Relentless (1989 film)

Last updated

Relentless
Relentless poster.jpg
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by William Lustig
Written by Jack T.D. Robinson
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography James Lemmo
Music by Jay Chattaway
Distributed by CineTel Films
Release date
  • August 30, 1989 (1989-08-30)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million [1]
Box office$6.9 million (domestic) [2]

Relentless is a 1989 American crime thriller film directed by William Lustig and starring Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia and Leo Rossi. The film follows two LAPD officers on a hunt for a serial killer.

Contents

Relentless was the first in a series of four films starring Leo Rossi as detective Sam Dietz trying to stop a serial killer. The three sequels were all filmed and released straight to video within three consecutive years from 1992 to 1994.

Plot

Sam Dietz is a rookie Los Angeles detective recently transferred from New York City. He is paired up with veteran detective Bill Malloy in order to find and stop a serial killer. The killer is Arthur "Buck" Taylor, the son of a former LAPD cop whose motive for killing is frustration over not having been accepted to the force and failure in the eyes of his father. Taylor chooses his targets by randomly looking up their names in the phone book and skillfully covering up his tracks by using his skills and knowledge that he learned while on the force. While in pursuit of Taylor, both Dietz and Malloy become his next planned targets for murder.

Cast

Production

After the success of Maniac Cop , producer Leonard Shapiro of Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment wanted to do another picture with director William Lustig, and presented him with a bunch of scripts that had been submitted to the company, Lustig came across a script by Phil Alden Robinson called "Sunset Slayer" that he thought was especially good, but Shapiro's company ran into financial problems, Lustig ended up making the film for CineTel Films, and changed the title of the film to Relentless, which was the original title of the 1985 Sam Raimi movie Crimewave , Lustig had contacted Raimi and asked him permission to use the title, Raimi approved, and he was given a special thanks in the film’s end credits. [3]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 33% based on reviews from 6 critics. [4]

Sequels

Relentless was followed by three direct-to-video sequels, forming the Relentless film series.

Related Research Articles

<i>Army of Darkness</i> 1992 film by Sam Raimi

Army of Darkness is a 1992 American dark fantasy comedy film directed, co-written, and co-edited by Sam Raimi. The film is the third installment in the Evil Dead film series and the sequel to Evil Dead II (1987). Starring Bruce Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it follows Ash Williams (Campbell) as he is trapped in the Middle Ages and battles the undead in his quest to return to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judd Nelson</span> American actor (born 1959)

Judd Asher Nelson is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie, John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbury in St. Elmo's Fire, Alex in Cybermutt, Joe Hunt in Billionaire Boys Club, Nick Peretti in New Jack City, Billy Beretti in Empire, and Jack Richmond in the television series Suddenly Susan.

<i>Predator 2</i> 1990 film by Stephen Hopkins

Predator 2 is a 1990 American science fiction action film written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Peter Hall. It is the second installment of the Predator franchise, and sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall reprising the title role of the Predator.

<i>Dark Blue</i> (film) 2002 film by Ron Shelton

Dark Blue is a 2002 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Ron Shelton and written by David Ayer, based on a story written for film by crime novelist James Ellroy and takes place during the days leading up to the Rodney King trial verdict. The film stars Kurt Russell, with Ving Rhames and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles.

<i>Maniac Cop</i> 1988 American slasher film

Maniac Cop is a 1988 American action slasher film directed by William Lustig, written by Larry Cohen, and starring Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z'Dar, and Sheree North. Z'Dar plays the title character, a murderous ex-police officer returned from the dead, and seeks revenge on the people who wronged him. It is the first installment in the Maniac Cop film series. Maniac Cop was released on May 13, 1988 and grossed $671,382 worldwide on a budget of $1.1 million. The film was followed by two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 (1990) and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence (1993).

<i>Maniac Cop 2</i> 1990 American action horror film directed by William Lustig

Maniac Cop 2 is a 1990 American action slasher film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It is the second installment in the Maniac Cop film series. It stars Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, and Bruce Campbell, with Robert Z'Dar returning as Matthew Cordell, an undead police officer-turned-serial killer following his own murder.

