Dave Payne Movies

London to Brighton marks writer/director Paul Andrew Williams' debut feature. Made in the tradition of such contemporary British crime dramas as Get Carter and Snatch, and adapted from Williams' celebrated short film Royalty, the picture opens with two women on the lam: middle-aged hooker Kelly (Lorraine Stanley), whose battered face discloses a recent thrashing, and the preteen Joanne (Georgia Groome). While the two board a train bound from London to Brighton in the middle of the night, the vile thug Stuart Allen (Sam Spruell) orders Kelly's pimp, Derek, to deliver the two women within 24 hours. Kelly, it seems, originally supplied Derek (Johnny Harris) with runaway Joanne to satisfy the request of a client, Duncan (Alexander Morton), for underage girls. Duncan later turned up dead, and now Kelly is a prime suspect. Nathan Constance and David Keeling co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

For once, a kid from the science club really does impress someone with his latest experiment, though it hardly works out the way he planned in this horror opus with a darkly comic undertow. Frank Stein (Matthew Lawrence) is a brilliant but geeky teenage outcast who wishes he could hang out with the cool kids and has a furious crush on Macy (Christine Lakin), the prettiest girl at school. Socially inept Frank isn't especially popular with his classmates, but there's one student who fares even worse -- Karl (Ryan Reynolds), a goth kid who is a magnet to bullies. One day, a gang of jocks decide to beat up Karl for fun, but they go too far and accidentally kill him. Frank, seeing an opportunity, decides to prove just how bright he is by bringing Karl back to life. Frank's peers are indeed impressed by the reanimated Karl (whose presence allows them to avoid murder charges), and Macy starts showing an encouraging interest in Frank, but there's one little problem -- Frank replaced Karl's damaged brain with one from a psychotic multiple murderer, and soon gloomy Karl is displaying an uncharacteristic thirst for violence. Also released under the title Big Monster on Campus, Boltneck also stars Judge Reinhold and Shelley Duvall. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two honest men discover how high the stakes can be when they turn against the law in this thriller. Nick Hollit (Jack Scalia) and Ray Ramirez (Eddie Velez) are a pair of police detectives who have played by the rules all their lives, but have little to show for it. Determined to make some big money once in their lives, Nick and Ray strike a deal with a man who brokers deals in illegal weapons. However, the setup turns sour when a meeting becomes a gun battle, and the arms dealer is killed. Nick and Ray manage to escape, but they soon discover the man who lost his life was actually an FBI agent who had set up the deal as part of an undercover operation. Nick and Ray think they may have gotten away clean until they're put in charge of the investigation into the killing; covering up the trail of evidence that would implicate them turns out to be more difficult than they imagined, and soon leads them into a very dangerous situation. Also released as Under Oath and Blood Money, Urban Justice also stars James Russo and Richard Lynch. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bored Anita (Joanna Pacula) wants to escape small-town life but finds herself stuck in the middle of nowhere until her scientist husband finishes his research in a local swamp. Thus, Anita is understandably thrilled when brother and sister John and Janet Jones move to town and make life interesting; although John is a bit of a nutter, his sister is fun and lively, and she and Anita become fast friends. Unfortunately, things get weird and bodies start piling up, and Anita begins to suspect that maybe her new pal isn't who she claims to be. Paul Bartel and Annabelle Gurwitch co-star. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Young lovers accused of robbing stores and killing their owners flee across the West. Their ordeal begins after Keli (Amy Locane) has a fight with her mother and takes off. Seeing Rafe (Kevin Dillon) thumbing a ride, and not realizing that he has just robbed a gas station, she decides to pick him up. Something clicks between them and after a bottle of wine and a bout of lovemaking they become a couple. The only dark moment comes when Keli discovers a gun underneath Rafe's pillow. She soon learns that he is indeed a robber, but that he has only been stealing drug money from crooked merchants. When the news announces that he is also wanted for killing the storekeepers, the couple realize that they are in big trouble and take off. They are pursued by two FBI men, both of whom have sinister ulterior motives for catching Rafe and Keli before any other law-enforcement personnel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide