Brad Dourif Movies
Brad Dourif is a quirky character actor whose gallery of killers, sociopaths, and other lost souls brought to life any number of contemporary horror and science fiction projects. Born March 18, 1950, in Huntington, WV, he began his professional acting career after graduating from college, honing his skills during a three-year apprenticeship with New York's Circle Repertory under the celebrated drama coach Sanford Meisner. While appearing off-Broadway in a production of When You Comin' Back, Red Rider?, Dourif was spotted by director Milos Forman, who immediately cast him in his 1975 film adaptation of the Ken Kesey novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Dourif's turn as a suicidal teen asylum inmate was one of the most acclaimed film debuts in memory, earning a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe as well as an Oscar nomination. However, the performance also typecast him as a talent best suited to idiosyncratic, off-center character roles, a straitjacket he remained unable to break from for the duration of his career. He then did not reappear onscreen for another two years before co-starring in the 1977 West German production Gruppenbild mit Dame.Dourif's next major performance came in the 1978 Irvin Kershner thriller The Eyes of Laura Mars, followed by a superb starring turn as a damaged war veteran in John Huston's Wise Blood. Upon completing a supporting role in the 1980 television film Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones, Dourif next surfaced in Michael Cimino's legendary flop Heaven's Gate, the first in a string of big-budget disasters to which the actor was attached including Forman's Ragtime and David Lynch's Dune. A series of low-budget projects followed before Dourif reunited with Lynch for a small role in the director's 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet. However, no other offers of a similar caliber were immediately forthcoming, and instead he found himself providing the voice of the evil doll Chuckie in the Child's Play series of slasher movies. In the years which followed, Dourif occasionally reappeared in more substantial projects (including the 1988 Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, the 1990 Ken Loach picture Hidden Agenda, and Hanif Kureishi's 1991 directorial debut London Kills Me), but he remained primarily confined to low-budget genre work; additionally, he often guest starred on television, appearing in series including The X-Files, Millennium, and Star Trek: Voyager. In 2001, Dourif took a break from low-budget fright flicks to appear in a decidedly more enormous production, director Peter Jackson's eagerly anticipated Lord of the Rings trilogy. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
In this horror outing, a secret government experiment produces a man capable of using his mental powers to start fires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this suspenseful drama, a bereaved bricklayer vows to avenge the brutal murder of his parents. The killer is brought in, but is not given the death penalty. The young man then decides to take matters into his own hands. He oversteps the law and eventually begins to question his actions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The citizens of Cabot Cove are terrified by the arrival of young Irene Terhune (Julian Donald), an apparent practitioner of black magic. Rumors are rife that Irene is actually the ghost of Annie Gorman, a local witch who had supposedly died centuries ago. Inevitably, murder rears it ugly head and Irene (or Annie) is held responsible, but Jessica (Angela Lansbury) refuses to hum along with the old song "It's Witchcraft." And yes, that's future political satirist Bill Maher in the role of Rick Rivers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In exchange for clearing Duell McCall's name, the cowboy's assistance is needed in locating the murderer of the sheriff's wife. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this police drama, a rookie cop finds his idealism nearly destroyed when he discovers that most of the officers in his new precinct are corrupt. This is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
An entertaining hybrid of Amicus-style horror anthology and gritty low-budget western, this first-time effort from writer-director Wayne Coe succeeds where many such genre-bending attempts have failed. The quartet of uneven but well-mounted stories are spun around a desert campfire by grizzled, menacing bounty hunter Morrison (a rousingly hammy James Earl Jones) and wet-behind-the-ears city slicker Farley (Brad Dourif). Morrison starts off with the tale of an Indian tribe's ritual revenge against the drunken cracker who desecrates their sacred burial ground; When Farley seems interested but unfazed, Morrison follows up with the more visceral story of a Good Samaritan who succumbs to temptation while rendering aid to a pregnant woman, leading to a particularly disgusting (though definitely original) demise. Appalled by the storyteller's lack of taste, Farley counters with a down-to-earth morality tale involving a prairie settler's young daughter who witnesses her father's horrifying act of hate, realizing that the man she trusted with her life is a very human breed of monster. Morrison acknowledges his companion's skill but offers another violent story according to his own idiom -- that of a slick gunfighter who gets his comeuppance by his own hand after winning a deadly competition. The stories feature fine acting and direction but are ultimately overshadowed by the engaging framing story and lack much of the dramatic payoff of their earlier British counterparts. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, (more)
