Chad Hayes

Her faith shaken by a family tragedy from which she was never quite able to fully recover, a professor of theology from Louisiana State University moonlighting as a debunker of unexplained religious phenomena finds herself faced with an apocalyptic series of events that seem to reflect the ten plagues of Exodus in director Stephen Hopkins' Southern gothic chiller. The terrified citizens of Haven, LA, have been beset by swarms of locusts and watched as rivers turned to blood. As if that wasn't enough to put the fear of God into any Bible-reading Christian, ominous rumors of a local swamp cult have left many of the small-town citizens turning to prayer for fear that the end is finally nigh. Enter Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank), a skeptical myth-buster and renowned theology scholar with a special knack for spotting religious trickery. Though at first exceedingly confident that she will uncover a human component behind the otherworldly occurrences, Katherine quickly learns that just because one doesn't believe in the supernatural doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

First Shot is the third in a series of cable TV movies focusing on fearless female Secret Service agent Alex McGregor (Mariel Hemingway), following First Daughter and First Target. Newly promoted to head of Secret Service in Washington, Alex is determined to safeguard the President (Gregory Harrison) from a militia rebel group that has already killed 40 soldiers in a domestic terrorist attack. But until her husband, Grant (Doug Savant), is kidnapped, Alex is unaware that she, too, is on the terrorists' "hit list" -- and that she is already in the cross-hairs of a fanatical sharpshooter (Dean Wray). First Shot debuted August 11, 2002, on the TBS Superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A federal agent is demoted to a less challenging assignment, only to have it become the most dangerous mission of her life in this action-thriller. Alex McGregor (Mariel Hemingway) is a Secret Service agent who once guarded the President of the United States, Jonathan Hayes (Gregory Harrison). But after a series of misunderstandings following an attempt on the President's life, McGregor has been reassigned to oversee security for Hayes' teenaged daughter, Jess (Monica Keena). Jess has been chafing under the pressures of having a team of agents following her everywhere, so when she makes plans to go on a white-water rafting trip, the President requests a minimal compliment of Secret Service agents. This proves to be a mistake when Jess and her companions are kidnapped by a gang of right-wing terrorists. McGregor is forced to join forces with scruffy wilderness guide Grant Carlson (Doug Savant) in order to find Jess and return her to safety. Though set in the United States, First Daughter was shot in Australia, and had its premier on American television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This interesting genre-jumping sci-fi/horror film plays much like a low-budget derivative of Alien and The Thing with a clever occult twist. The story takes place in lunar orbit, where a maintenance spaceship becomes marooned after a mysterious accident. Cut off from Earth contact and rapidly losing power, they encounter another derelict craft and its dead, mutilated occupant. They board the other ship to draw on its power plant, taking the corpse aboard for study, and soon discover that the ship was part of the U.S. Discovery program, reported lost after splashdown in the Bermuda Triangle -- at a point in direct line with the moon's dark side. Unfortunately for the crew, the significance of this correlation is discovered too late, as the evil force residing within the dead spaceman's body emerges to take possession of the crew's souls. This leads to a confusing game of "musical souls" as the paranoid survivors turn on each other, never sure which of them is acting under demonic influence. Although not particularly an original concept, this is still a very tense, nightmarish film, with high production values, claustrophobic atmosphere and some nail-biting moments. The filmmakers' attempts to communicate the crew's increasing confusion and paranoia are quite effective, though things go a bit overboard at the climax. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

LA cop Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), whose wife has recently died, is a loose cannon with a seeming death wish. This makes him indispensable in collaring dangerous criminals, but a liability to any potential partners. Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a conservative family man who wants to stay alive for his upcoming 50th birthday, is partnered with Riggs. As Riggs gets to know Murtaugh and his family, he begins to mellow, though his insistence on using guerilla tactics to catch criminals is still (put mildly) above and beyond the call of duty. The main villain is The General (Mitchell Ryan), a drug dealer responsible for the death of the daughter of one of Murtaugh's oldest friends. The General is also in charge of a deadly, militia-like gang of smugglers. Adding fuel to the fire is The General's chief henchman, played with all stops out by Gary Busey. Moviegoers familiar only with the relatively tongue-in-cheek Lethal Weapon sequels may be amazed to find out how dangerous and unpredictable Riggs is in the first Lethal Weapon -- and how likely it seems that Murtaugh might not survive until fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide