Brian Taylor Movies

Gerald McRaney flies in the face of his likeable Simon and Simon image in the made-for-TV Easy Prey. McRaney plays real-life serial rapist/murderer Christopher Wilder who, in early 1984, abducted a teenaged girl from a California shopping mall. Repeatedly assaulting the girl and keeping her quiet with threats of death, Wilder forced her to accompany him on a crime spree that ranged from one end of the country to another. Shawnee Smith is excellent as Wilder's terrified victim. Filmed in Canada, Easy Prey was first aired on October 26, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Walter Hill's hip, super-stylized action film unfurls in a dystopian near-future, when various gangs control New York City. Each gang sports a unique moniker ('The Warriors,' 'The Baseball Furies,' 'The Rogues'), with a costume underscoring its "theme"; each, in turn, is also responsible for one geographic area. Hill sets up the landscape as a massive, violent playground - replete with bridges, vacant subway tunnels, parks, abandoned buildings and the like, all ripe for exploration and adventure. As the tale opens, the titular Coney Island has traveled to the Bronx to attend a city-wide meeting of all gangs; at that event, however, the psychotic leader of a rival gang, The Rogues (David Patrick Kelly of Dreamscape) assassinates the head of the city's foremost gang, but The Warriors are pegged as culpable. This sends the gang fleeing through the labyrinthine city. With every thug in Manhattan in vicious, homicidal pursuit, they must also overcome all obstacles in their way. Throughout, Hill keeps the onscreen violence absurd, exaggerated and unrealistic, downplaying death to an extreme degree; despite this fact, the film sparked a massive amount of controversy and an ugly backlash for allegedly inciting violence and destruction in several theaters where it initially played. James Remar, Michael Beck and Deborah Van Valkenburgh lead the ensemble cast. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

An embezzlement scheme is pinned on an unlikely suspect who works to locate the real criminal in this crime comedy. ~ Rovi

In this spooky thriller, a young couple is harassed by a vengeful mental patient who has recently been released from the hospital. The psychopathic fellow is out for revenge against the woman whom he attacked years before when she was a school girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Fate Takes a Hand is a throwback to the British "portmanteau" films of the 1950s. One solitary incident leads to ramifications for several different people, whose triumphs or travails are dealt with individually. In this instance, the catalyst is a mailbag, which pops up after a 15-year disappearance. The letters are finally mailed, with a variety of results for five of the mail-ees. Fate Takes a Hand didn't get much play in the US, but its basic premise was good for at least two made-for-TV movies in the 1970s, The Letters (73) and Letters From Three Lovers (73). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this crime drama, an FBI agent and a vengeful sister pursue diamond thieves who pulled their latest caper by placing a time-bomb aboard a plane piloted by the woman's brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

An innocent young woman is falsely accused of robbery and sent to a hellish reform school in this socially conscious prison drama. There the woman is tormented by a ruthless matron who treats her charges like POWs. Meanwhile, the inmate struggles to escape so she can prove herself innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this wartime drama, a band of soldiers prefer to drink, steal, and leave the army to fighting. They change their tunes when they are assigned a suicide mission. Their brave commanding officer leads the men to successfully blow up an important bridge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this crime drama, a prominent doctor marries a wealthy young woman. Their happiness is marred when a French woman begins blackmailing him with her claims that they are still married. Her actions cause an investigation and it is revealed that he'd been involved in the underground. As a result, his life is nearly destroyed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Lawyer Vincent Ball investigates a drug-smuggling ring. Aiding Ball every step of the way is above-reproach probation officer Robert Cawdron. Imagine the lawyer's dismay when he learns that Cawdron is the brains behind the drug operation. The 55-minute Feet of Clay was produced by the Danzingers, American filmmakers long entrenched in Great Britain. The film was distributed to British neighborhood houses by the London arm of Hollywood's United Artists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this crime drama, an unemployed thespian gets a job as an escort-protector and winds up framed for murder after one of his wealthy clients is killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi