David Hess Movies

A grim discovery in the basement of a crumbling prison reformatory reveals a demonic secret that cuts to the very base of mankind's struggle against sin in this supernatural thriller starring Michael Berryman, Bill Moseley, Michael Dorn, Adrianne Curry, and Kevin McCarthy. Far beneath the west cellblock of a turn of the century prison lies a malevolent secret that has lain dormant for one hundred years - a sub-basement structure with only one entrance and one exit. When the skeletal remains of seven brutalized children are discovered inside, a special CSI team is quickly brought in to conduct a more thorough investigation. What they find may change the entire way mankind views the wages of sin, for there dwell seven fallen angels; each responsible for one of the deadly sins and each determined to show mankind just how many ways there are to pass from this mortal realm into the next. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It's been said that truth is stranger than fiction, and when a menacing copycat killer begins emulating the murderous exploits of the Zodiac Killer, the citizens of Los Angeles quickly find out that the truth is much more terrifying than fiction as well. It's been years since the Zodiac Killer stalked the streets of L.A., and in the years since those horrific crimes, the citizens have grown complacent in taking their safety for granted. Now, a mysterious killer is stalking the streets and picking up where the Zodiac Killer left off. Driven by madness and obsession, the murderous psychopath will stop at nothing to see that the spirit of the Zodiac Killer lives on, and until he is caught no one is safe in the streets of Los Angeles. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

To Heal a Nation is the true story of Jan Scruggs (Eric Roberts), a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. In 1979, Scruggs, employed by the US Department of Labor, becomes obsessed with the dream of erecting a monument to those who died in Vietnam. In pursuit of this dream, Scruggs and his fellow fundraisers run up against bureaucratic indifference and public hostility-not to mention the reservations of certain veterans who disapprove of the monument's "radical" design. On November 13, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is erected in Washington DC-an intensely emotional moment, vividly recreated by combining dramatizations with actual news footage. Originally presented as GE Theater TV production, To Heal a Nation debuted May 29, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran television writer-director Jerry Belson concocted this sweet comedy that stars Michael Caine as Sean Stein, a best-selling mystery novelist who's been constantly hurt by women he's fallen for. Sally Field plays Daisy Morgan, an artist who has not yet hit it big. She and Stein are at a museum party when a band of thieves arrive, tie up the guests, and proceed to pull off a heist. They are tied up together, which thrusts them into an unlikely romantic pairing. Because Daisy does not know who Stein is, he pretends that he, too, is a struggling artist. He distrusts women, because in the past, his ex-wife and other women pursued him solely for his money and fame. Steve Guttenberg and Peter Boyle play attorneys vying for Stein's money. Julie Kavner and Louise Lasser are among the fine supporting cast. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Dennis Hopper demonstrates how to manufacture and market a rock & roll riot of your very own in this offbeat German comedy-drama. Hopper plays Kenneth Barlow, a man who has spent most of his adult life in the music business. Barlow hit his peak as a road manager with the Rolling Stones, but things have been going downhill for him ever since. Barlow thinks he may just have found the new key to the big time in the form of Moody Moodinsky (Terrance Robay), a keyboard player who Barlow is pitching to the world as "White Star." Telling anyone who will listen that White Star and his music represent "the future," Barlow is willing to do practically anything to see that his client hits it big, including staging a riot, fabricating a death threat, forging a check from a record label, and selling off Moody's gear in order to pay for studio time. While White Star becomes increasingly wary of his manager, who is hovering on the edge of burnout, Barlow becomes more and more manic with each passing moment, determined that White Star is the future -- or at very least certain he doesn't have much of a future without him. Released in Europe as White Star (and filmed in English despite its German origins), the American edition of Let It Rock features footage of an altercation at a punk rock club (with a performance by the band T.S.O.L.) borrowed from the film Suburbia. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Wes Craven, who went on to fame as the force behind blockbuster horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, departed from his favorite genre to film this unique cult classic -- a spoof on the mad scientist movies of the 1950s. Adrienne Barbeau stars as Alice Cable, a government agent sent to replace a man who has disappeared while guarding a secret experimental lab in the middle of the Louisiana bayous. Dressed in heels and a skirt, Cable professes unease at her strange new surroundings, but she is soon wooed by Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise). Holland is working on a concoction that combines plant and animal cells. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) is the criminal mastermind who is trying to steal the secret recipe for the potion. When Arcane and his mercenaries break into the government camp, they kill Holland's sister Linda (Nannette Brown) and the scientist is accidentally doused with his own formula and bursts into flames, then dives into the swamp. Arcane's men pursue Cable, but she is rescued by a mysterious green man. It takes several rescues for her to understand that the Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) is Dr. Holland, transformed by his own formula. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The script for this true-life crime film by New German Cinema director Reinhard Hauff was written by the criminal, Burkhard Driest and is based on his autobiography of the same title. Driest also stars in the film as Nick Dellmann, a man who leaves prison after serving eight years and launches into writing a novel on his experiences. Everything is looking up for him when a former lover rekindles their romance and helps him get established as a writer. He runs into various characters from the literary and film world, some portrayed by real directors who will be recognized by the "in" film crowd. But then life veers off-course as a former friend from prison shows up and convinces Dellmann to reconsider the quick financial advantages of his old life of blackmail, kidnapping, and theft. Wavering between his new and old persona, Dellmann must make a major decision that will permanently affect his future. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Lee Marvin plays a CIA agent who lures a Soviet biological warfare expert aboard a European train in the hopes of murdering the expert, thus eliminating a world threat. Things go awry when the train is caught in an avalanche. ~ All Movie Guide

21 Hours at Munich is a grim reenactment of the darkest days of the 1972 Munich Olympics. A gang of eight Arab terrorists storm the Israeli dormitory, killing two and taking hostage nine athletes. The terrorist's demands include the release of 200 Arabs held in Israeli jails; Israel follows its standard policy in dealing with terrorism and refuses to capitulate. There can be only one way that this film will end, but the tragedy of the occasion is buoyed by isolated moments of inspirational heroism. William Holden and Franco Nero head the cast, while sportscaster Jim McKay, whose emotional coverage of the actual events has since become famous, narrates the film. 21 Hours at Munich first aired on November 7, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sasquatch-like creature terrorizes a small Arkansas town in this presumably fact-based docudrama from Charles Pierce. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide