Review of Hard (1998) by Steve E — 23 Feb 2009

SPOILERS AHEAD! This is a captivating Thriller, even though it's obviously not a big budget film, you can tell by the music score, which lacks the touch of a good film composer, and not enough filling, and sounds somewhat consumer quality level, not high-end.

But still the score is acceptable. Also we don't see many of the pickups, and the killings happening. It would have been even more engaging had we seen more thoroughly the gay Hollywood scene, outdoors/indoors, night/day, a packed club late at night.

But I guess the budget couldn't allow it. And all of the victims except for one sounded like real pussies, specially the first victim, never even put up a fight. Is that how gay or gay-curious men all sound when they're scared ? I know some gays sound just like that, but not all gays are pussycats, as detective Raymond here proves.

Although Palomaria is not your typical pretty boy, he gives a fine performance, so does Moorman. And the rest of the cast does a decent job too. Many details in the movie are based on real facts, and having read a number of True-Crime paperbacks, and studied serial killers, I can tell you that this movie is very realistic, and is based on real cases, even though there is no message at the beginning of the movie that says so.

This film reminded me of two infamous high profile cases in Los Angeles in the 70's. The film shares some similarities with these cases. The only parts in the movie that lacked realism and was hard to swallow, was when Jack frees one victim, and also when he gives out a clue to his whereabouts that could ultimately get him caught.

At the very end of the movie, we see Jack again picking up an unsuspecting hitchhiker, this adds realism and shows how elusive these killers are, and really adds a nice spooky touch to end this film. And I must applaud the director and both Moorman and Palomaria for their boldness in getting naked and doing the lovemaking scene, and touching on the delicate subject of gay bashing and ostracising in police departments.

It's too bad this film didn't get a bigger budget and wasn't developed more, it had the backbone to become a masterpiece, but instead it may unfortunately become forgotten. It should be listed as a cult type movie, if it isn't already.

It lies in obscurity just waiting for you to discover it. Don't expect a big Hollywood movie with all the bells and whistles. It's a low-budget film, but an intelligent one, and quite good if you're into these kinds of movies.