In his first effort at directing, Michael Ironside completes his duties in fine fashion but is hamstrung by his own script that remains mired in the cliché-filled species of police procedural cinema, with a result that this low budget affair, although being a pleasure to look upon and seldom dull, is burdened with continuity flaws and overdone devices native to a genre well-kenned to Ironside. Better titled as BLOOD MONEY for its American home video release, the film's action begins with a robbery and murder of five drug dealers, upon which Detectives Connor (Ironside) and LaPierre (Currie Graham) from a police department of an unnamed United States city, are assigned to the investigation that has also attracted the attention, for varying reasons, of two federal agencies that obviously place greater worth upon solving the crime than may be reckoned by dollar recovery. Ironside is quite ambitious within his screenplay and one readily perceives that a new primary character appears during nearly each scene in the film's first half - there are nine lead players and about 20 principals, with 11 roles cut to fit a two million dollar budget (a good portion of the cast worked at scale); however, providing appropriate dialogue for each character while fulfilling the many other directoral functions becomes a bit overwhelming for a first-time overseer. Ironside and Graham are as capable as ever in their parts and good turns are provided by Richard Riehle, Bill Dow and Jon Cuthbert, whereas peculiar Lori Petty is obviously somewhat of a tartar for Ironside and her role thankfully dims as the film (shot in Edmonton, Alberta) progresses; a standout contribution is from Brian Hebb for his cinematographic compositions utilizing highly creative lighting skills that are aptly wed to the palettes of designer Terry Gunvordahl and Jim Murray for his sets; an effective score is composed by Neil Smolar and the sound mixing is top-flight.
