Breaking Point Reviews

This well-made if familiar serial-killer tale is set in Seattle, where ex-cop Dwight Meadows (Gary Busey) is now coaching sculling crews. Dwight quit the force because of physical and psychological damage he incurred when he failed to prevent the murder of Molly Carpenter. Nightmares of the incident still plague him seven months later. Separated from his wife Allison (Kim Cattrall), he's trying to win her back, despite the presence of tentative new boyfriend Arthur (Leam Blackwood). When Molly's slayer, dubbed "The Surgeon" because of his dismemberment skills, makes Dwight's assistant his fourth victim, Lt. Marv Lockhart (Blu Mankuma) asks Dwight to rejoin the police. He's to work with Det. Dana Preston (Darlanne Fluegel), who turns out to be Molly's sister. Despite the delaying interference of a copycat killer, Ragway (Michael Tiernan), Preston and Dwight discover that the killer is Greg Pike (Jeff Griggs), a male stripper at the Gemini nightclub, but not before he murders Allison's sister Joanne (Sharlene Martin). The finale has Greg stalking Allison in her house and killing the pursuing Preston. In a replay of his nightmare, Dwight arrives too late to save Preston, but Allison kills Greg. The next morning finds Dwight, now reconciled with Allison, back at the waterfront with his boating crews. There's nothing much new in the screenplay by Michael Berling and Eric Estrin, but the direction by Paul Ziller (BLOODFIST 4, DEADLY SURVEILLANCE) is sturdy and energetic throughout, with generous, effective dollops of suspense. (The filmmakers do, however, stoop to ripping off the "empty shoes" trick from DRESSED TO KILL). While the characters are mostly cliches, the acting is excellent, with the veteran, versatile Busey highly personable and sympathetic as the troubled hero. Leading lady Cattrall's generous nude scenes were done with a body double (Jenna Burns). The Vancouver-shot movie appears to be a beefed-up, R-rated US home video release of a Canadian movie already in TV syndication there. (Violence, nudity, sexual situations, profanity.)