<i>D-Tox</i> 2002 American film

D-Tox is a 2002 American thriller film directed by Jim Gillespie and starring Sylvester Stallone. The supporting cast features Tom Berenger, Charles S. Dutton, Polly Walker, Robert Patrick, Stephen Lang, Jeffrey Wright, Courtney B. Vance and Kris Kristofferson. The film had a limited release in the United States on September 20, 2002, under the title Eye See You by DEJ Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Rossi</span> American actor

Leo Rossi is an American actor, writer and producer. A character actor with over 100 credits to his name, he is known for his role as foul-mouthed EMT Vincent "Budd" Scarlotti in the 1981 horror film Halloween II, as the serial killer Turkell from the 1990 horror sequel Maniac Cop 2, and as Detective Sam Dietz in the Relentless franchise. His other films include Heart Like a Wheel (1983), River's Edge (1986), The Accused (1988), Analyze This (1999), One Night at McCool's (2001), and 10th & Wolf (2006).

<i>Street Kings</i> 2008 action thriller film directed by David Ayer

Street Kings is a 2008 American action thriller film directed by David Ayer, and starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Common and The Game. The initial screenplay drafts were written by James Ellroy in the late 1990s under the title The Night Watchman.

<i>Innocent Blood</i> (film) 1992 film by John Landis

Innocent Blood is a 1992 American black comedy horror film directed by John Landis and written by Michael Wolk. The film stars Anne Parillaud as a beautiful French vampire who finds herself pitted against a gang of mobsters led by Salvatore Macelli who eventually becomes a vampire and schemes to build a criminal syndicate of vampires.

<i>Club Dread</i> 2004 film by Jay Chandrasekhar

Club Dread is a 2004 comedy slasher film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by and starring the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Brittany Daniel, and Bill Paxton. The film follows a group of staff members on a tropical island resort, where an unknown killer begins a murder spree.

<i>Crimewave</i> 1985 film by Sam Raimi

Crimewave is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, from a screenplay he co-wrote with the Coen brothers. It stars Reed Birney, Sheree J. Wilson, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell, with the latter also serving as a co-producer. An unusual slapstick mix of film noir, black comedy, Hitchcockian suspense, and B-movie conventions, Crimewave portrays bizarre situations involving a nebbish everyman (Birney) entangled in a murderous plot while pursuing his love interest (Wilson).

<i>Evil Dead</i> American comedy horror franchise

Evil Dead is an American comedy horror franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series. The series originally revolves around the grimoire the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee.

<i>F/X2</i> 1991 film by Richard Franklin

F/X2 is a 1991 American action thriller film directed by Richard Franklin and starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy. It is a sequel to the 1986 film F/X, and follows special effects expert Ronald "Rollie" Tyler and former NYPD detective Leo McCarthy as they investigate the suspicious death of one of Rollie's friends.

<i>The Alphabet Killer</i> 2008 film by Rob Schmidt

The Alphabet Killer is a 2008 thriller-horror film, loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973. Eliza Dushku stars alongside Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley and Timothy Hutton. The film is directed by Rob Schmidt, director of Wrong Turn, also starring Dushku, and written by Tom Malloy, who also acted in a supporting role.

<i>Whistling in Brooklyn</i> 1943 film by S. Sylvan Simon

Whistling in Brooklyn is a 1943 film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, and Jean Rogers. It is the third and last film starring Skelton as radio personality and amateur detective Wally "The Fox" Benton, following Whistling in the Dark and Whistling in Dixie. Leo Durocher, then-manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, made his screen debut, playing himself, while Dodgers "superfan" Hilda Chester also made a brief appearance, playing herself.

Dead On: Relentless II is a 1992 thriller film directed by Michael Schroeder. The tagline for the movie was: The first killer was unpredictable. This one is unstoppable. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles, California. It is the second installment in the Relentless series.

<i>Relentless 3</i> 1993 American film

Relentless 3 is a 1993 crime thriller film written and directed by James Lemmo. The tagline for the film was: "When the fear stops...you're dead!" Relentless 3 was filmed in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is the third installment in the Relentless series.

<i>Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes</i> 1994 American film

Relentless IV: Ashes to Ashes is a 1994 crime thriller film directed by Oley Sassone. The tagline was: "This time nothing can stop the fear."Relentless IV was filmed in Los Angeles, California. This is the fourth and to date final installment in the Relentless series.

House of Bodies is a 2013 American horror film directed by Alex Merkin and written by Eddie Harris. It stars Terrence Howard, Peter Fonda, George Katt, Alexz Johnson and Queen Latifah. The film was released worldwide on Netflix on April 19, 2013.

References

  1. "Relentless (1989)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films .
  2. "Relentless". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  3. McCarty, John (January 25, 2016). The Sleaze Merchants Adventures in Exploitation Filmmaking from the '50s to the '90s. Crossroad Press. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  4. "Relentless (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes . August 31, 2004. Retrieved January 1, 2021.