This came out in the last years of the Cannon Group, which had produced numerous fun B-action flicks. I saw it at the cinema and liked it. Having watched it again, I couldn't help but associate it with another similar Norris's earlier vehicle SILENT RAGE.
Detective Danny O'Brien (Norris) is haunted by his past after single-handedly capturing a psychotic killer Simon Moon a.k.a. the Terror (Jack O' Halloran). Several years later, Moon escapes from a sanitarium and returns to the city he once stalked to unleash terror again. This time his 'turf' is a newly renovated theater in downtown Los Angeles that is about to be re-opened. As victims start to fall and the opening date of the theater is approaching, the Mayor calls for detective O'Brien to track him down and put an end to his terror.
This action thriller, at times, plays like a pilot episode of a TV series. One of the key scenes even borders on becoming nonsensical, like Simon Moon's escape.
Billy Drago is miscast as Moon's doctor. Drago plays well as an antagonist: a psycho (FREEWAY) or a henchman (THE UNTOUCHABLES) or any other typically eccentric bad guy, but not a good doctor!
On the other hand, Jack O'Halloran (Non in Superman 2) portrayal of the Terror is menacing - he doesn't speak, only growls, and looks creepy.
The music, especially when the Terror strikes, performed by the same musician who scores Norris's CODE OF SILENCE is effective to create tension.
What sets this film apart from other Norris's films is that we get to see him act a lot more than he usually does. Norris is not a one-man army like his role in the MISSING IN ACTION trilogy. Here he tries to act and play more drama: he is a cop but a father-to-be and a sensitive lover too, which is shown in a scene when he has a romantic birthday dinner with his girlfriend and in another scene when he faints upon arriving at the hospital after hearing that his pregnant girlfriend is about to deliver.
Overall, this cop thriller is one of Norris's better films where fans can see more of his acting than just his fighting skills.
Detective Danny O'Brien (Norris) is haunted by his past after single-handedly capturing a psychotic killer Simon Moon a.k.a. the Terror (Jack O' Halloran). Several years later, Moon escapes from a sanitarium and returns to the city he once stalked to unleash terror again. This time his 'turf' is a newly renovated theater in downtown Los Angeles that is about to be re-opened. As victims start to fall and the opening date of the theater is approaching, the Mayor calls for detective O'Brien to track him down and put an end to his terror.
This action thriller, at times, plays like a pilot episode of a TV series. One of the key scenes even borders on becoming nonsensical, like Simon Moon's escape.
Billy Drago is miscast as Moon's doctor. Drago plays well as an antagonist: a psycho (FREEWAY) or a henchman (THE UNTOUCHABLES) or any other typically eccentric bad guy, but not a good doctor!
On the other hand, Jack O'Halloran (Non in Superman 2) portrayal of the Terror is menacing - he doesn't speak, only growls, and looks creepy.
The music, especially when the Terror strikes, performed by the same musician who scores Norris's CODE OF SILENCE is effective to create tension.
What sets this film apart from other Norris's films is that we get to see him act a lot more than he usually does. Norris is not a one-man army like his role in the MISSING IN ACTION trilogy. Here he tries to act and play more drama: he is a cop but a father-to-be and a sensitive lover too, which is shown in a scene when he has a romantic birthday dinner with his girlfriend and in another scene when he faints upon arriving at the hospital after hearing that his pregnant girlfriend is about to deliver.
Overall, this cop thriller is one of Norris's better films where fans can see more of his acting than just his fighting skills.