- 1988
- R
The story contained in this bizarre psychological drama/horror movie adds a new dimension to the term "dysfunctional family." It is set in a small town in New Mexico and is told through the eyes of "Sonny Boy," a horribly abused child who was raised by the brutal giant Slue, who rules Harmony with an iron fist and makes his money stealing and fencing televisions. Slue's "wife" and fellow gang member is the cross-dresser Pearl. They get Sonny Boy after their fellow gang-mate Weasel botches a car theft and kills the owners. He brings the car back and that's when they find the baby, whom Slue would have fed to the hogs had not Pearl begged him to let him raise the child. The kid might have been better off dead, for Slue constantly tortures the boy and even sets him afire one day. When not "toughening the boy up," Slue keeps him in a water tower and only feeds him live chickens to give him a craving for fresh blood. Seventeen years pass in this way. One day, Slue gets angry with the town mayor, loads Sonny in an ice cream truck and takes him to visit the town leader. Sonny Boy rushes in and bites the hapless mayor in the neck. From then on, Slue uses the poor teen to terrorize the town. One day, he leaves the boy briefly in a bar where Sonny meets seductive Sandy and is attracted to her. Had Slue not cut out his tongue, to keep Sonny from telling secrets to the police, he would have talked to the girl. Later Slue goes off on a business trip and Weasel and another take Sonny Boy out to kill a prospector for his gold. This is the final straw and the townsfolk finally retaliate. Sonny Boy survives the ensuing massacre and for the first time in his life is given a chance for normalcy and maybe even happiness. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Paul L. Smith, (more)
Child's Play seems to have been concocted by a parent who went berserk after standing in line for hours on end to purchase a Cabbage Patch doll in the early 1980s. The film opens with serial killer Brad Dourif taking refuge in a doll factory. Dourif is killed by the cops, but not before he has invoked a voodoo curse which transfers his soul into one of the dolls. That particular doll, nicknamed Chuckie, is unwittingly purchased by Catherine Hicks for her son Alex Vincent. Several murders occur shortly thereafter; all evidence points to Alex, who insists that his cherub-faced doll is responsible. Detective Chris Sarandon, the man responsible for Dourif's death, doesn't swallow Alex's story, but he agrees to investigate because he's sweet on Alex's mom. The slasher-flick ending of Child's Play would seem to have settled Chuckie's hash for good and all, but guess again--the film spawned numerous sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, (more)
Mississippi Burning is an all-names-changed dramatization of the Ku Klux Klan's murders of three civil rights workers in 1964. Investigating the mysterious disappearances of the three activists are FBI agents Gene Hackman (older, wiser) and Willem Dafoe (younger, idealistic). A Southerner himself, Hackman charms and cajoles his way through the tight-lipped residents of a dusty Mississippi town while Dafoe acts upon the evidence gleaned by his partner. Hackman solves the case by exerting his influence upon beauty-parlor worker Frances McDormand, who wishes to exact revenge for the beatings inflicted upon her by her Klan-connected husband Brad Dourif. Many critics took the film to task for its implication that the Civil Rights movement might never have gained momentum without its white participants; nor were the critics happy that the FBI was shown to utilize tactics as brutal as the Klan's. The title Mississippi Burning is certainly appropriate: nearly half the film is taken up with scenes of smoke and flame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, (more)
Rita Rizzoli (Whoopi Goldberg) is a crusading narcotics cop assigned to track down the source of some killer crack cocaine in this pretentious and preachy anti-drug crime drama. Rita poses as a prostitute and is soon hot after two small-time hoods (Brad Dourif and Mike Jolly) who murder their way up the drug-dealing ladder in hopes of becoming kingpins. Cheech Marin and Catherine Blore provide interesting cameos in this feature that co-stars Ruben Blades and Sam Elliott. Contains stereotypical characters and gratuitous violence. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Sam Elliott, (more)
- 1986
Richard Beymer guest stars as Father McDonovan, a priest who thinks he's fallen in love. The object of his affections is a woman whom he has never seen, but whose voice he has heard in Confession on a weekly basis. Private eyes David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) are brought into the situation when the woman announces her intention to commit suicide--then disappears! Jessica Harper appears as the "mystery" woman, who turns out to have more than a few surprises up her sleeve. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG
As this Catholic-oriented drama opens, a definition of purgatory is offered by Dame Judith Anderson and then four men are seen sitting in a drab, nondescript room. One (John Putch) is a soldier who died in Vietnam, and the others range from a businessman (Terry Beaver) to a husband and father (Brad Dourif). The four soon discover that they went to the same Catholic school together during the 1960s, and they trace their youthful careers. Mixed with jokes and ribbing about a Catholic school education, the memories of the four are alternately humorous or insightful, given their current situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Putch, Terry Beaver, (more)
- 1986
This two-part TV movie was the sequel to the ratings-grabbing 1983 miniseries Rage of Angels; both were based on the best-seller by Sidney Sheldon. Jaclyn Smith returns as dynamic New York trial lawyer Jennifer Parker, while Ken Howard likewise reprises his role as Jennifer's married lover, politician Adam Warner. Since villain Michael Moretti (Armand Assante) was killed off in Rage of Angels, we are left with Moretti's vengeful brother James (Michael Nouri) in the sequel. Part One, which aired November 2, 1986, recaps the events of the past six years and introduces mobster Moretti. Part Two, telecast November 3, reunites Jennifer with her long-lost mother (Angela Lansbury), while Moretti blackmails Senate-bound Adam Warner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Director David Lynch crafted this hallucinogenic mystery-thriller that probes beneath the cheerful surface of suburban America to discover sadomasochistic violence, corruption, drug abuse, crime and perversion. Kyle Maclachlan stars as Jeffrey Beaumont, a square-jawed young man who returns to his picture-perfect small town when his father suffers a stroke. Walking through a field near his home, Jeff discovers a severed human ear, which he immediately brings to the police. Their disinterest sparks Jeff's curiosity, and he is soon drawn into a dangerous drama that's being played out by a lounge singer, Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and the ether-addicted Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper). The sociopathic Booth has kidnapped Dorothy's young son and is using the child as a bargaining chip to repeatedly beat, humiliate and rape Dorothy. Though he's drawn to the virginal, wholesome Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), Jeff is also aroused by Dorothy and in trying to aid her, he discovers his dark side. As the film nears its conclusion, our hero learns that many more indivduals are tacitly involved with Frank, including a suave, lip-synching singer, Ben (Dean Stockwell), who is minding the kidnapped boy. Director Lynch explored many similar themes of the "disease" lying just under the surface of the small town, all-American façade in his later television series Twin Peaks (1990-91). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
David Lynch wades through dark waters in his adaptation of Frank Herbert's cult science fiction novel. In condensing Herbert's rambling and complex book by eliminating characters and compacting events, Lynch succeeds in rendering the story incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the novel and making the film look like a sketchy greatest hits collection of the book for Herbert fans. The story takes place in the year 10,191. The universe is governed through a system of feudal rule, presided over by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (José Ferrer), who appears to take his marching orders from something that resembles a talking vagina. In the kingdom are two rival houses -- the House of Atreides and the House of Harkonnen. Each house is trying to gain dominion over the universe, but that dominion can only be gained by the house that controls the Spice, a special substance that permits the folding of time. The Spice is only available on the desert world of Arrakis, or Dune. Shaddam, tired of the feuding between the two houses, permits the Atreides to take over the Spice production on Dune, while secretly working with the Harkonnens to launch a sneak attack on the Atreides and destroy them. The leader of the Atreides is Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), who rules with the help of his concubine Jessica (Francesca Annis) and son Paul (Kyle MacLachlan). The rival Harkonnens are headed by the pus-oozing degenerate Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan, in a thoroughly through-the-roof performance) and his two unsavory nephews, Rabban (Paul L. Smith) and Feyd (Sting). When his father is murdered by the Harkonnens, Paul escapes to Dune, where he is greeted by the Fremen (the desert dwellers on Dune who prepare the Spice) as the messiah foretold in Fremen legend. Paul assumes the mantle of messiah and leads the Fremen in a revolt that topples the balance of power in the universe. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francesca Annis, Leo Cimino, (more)
- 1982
This made-for-TV movie was initially shown under the title I, Desire. Coroner's aide David Naughton can't understand why one of the corpses under his care has been drained of blood. Doing a little detective work on his own, Naughton follows the trail of clues to sexy streetwalker Marilyn Jones. Could it be that this far-from-happy hooker is a vampire? Dorian Harewood costars as the detective on the case. I Desire originally aired November 15, 1982, two weeks too late for Halloween. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
