does have the capacity to chill you. Certainly, the guy playing the killer is rather frightening. If not, you'll get a good laugh out of seeing the kid playing 'bad cop' as he tries to question a suspect, using fancy computers that are barely available now let alone in 1992/3 (his personal computer resembles something more suited to 'Star Trek') and solving the case while the grown FBI agents flounder around like incompetents.

• adventures of the wonder boy???

  jank1232001-07-20

  Stephen Broderick is a special FBI agent who is trying to catch a schizophrenic man who kills and kidnaps small kids. He has a 12-13 years son who probably has an IQ of 250. He has a computer which can recognize voice and it is intelligent (!!!) This computer can find the coordinates of any place on the earth. He has a pretty expensive gps device. His calculator can show verses from the bible. he can fool his mother and tell her that he is gonna spend the night, then he can travel through the whole continent, he can scare 40 years old people just by shouting at them, he can ride a off road motorcyle, he can climb on a mountain without any equipment... can i tell more? you know i could but you should better watch the movie. you will laugh the sh*t out of you. very funny movie. i dont know why its not listed as a comedy. i really liked it.

• Silence of the Lambs meets the Monty Pythons

  petra_ste2007-05-24

  When a movie about a serial killer has more belly laughs than your average comedy, you know there is something deeply wrong with it. Poor Scott Glenn plays a cop hunting for a mysterious killer who abducts children and animals, including giraffes (don't ask); in a truly ludicrous narrative choice, the detective's annoying kid cooperates with the investigation, thanks to a computer with a level of AI which would startle Alan Turing. That's what Silence of the Lambs was sorely missing: a precocious child supporting Clarence Starling! The climax is the funniest part, as the madman shows his version of Noah's Ark neatly built in a cave next to a canyon, waiting for a second flood. During those last scenes I laughed so hard I almost died. When the killer screamed "I have brought thee even the giraffes!" (or something to that extent), tears were running down my cheeks and I was gasping for breath. Add to this one of the most ridiculous red herrings ever seen: an escaped Nazi general who is still strutting around in full SS uniform a good fifty years after WW2. Yeah, seriously. Too bad that, while the funny bits are absolutely priceless, there are also long stretches of boredom. 3/10

• All in the Family

  DrPhilmreview2007-03-14

  This is either a very good home movie or a very bad commercial film. Writer-director James Glickenhaus makes the tragic mistake of casting his own son, Jessie Cameron-Glickenhaus as the juvenile lead in this one, as the Encyclopedia Brown-like computer wiz who helps his FBI dad (Scott Glenn) with serial murder cases. Only a very talented young actor might be able to pull an idea like that off. Jessie, whose career ended when his father stopped making movies ("Timemaster") does not qualify. He's one of those bad movie kids that you just want to go away. The film does have Scott Glenn, Kevin Sorbo and the lovely Darlane Flugel from "Crime Story"(for some reason she always plays the wife of tough law enforcement officers) as well as "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" star Armin Shiverman, but they can't overcome the combined talents (or lack of) by the Glickenhaus family. For his part, James contributes a script that doesn't work, highlighted by an outrageous ending in which the serial killer (who is of course a religious fantastic) builds an Ark and puts it on rails so it can go flying over a desert cliff. Hey, he's crazy, right? So he does crazy things, right? The big scene with the ark is laughably bad.

• This is a highly under-rated and ill-appreciated freaky little thriller.

  Elswet2004-01-05

  Okay, before I start, I will be the first to admit that there are a couple of plot holes, an unforgivable contrivance, and that belief does have to be suspended here and there for Jessie the wonder-kid's feats. Okay. There. I've said it. All in all, this film is a wonderfully entertaining darkling freak of a movie. This is not your typical slasher/serial killer fare. I found this attempt to be downright disturbing and unsettling. This remains one of my favorites for the socially responsible message, the beautiful relationship between Glenn's character and that of his son, and the wonderful element of suspense found here. Great low budget thriller with a solid, fluid story and some decent performances by Scot Glenn and Jesse Cameron-Glickenhaus. Definitely worth a watch. It rates a 6.8/10 from... the Fiend :.