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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Killer Within, April 15, 2005
A Killer Within does a good job of coupling some original surprises with a character-driven plot. No easy feat for sure, and trust me, the script could have easily been turned into a lousy Lifetime Channel movie of the week without the right direction and cast.
Becky Terrill, played by Sean Young, leads the caricatured life of a stereotypical Dallas socialite. Her posh North Dallas house is ridiculous, her Mercedes is pristine and her dependency on alcohol is ravenous. The only thing that seems to bother Becky's Prada-clad existence is her 4 year-old son.
Becky's husband, Addison, played by C. Thomas Howell, is a high-powered corporate attorney with some codependency issues and a raging Dr. Pepper jones. Addison comes home from work to find Becky brutally murdered, apparently at the hands of someone targeting Addison. The lead detective fingers Addison as suspect number one and his investigation basically ends there.
But Addison, who has made some dangerous enemies during his climb to the top of the food chain, has a suspect of his own. In order to find the killer and protect his innocence, Addison reaches into his past and enlists the help of Jesus Vargas, a former cop played with enthusiasm by Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito's performance as the renegade ex-cop is the most authentic in the film. The lawman and the lawyer strike an uneasy alliance as they navigate the seedy side of Dallas in search of Becky's killer.
Director Brad Keller does a masterful job of introducing just about everyone as a suspect and the guessing continues to the very end.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Killer Within, April 15, 2005
A Killer Within is a decent murder mystery. This indie flick isn't the next Million Dollar Baby, but it will keep you entertained for about an hour and half.
The plot is well written and there's a good ensemble cast (C. Thomas Howell, Sean Young and Giancarlo Esposito). The basic premise is that Addison (Howell) is a big-shot lawyer, who comes home one night to find that his wife Becky (Young) has been murdered and his young son is unconscious and badly injured. With the help of his business partner and an ex-cop, Addison goes on a search to find the real killer.
Ben Browder's performance as Addison's business partner is also worth mentioning. Sci-fi buffs will probably recognize Browder from Stargate SG-1 and Farscape.
If you're into murder mysteries, it's definitely worth taking a look at.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ponyboy Curtis is all growns up, April 15, 2005
A friend of mine, who got this movie in her SXSW schwag bag, lent me a copy of A Killer Within. She said it was pretty good but knew I would like it being a big C. Thomas Howell fan. Honestly, I don't understand some of the negative reviews on this board. No, it wasn't Schindler's List or The Godfather, but what did you expect?
The acting was good. Frankly I'm amazed at the acting chops that "Ponyboy" has developed. Giancarlo Esposito is always good for some tension. The pace, while slow in the beginning, really took off following Sean Young's murder. This movie is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of murder mysteries or suspense thrillers. If you're looking for Citizen Kane or Chinatown, then you've come to the wrong place.
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