Stephen Johnston Movies

The son of a powerful police commissioner, uniformed officer Philip Gammon (Casper Van Dien) is secretly in charge of the Vigilantes, an illegal band of fellow cops whose mission in life is to track down and kill all known drug dealers. Inevitably, the Vigilantes become drunk with their own power, using their vendetta as an excuse to extort money from innocent bystanders, and to knock off anyone who learns too much about their covert operation. Rookie cop Kathryn Shaunessy (Sherilyn Fenn), herself the daughter of a legendary lawkeeper, gets wind of Gammon's activities and publicly exposes him and his cronies. Inevitably, the Vigilantes swear vengeance against Kathryn and her family -- and with so many corrupt cops on the force (not to mention a hostile public who thinks of the Vigilantes as folk heroes!), to whom can she turn for protection? Assassin in Blue was telecast on cable's Lifetime network as Officer Down on August 1, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A real-life series of killings that held Los Angeles, CA, in the grip of fear during the late '70s provides the inspiration for this tense crime drama. Kenneth Bianchi (C. Thomas Howell) is a nebbishy security guard who lives with his mother in Rochester, NY, and dreams of becoming a police officer. After Bianchi's application to join the Rochester police is turned town, he takes his mother's advice and moves out to Glendale, CA, where she arranges for him to stay with his cousin, Angelo Buono (Nicholas Turturro), who works in auto repair. When he's unable to get a position with the Glendale Police Department, Bianchi steps outside the law and, claiming to have a degree in psychology and a license to practice, sets up shop as a counselor. While Bianchi never had much luck with women in Rochester, Buono gives him some advice and sets him up on a few dates; soon Bianchi has a string of girlfriends, though things become complicated when one of his steady girls, Claire Shelton (Allison Lange), becomes pregnant and moves in with him. As Bianchi becomes increasingly obsessed with sex, he and his cousin join forces to set up a prostitution ring, which quickly earns them the enmity of a group of career criminals. When Bianchi and Buono discover that they have been double crossed by one of the hookers in their stable, the two men rape and murder the woman in the back of a car; Bianchi discovers he enjoys the thrill of killing, and soon he and Buono begin committing a string of sexually tinged murders throughout the Los Angeles area, with the press soon dubbing the culprit "The Hillside Strangler." The Hillside Strangler was one of two identically titled films based on the same true story that were released in 2004; the other was directed by Chris Fisher and starred Clifton Collins Jr. and Tomas Arana as Bianchi and Buono. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

By day, Ed Gein was a quiet man who kept watch over the farm left to him by his late mother in Plainfield, a small rural community in Wisconsin. But by night, Gein was one of the most bizarre and dangerous psychopaths in recorded history. Raised by a violent alcoholic father and a mother with an obsessive fear of sin and hatred of sex, Gein had very few friends, and after the death of his parents, Gein was left to his own devices on the family farm (where, under a government subsidy program, he was paid not to grow crops), and his unhealthy obsessions eventually became ugly realities. Gein's crimes included murder, necrophilia, cannibalism, and grave robbing, with Gein using the flesh and bones of his victims to construct household objects, including a suit and mask made from human skin that Gein used when he wanted to dress up as a woman (it's been suggested that some of Gein's crimes stemmed from a twisted attempt to deal with his desire to change his gender). In 1957, two murders committed by Gein attracted the attention of the police, leading to Gein's arrest; near the end of that year, he was declared criminally insane and was committed for life to Wisconsin's Waupan State Hospital, where he stayed until his death in 1984. Gein's grisly story inspired a number of horror films, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Deranged, but Ed Gein is the first feature based strictly on the facts of Gein's case, using his real name as well as those of most of his victims. Ed Gein stars Steve Railsback in the title role, with Carrie Snodgrass as his mother Augusta, and Sally Champlin and Carol Mansell as two of his victims. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This Canadian family drama follows a yuppie couple as they try to reclaim their hippy idealism to save the life of their young son. Andy and Jayne Blake used to be hippies. Now they are living the yuppie dream in suburban Vancouver. They have two kids and great jobs. When their son Max is given six months to live after being diagnosed with a rare immune disorder that may have been caused by environmental toxins, Andy and his family escape to rural British Columbia where they buy a farm. As Andy reaches back into his past for natural cures and his old idealism, he becomes increasingly fanatical. Jayne who is unsure about all these changes, tries to help him find a balance. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi