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Customer Reviews of Cruel and Unusual

NICE TRY TOM
Over the years, Tom Berenger has shown diversity in his projects, including such films as "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," "Platoon," "Rustler's Rhapsody," and "The Substitute." However, in this muddled Canadian venture, Tom works hard to make the film work. While he is convincing in his role as serial killer Eddie, the rest of the cast and the plodding direction/screenplay make all his efforts pointless. Tygh Runyan as Mike is pitifully miscast and doesn't do anything to really make you feel for his character; Rachel Hayward does a little better, but we never really know what makes her tick and the ending is abysmally flat. There's little suspense, and that rests mainly on director's lap; moody scenes of the lighthouse and the bay can't compensate. Could have been and should have been better.

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Steer Away from This "Thriller" without Thrill
This is a Canadian film with an alternative title "Watchtower," starring Tom Berenger, who is best known as a tough senior soldier in Oliver Stone's "Platoon." But that film about the Vietnam War, which gave him an Oscar nomination, was made years ago.

And this film came, starring Tom Berenger as a mystrious stranger, who happens to come to a small seaside town in Oregon (actually, hte film is shot in British Columbia). Claiming himself as a teacher at university, he says he is here to write a book. Getting a job at an old watchtower by the sea, he is befriended with the local sister and brother Kate and Mike. As Kate, owner of a fishing boat gets closer to him, Mike, living without purpose, finds a kind of father figure in him. But this guy, coming from nowhere, seems to have some secrets behind his face.

Sounds interesting? Maybe. But the film uses the idea so awfully that you keep on pushing a fast-foward button to the end. First of all, don't expect any suspense. There is none. The "secrets" are revealed in the first 10 minutes, and you know the face of the serial killer from the first. But that would not be damaging the film if it holds some dramatic tension between this stranger in town and those sister-brother characters, in order to develop the initial idea about the bond between this murderer and the kid, or his sister. No. The film is all about ordinary love scenes with cheesy dialogues and self-indulgent, extended guitar play as its soundtrack.

I don't tell you anything about the ending because it is simply terrible. The "clues" leading to the finale are given in the most awkward fashion which makes you literally gasp. Tom Berenger's acting might gain some praise from fans, but I wasn't impressed at all, probably because the characters surrounding him are so awfully drawn that there's no way to compare him with the others. At least, he deserves much better material. Dull at its best.

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poor direction
This movie has a VERY cheesy and cliched dialog. The script is bad. The acting is bad. The best parts of this not-so-good movie were the nice camera shots of the landscapes and lighthouse. However, I'm not sure that the lighthouse they stayed in is actually located in Oregon. Am I wrong about that?