Customer Reviews

A Killer Within

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This movie is like a reunion for your favorite 80's stars and it takes a step towards resurrecting the careers of once famed actors, C. Thomas Howell and Sean Young. I've been a fan of Howell since he played Ponyboy Curtis in "The Outsiders," so it was cool to see that he's still landing big roles. And though one of my last memories of Sean Young on screen was in "No Way Out," another murder mystery made in the late 80's, she still looks pretty good.

The film stars Howell as Addison Terrill, a successful lawyer with a private practice in Dallas. He returns home one night to find his wife Becky (Young) murdered and his young son in critical condition at the hospital. The police immediately peg Addison as the killer, and it's up to him to clear his own name.

It takes a little while for things to get moving, and as with most murder mysteries, there are a few "twists" that you may see coming. But overall, the movie is pretty suspenseful and there's a last minute surprise that will have you second-guessing who the killer is until the end credits roll.

The acting by both Howell and Young is solid, but the stand out performer is Giancarlo Esposito, who is cast as a street smart, ex-cop that helps Addison track down the real killer. Esposito, who you might not recognize by name but may remember his role as FBI agent, Jack Baer in "The Usual Suspects," is definitely one of the highlights.

This is a lawyer's movie. I found it interesting since I have lawyer friends and they are close to the vest but still have emotions not easily displayed. I loved Giancarlo Esposito and C. Thomas Howell. The other actors were all A, but those two were A+. The Dallas Morning News said that the budget was small so if this kinda work can come from a small budget why does Hollywood produce "tankers" with no hope with huge budgets????. I think this a movie worth watching if you think.

Unfortunately this movie did not have much to work with, considering the horrible script by Chris and William Peirson, who are real life attorneys. They should probably stick to their day jobs.
I knew who the killer was and the murder weapon to be used long before Sean Young's character was actually killed. It was that transparent. The whole cast gave a somewhat lackluster performance, but C. Thomas Howell as the bumbling attorney who is trying to solve his wife's murder was simply ludicrous. Again though - he didn't have much to work with. For someone who was supposed to once have been one of the top prosecutors in a city like Dallas, he behaves like a naive newbie from some backwoods town, who has absolutely no street smarts, or common sense for that matter. It was actually painful to watch. Sean Young gives a solid performance, albeit appearing a bit bored with her part. Who can blame her. The only performance that somewhat saves the movie is Ben Browder's. Too bad he is seriously underused. However, he is allowed to shine and give us a glimpse of what he is capable of during his final scene and the flashbacks thereafter. The man can express more with one look than other actors can with two pages of dialogue. He is definitely one of Hollywood's best kept secrets. Will someone cast him in an A-movie lead already! We need to see more of him.

An entertaining 94 minutes of "who done it" intrigue.
Was good to see Sean Young again.
C. Thomas Howell looked a bit ragged.... is his health OK ?

Admittedly we guessed the plot and the killer at around 30 minutes into the movie and at times the plot twists made us think we might be wrong.... but we were right.

Despite figuring it out so early, it was still entertaining

If this is the same movie I saw at the theater, CT gave his usual wooden performance, but Ben Browder is the real star of this surprisingly commplex little mystery/film noir story. It really needs to be watched more than once to get that it is, indeed, very complex.

I would never buy it to get Howell, or Sean Young for that matter, but Ben Browder and Giancarlo Esposito are worth the price of admission.

Giancarlo has a way of making every word he says sound just like gold.

Browder looks into the camera and pulls you right into the scene with him. Wow. The man blew me away with his performance. Pun intended.

Mark Hansen delivers a really manic, wild, scary bad guy. I love watching the Sonny Bruton character.

Dedee Pfeiffer made me cry.

I searched and found lots more information on this movie at their website, www.akillerwithinmovie.com They even have photos of ALL the cast, a trailer, interviews, and even the movie poster.

A commendable little movie.

Vivid characters and dialog make this an excellent movie. From the script to the acting, this movie is well crafted.

This movie was really bad. The victim deserved what she got, her husband was way more concerned with clearing his name than with his wife's death and the identity of the killer was obvious from the start. Three blatant Dr. Pepper product placements had me expecting the actors to break into song at any minute. "I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, .... Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?"
A full frontal nude shot of the victim diving into a pool as seen in a daydream sequence was totally unnecessary to the plot and obviously was included only for titillation.
What a stinko movie.