E. L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime was a sprawling fictional account of American manners and mores in the years between 1900 and 1913. Among the mosaic of colorful factual and fictional characters in the novel were escape artist Harry Houdini and radical Emma Goldman. Both characters are all but eliminated in the film version, which only concentrates on three of Doctorow's many plot threads: The story of an immigrant artist (Mandy Patinkin) who becomes a movie director; the saga of "Gibson Girl" Evelyn Nesbit Shaw (Elizabeth McGovern), for whose sake playboy Harry K. Thaw (Robert Joy); kills architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) and a lone black man's (Howard Rollins Jr.) quest for justice when his car is destroyed by a racist fire chief (Kenneth McMillan). This last subplot consumes most of the film's running time, to the overall detriment of the pacing. There are also several scenes involving an unnamed upper-middle-class family (headed by James Olson and Mary Steenburgen) who are evidently meant to be the audience's eyes and ears, but are frankly not terribly interesting. Back in 1981, Ragtime was given plenty of press coverage as the "comeback" picture for James Cagney, after twenty years in retirement. The problem is that Cagney's character (a police commissioner) isn't in the book, and his inclusion not only throws the story off balance, but necessitates the removal of several potentially interesting characters and events. Another detriment is the gratuitous (and illogical) nudity in the Evelyn Nesbit scenes, which earned the film its "R" rating. An ornate misfire, Ragtime is of interest today only for its remarkable cast of veterans and stars-to-be, including Pat O'Brien and Eloise O'Brien, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Allen, Moses Gunn, Jeff Daniels and Fran Drescher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Brad Dourif, (more)
A notorious artistic and financial failure, Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate was blamed for critically wounding the movie Western and definitively ushering out the 1970s Hollywood New Wave of young, brash, independent filmmakers. Taking a revisionist, post-Vietnam view of American imperialism, Cimino used the historical Johnson County War incident in Wyoming to create an impressionistic tapestry of Western conflict between poor immigrant settlers and rich cattle barons led by Canton (Sam Waterston) and his hired gun Nate Champion (Christopher Walken). Attempting to mediate is idealistic Harvard graduate and county marshal Averill (Kris Kristofferson), who is both Nate's friend and his romantic rival for the affections of Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). However, war erupts, at great cost to all involved. Flush from his success with the Oscar-winning The Deer Hunter (1978), Cimino demanded creative control, and his insistence on shooting on location and building historically accurate sets and props multiplied the film's original budget to a then-astronomical $36 million. When United Artists premiered the original 219-minute version (sight unseen), they discovered that Cimino had produced an elliptical epic, compounding the box-office difficulties of making a Western without any major stars. Critics howled about Cimino's incomprehensible self-indulgence, and United Artists pulled the film after several days. Re-released five months later, 70 minutes shorter, Heaven's Gate bombed again, and MGM bought out the financially crippled United Artists. The ailing Western genre virtually vanished during the 1980s, Cimino's career never recovered, and Hollywood studios had had enough of bankrolling financially risky ventures by "auteur" directors. Heaven's Gate's reputation recovered somewhat after its video release, as it garnered praise from some viewers for such visually remarkable sequences as the Harvard dance and the final battle, as well as for David Mansfield's haunting score. Steven Bach's book Final Cut provides a full production history. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, (more)
- 1980
- Add Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones to QueueAdd Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones to top of Queue
This two-part TV movie was, of course, sparked by the November 1978 mass suicide of 913 people at the South American religious "colony" of Jonestown. The catalyst for this tragedy was cult-leader Reverend Jim Jones (played by Powers Boothe, who won an Emmy for his performance), head of the so-called People's Temple. The film traces the life of Jones from his days as an idealistic 1960s activist. He drifts into penny-ante confidence scams and bed-hops from woman to woman, before electing to pass himself off as a modern messiah--eventually believing his own feverish sermons. The climactic scenes are chillingly staged in a near-documentary fashion, with Puerto Rico and Georgia substituting for Guyana. Ned Beatty plays the ill-fated Representative Leo Ryan, while James Earl Jones has a cameo as 1930s religious-leader Father Divine; most of the other main characters are composites of real people. Originally broadcast April 15 and 16, 1980, The Guyana Tragedy was adapted by Ernest Tidyman from the Washington Post and Charles A. Krause's Guyana Massacre: An Eyewitness Account. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Powers Boothe, Veronica Cartwright, (more)
