Katie Wright
In this psychological thriller, Sarah (Katie Wright) is a young women from England studying art in San Francisco who has started dating Chris (Allen Cutler), a fellow student. Sarah's next door neighbor is Matthew (Jeff Fahey), a violent lunatic malignly obsessed with Sylvie (Emmanuelle Vaugier), an exotic dancer who moonlights as a model at Sarah's art school. As Matthew begins cutting a bloody swath through the Bay Area in an effort to satisfy his lust for violence, Sarah begins noticing a disturbing connection between her art and the victims of Matthew's crimes; as she sculpts characters that appear in her imagination, identical people fall to a serial killer. The Demon Within (aka The Sculptress) also stars Patrick Bauchau as Professor Giraud, one of Sarah's instructors, and Vivis Colombetti as Madame Cleo, a psychic who sees dire events in her future. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Fahey, Patrick Bauchau, (more)
Teenage burnouts and post-modern slasher films are both raked over the satiric coals in the blood-soaked comedy Idle Hands. Anton (Devon Sawa) is a cheerful but exceedingly non-ambitious 17-year-old stoner who lives to stay buzzed, watch TV, and moon over Molly (Jessica Alba), the beautiful girl who lives next door. However, it turns out that the old cliché about idle hands being the devil's playground has a kernel of truth after all; there's a demonic beast living in his house that has already decapitated Anton's mom and dad (though it takes him a while to notice), and now the Dark Lord Himself has taken possession of Anton's right hand. Before he's entirely aware of what's happening, Anton's demon hand has killed his two best friends, Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), though both come back as zombies to keep Anton company. Can Randy (Jack Noseworthy), local metalhead and expert on all things Satanic, figure out what the Evil One has planned next for Anton's digits? Will traveling demon slayer Debi (Vivica A. Fox) vanquish the possessed in time? And most important, will Anton get to go to the big dance with Molly before his hand starts causing trouble again? Director Rodman Flender certainly knows the genres he parodies here; he cut his teeth in horror working for exploitation legend Roger Corman and directed the film Bloody Mutilators as well as episodes of the TV series Tales From The Crypt, while more recently he immersed himself in teenage culture directing episodes of the TV series Party of Five and Dawson's Creek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Devon Sawa, Seth Green, (more)
Would-be actor Danny Reilly (Dean Paras), living in Hollywood, can't help but lie to women to get them into bed. But he's finally met his match in lovely Corey (Katie Wright), yet can't turn off his urge to fudge the truth, even when the woman of his dreams demands complete honesty. Not helping matters is Renee (Neve Campbell), a former girlfriend, now a movie star, who is obsessed with ruining Danny's life by poisoning new relationships. And then there's Tim (Stefan Brogren), Danny's roommate, who isn't gay after all but who also has the hots for Corey. And then Danny meets -- and is caught with -- fast-acting Jennifer (Rebecca Gayheart), even though it's not what it looks like. Or is it? ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Paras, Katie Wright, (more)
- 1997
Inspired by the book Black Like Me, in which a white reporter poses as a black man, Cory decides to write a school newspaper article on sexual harrassment--and in order to research the subject, he intends to disguise himself as a girl! Somehow or other, it is Shawn (Rider Strong) who ends up donning a wig and skirt and going out into the dating world as "Veronica Wasboyski"--and needless to say, he gets more "research" than he bargained for. Elsewhere, Eric (Will Friedle) tries to acclimate mountain-gal Lonnie (Jen Campbell) to the Big City. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An angry and unstable youth lashes out against the school he believes has destroyed his future in this made-for-TV drama inspired by a true story. Jason Copeland (Rick Schroder) is a teenager teetering on the edge of emotional collapse; he was kicked out of high school for poor grades, he hasn't been able to find a job, and living at home with his bitter and demanding mother has become intolerable. One day, Jason snaps and decides to take revenge against the teachers who he believes ruined his life. He grabs a couple of guns and a stockpile of ammunition and invades his old high school, killing several teachers and students and then taking 62 kids hostage. Among the students being held at gun point are Aaron (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a bright but rebellious student who is having his own problems at school, and Samantha (Katie Wright), whose father is a deputy with the local police department. As Skip Fine (Henry Winkler), generally regarded as less than the brightest penny in the local police force but the only one with training in hostage negotiation, tries to talk Jason out of taking any more lives, Aaron and Samantha try to convince Jason from the inside that letting the students go and giving himself up would be the best thing to do. Hostage High was originally screened on American television under the title Detention: The Siege at Johnson High. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
An unhinged city dweller becomes a vigilante as he tries to protect a troubled teenager. The fellow is Ernest, who came to LA in search of his fortune and who ends up addicted to coke and managing a pornographic video store. When he makes an awkward play for the boss's daughter, he loses his job. Unable to deal with it, he becomes really unstable. He murders his drug dealer and then becomes friends with the teen Christiane who is trying to cope with a stepfather who molests her and a mother who doesn't care. Ernest takes Christiane away from home and then helps her try to find her long-lost sister. Along the way he makes sure that anyone who ever harmed her is made to pay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Small-town police in Oregon launch a massive search after a multi-millionaire's daughter disappears. She is found and claims to have been kidnapped, but one of her abductors presents compelling evidence in court that she may have partially engineered the incident as a way of breaking away from her tyrannical father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katie Wright, Lucie Arnaz, (more)
- 1996
In this drama, two young women, desperate to be fashion-model thin, make an inadvertently deadly pact to lose weight. When one of the girls takes their promise too far, her mother must fight to save her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynda Carter, Katie Wright, (more)
- 1996
Old feelings of hurt and betrayal resurface and renew a bitter rift between two long-time girlfriends when one learns that the other seduced her 18-year-old son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Lawrence, Harley Jane Kozak, (more)
Arguably the least successful of the many feature film spin-offs of Saturday Night Live television sketch characters, this comedy barely won a quick theatrical release. Julia Sweeney stars as the titular Pat Riley, an obnoxious, drooling nerd of mind-boggling androgyny. Pat is also a bit of a klutz, which leads to his/her dismissal from a range of workplaces, including a sushi bar and the United States Postal Service. As a next door neighbor, Kyle (Charles Rocket), becomes obsessed with distinguishing Pat's gender, even to the point of seducing Pat and stealing his/her diary, things begin looking up for the plucky hero/heroine. Pat meets a significant other, the equally sexless "Chris" (Dave Foley), gets engaged, and wins fame and success as a frank radio talk-show host. The real-life rock band Ween also plays a significant role in Pat's misadventures, casting him/her in a rock video after catching Pat's cringe-inducing musical performance on the TV show "America's Creepiest People." Despite a rumored rewrite of the script by Sweeney's hip longtime friend Quentin Tarantino, the film was considered one of the year's biggest turkeys. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Sweeney, Dave Foley, (more)
- 1994
In this Australian romance, a teenage girl falls in love over the phone and finds the courage to pursue her dreams. The film is set in Albury an area fraught with teenagers from wealthy families. Shy young Lex has a crush on Dai, who is taken. He cannot talk to her in person and so one night gives her a call. He calls again. And again. Each time their calls get longer and more romantic. Lex is very supportive and helps her after she considers suicide. It is Lex that encourages her to defy her domineering father and enroll in a design course. The two do not actually meet until the final scene. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angus Benfield, Fiona MacGregor, (more)
