Mark Acheson Movies

Dario Argento's contribution to the first season of Showtime's Masters of Horror, Jenifer is based on a story by Bruce Jones which appeared in Creepy Magazine and illustrated by the legendary Berni Wrightson. Steven Weber, who wrote the script, also stars in the episode as Frank, a depressive cop who has a life-changing encounter one fateful afternoon. He comes upon a man (Kevin Crofton) brandishing a meat cleaver, who looks like he is about to murder a young woman. When Frank draws his gun and orders the man to stop, the man refuses. "You don't know what she is," he tells Frank, pleadingly. "You have no idea." Frank is forced to shoot the man to save the young woman (Carrie Fleming), who turns out to be hideously deformed from the neck up. She also can't speak, but appears very grateful to Frank. Frank goes home to his wife, Ruby (Brenda James), and his son, Pete (Harris Allan), but he can't get the deformed woman off his mind. The next morning, he finds out that the dead man's family won't claim him, and that he had a note that read "Jenifer" in his pocket. He finds out the woman was brought to the mental hospital at Watkins Island. He goes to visit her, and when she sees him, she races out of the shower to tearfully embrace him. Unable to leave her in such a place, he brings her home. Ruby is horrified, and Pete is inappropriately amused. "She's awesome," he exults. "She's got a great rack...for a Morlock." Threatened, Jenifer bites Ruby and runs out of the house. Still, Frank cannot get past his obsession with her, and things only get worse when she eats the family cat. But Frank strangely finds himself willing to sacrifice everything to protect the strange girl. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Vin Diesel returns as the nocturnally gifted antihero Riddick in this sequel to the 2000 cult item Pitch Black. Riddick, on the run from the law and evading mercenaries eager to claim the price on his head, seeks refuge on the planet of Helion, only to discover he's walked into a world in chaos. Helion has been seized by the Lord Marshall (Colm Feore), leader of the Necromongers, a race of bloodthirsty warriors determined to wipe out humanity throughout the universe. Aereon (Judi Dench), leader of Helion's "elementals," pleads with Riddick to join them in their fight for survival; Riddick agrees, hoping to fill out some of the blank chapters in his history along the way. As he plots his battle strategy against the Necromongers, Riddick becomes reacquainted with Kyra (Alexa Davalos), whom he knew as a girl but has since grown into a strong and beautiful woman eager to join him in the fight against the Lord Marshall. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A burglar looking to make time with a beautiful woman after five years in prison falls into a dangerous trap in this action drama. Rudy (Ben Affleck) is serving time in prison for auto theft, where he becomes friendly with his cellmate Nick (James Frain). Nick has been enjoying a spicy courtship by mail with a woman named Ashley (Charlize Theron), who has sent him several enticing photos, even though he has been unable to send her any of himself. Rudy and Nick are to be released the same day, but Nick is killed in an altercation with only three days left to serve. Rudy is let out on schedule, and discovers Ashley, unaware that Nick is dead, is waiting for him. Swayed by her beauty, Rudy claims to be Nick, which turn out to be fun until Rudy meets Ashley's brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise). Gabriel runs with a group of outlaws planning on using Nick's knowledge of an Indian gambling casino in Michigan where he once worked in order to stage a massive robbery on Christmas Eve. Rudy soon realizes if keeps on being Nick, he gets to stay with Ashley, but he'll also have to go along with Gabriel's robbery, which could easily land him back in prison -- or get him killed. Clarence Williams III, Danny Trejo and Donal Logue play Gabriel's henchmen; Dennis Farina, Isaac Hayes, and Ashton Kutcher also highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jack Scalia and Stepfanie Kramer star in this psychological thriller about Karen (Stepfanie Kramer),a photojournalist who witnesses the brutal murder of a cop while covering a police raid. She makes the acquaintance of Vince (Jack Scalia), partner to the police officer who was killed. She becomes emotionally involved with him as he continues to investigate the case, but she comes to the realization he is not all that he seems to be after her daughter is kidnapped. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Killer is writer-director Mark Malone's offbeat noir fantasy about Mick (Anthony LaPaglia), an alienated, existential hit-man with a secret, romantic streak which leads him into tragedy. Mick is troubled by his desire to murder a call-girl because she failed to excite him, and he confides in mob boss George (Peter Boyle). George offers to set Mick up with a prominent psychiatrist if he first makes a hit on an upscale lady who has stolen money from the mob. Mick's pal Archie (Matt Craven) wants to join him, and Mick reluctantly agrees even though Archie's cowardice in a previous hit nearly cost George and Mick their lives. When Mick arrives to carry out the hit, to his surprise, he finds his victim expecting him. Elegant, cool Fiona (Mimi Rogers), asks a great many questions about Mick, learns a great deal and they engage in some mild sadomasochistic sex. Archie too becomes Fiona's confident, telling her of his botched hit and his troubled relationship with Mick. The film's conclusion is unusual and surprising, with dense and subtle performances by the entire cast. Malone is a confident and inventive director whose use of lighting and sound is smoothly impressive. But unlike many directors, Malone never allows this technique to interfere with the performances of his actors. Killer was well-received by critics, but failed to find an a well-deserved audience until it was released on video. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This final installment in the Look Who's Talking trilogy is a combination of Make Room For Daddy and The Lady and the Tramp. In the six years since the original Look Who's Talking, Mikey and Julie are now old enough to speak for themselves, so the producers came up with a new gimmick -- talking dogs. The Ubriacco family adopts two surly dogs, Rocks (the voice of Danny DeVito), a street-smart mongrel, and Daphne (voice of Diane Keaton), a snobbish pure bred poodle. The story kicks in with Christmas rapidly approaching and Molly (Kirstie Alley) out of a job. Because of this, her husband James (John Travolta) must work doubly hard to impress his new boss, Samantha (Lysette Anthony). But Samantha, it seems, has hired James for more than what appears in his job description. Samantha contrives a plan to get James to her cabin in the North Woods on Christmas Eve, where she plans to seduce him. James' family races to rescue him from the snowbound cabin, but when their taxi skids off the snow-covered road, it is left to the primal instincts of Rocks and Daphne to save the day. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this drama a woman suffers terribly after she finally admits having an affair with her married doctor. Her husband does not accept the news gracefully and trouble ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide