Jack's Back (1988)

[trekgeezer]

Bad title , pretty good movie.

It's 100 years after the Jack the Ripper murders and someone is going around L.A. recreating them on their exact dates  in the exact way they were committed.

 Enter John Westford(James Spader) an M.D.  doing his residency at a free clinic , he's a socially conscious guy who is a big defender of the homeless.  He arrives af the clinic late and witnesses the doctor  preaching to a prostitute about taking care of her unborn child (this is the date of the last Ripper murder, which was a pregnant woman alone in her room). Spader recognizes her as someone he dated in high school , so later  he goes to her place to talk, but doesn't know that a guy (a big guy) that works at the clinic has come over to give her an abortion.  When Spader arrives he sees big guy arriving and follows him in . The girl is laying across the bed with  her throat cut., he sees big guy, big guy pushes him onto the girl and runs.  Spader pursues him after telling the neighbor to call the police.

They end up at the free clinic  and while Spader is calling the police, big guy attacks and strangles him, then sets it up to look like he hanged himself.  The next scene threw me at first, we see Spader wake up  suddenly like he had just had a nightmare. You quickly find out that this is not John Westford, but his bad boy twin  Rick. Seems he saw what happened to his brother through that twin psychic link thing. The cops at first buy the suicide and think John did the murders and took his own life out of guilt , but when friends provide an alibli for him they turn their attention to Rick.

This is a pretty good little thriller, not the best but well worth a watch.  It has enough twists and turns to keep you interested.  Cynthia Gibb stars as the female lead who helps Rick track the killer and Robert Picardo does a good turn as the police pyschologtist.

This is a little gem I had not heard of  before, but I caught it last night on IFC's Pulp Cinema.



Post Edited (03-20-05 09:45)

[The Burgomaster]

I saw this on VHS back in the late 1980s and I thought it was pretty good.  I don't remember much about it other than a scene that involved someone being hanged (inside a house or an apartment, I think????).  I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

[Yaddo 42]

For some reason I used to get this and the James Spader/Rob Lowe film "Bad Influence mixed up, even though they have little in common other than Spader. I think I saw them back to back on TV way too late one night.

I liked this at the time, but have to admit the twin thing threw me the first time. Haven't seen it in years, wonder if it holds up?