Set in the Deep South during the postwar era, Wise Blood stars Brad Dourif as an aimless veteran, who decides to become a Bible-thumping preacher (for a questionable concern called "The Church Wihout Christ") principally because he hasn't anything better lined up. Dourif links up with a veteran of the hellfire-and-brimstone circuit, who for business purposes pretends to be blind. The older man persuades Dourif to blind himself for real so that he can truly "see the light" (yes, the movie is that weird). Director Huston, himself, appears as Dourif's grandfather. Adapted from the one-of-a-kind novel by Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood was a noble experiment but a box-office failure-though, to be fair, Huston never set out to make a blockbuster from O'Connor's offbeat tale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Dourif, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1979
Adapted from the once-notorious trilogy of novels by James T. Farrell, the three-part miniseres Studs Lonigan isn't quite as earthy and explicit as its source, but is lot more faithful to the original than the 1960 film version. Set in Chicago and covering the years from 1916 to 1931, this is the story of a brawling, braggadocio young Irish-American lad named Studs Lonigan (played as a child by Dan Shor, and as an adult by Harry Hamlin in his first major TV role). Despite his rough veneer, Studs is sensitive and concerned about his future, though he doesn't want to follow the values set forth by his tradition-bound parents (Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst). Hanging around with his childhood buddies, Studs gets into all sorts of scrapes and becomes involved with a number of women, notably the decent, demure Catherine (Diana Scarwid) and the lusty, libidinous Lucy (Lisa Pelikan). Though he grows in age and size, Studs has trouble maturing emotionally, surrounded by the pressures of a rough, prejudice-ridden neighborhood and the increasing hooliganism of his cronies. As the Depression crashes heavily upon the scene, Studs finds himself "trapped" in the very sort of middle-class quagmire that he'd always hoped to avoid. Earning an Emmy Award for art/set direction, the 6-hour Studs Lonigan originally aired March 7, 14 and 21, 1979, as part of NBC's Novels for Television anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A shutterbug is haunted by psychic visions of the killer who is murdering all of her friends in this hit thriller. Intense and driven, successful photographer Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) has made a name for herself by juxtaposing sex and violence in her glamorous photos. But at the height of her success -- and just as a media backlash is brewing -- she begins to experience daydreams from the point of view of a serial killer as he relentlessly stalks and murders her associates. Her unbalanced ex-husband (Raul Julia) seems like an obvious suspect, especially when his new girlfriend is murdered and he goes on the lam. But Laura is shocked by the prospect that the killer could be somebody out to discredit her work, which she views as an artistic commentary on the degradation of the modern world. Under the protection of police detective John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones), Laura is unable to save even one of her friends from a violent end. Soon, she finds herself inside the mind of the killer as he marches down a familiar hallway: the one outside her own door. Co-written by Halloween director John Carpenter, Eyes of Laura Mars also features character actors Brad Dourif and René Auberjonois. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1978
This made-for-TV movie begins in 1975, when Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich (Brad Dourif), a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, faces a court-martial and possible discharge. Matlovich's "offense:" He is an admitted homosexual. Knowing full well that the military has a long-standing ban on gays, Matlovich deliberately makes public his sexual preferences in order to test the ban in court. John McGreevey's teleplay is based on actual court transcripts, with no deviations from the facts at hand. Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force was originally telecast August 21, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The West German/French Group Portrait with Lady (Gluppenbild mit Dame) is based on a bestselling novel by Heinrich Böll. The film is a string of anecdotes, some longer than others, related to the topic of German war guilt. The main plotline involves German woman Romy Schneider's affair with Russian prisoner of war Brad Dourif. Through an occasionally confusing series of flashbacks, we discover Schneider's ultimate fate, and also solve the mystery of the Jewish girl buried in a convent cemetary. Romy Schneider won several German film awards for her participation in this 100-minute elegy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romy Schneider, Michel Galabru, (more)
