Priscilla Barnes Movies

An agoraphobic heroin addict seeks redemption by growing the rare and beautiful flower that will help him win the town's Garden of the Year contest in this off-beat black comedy featuring Rip Torn, Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, and Cloris Leachman. Ethan Inglebrink (Ronnie Gene Blevins) lives in a homogeneous California town where nothing ever happens. A misfit clad in a powder-blue tux, he's convinced his poker buddies and surrogate moms Roe (Diane Ladd), Sandy (Leachman), and Lou Anne (Lin Shaye) that he's a diabetic, and his needles are for insulin rather than heroin. His next-door neighbor is his landlord and former high school football coach Trevor O'Hart (Torn), who wants nothing more than to kick Ethan out on the street. Complicating matters even further is that fact that Ethan's older brother Todd (Kilmer), the local sheriff, is convinced that his brother can only be saved by an act of God, and recruits the family priest (Peter Falk) to get the job done. Meanwhile, as the Garden of the Year competition draws near, Ethan becomes convinced that he can take the 10,000-dollar top prize and pay off his delinquent rent if he can just grow the perfect American Cowslip. Little does Ethan realize that salvation may lie not in the money he could win for growing a rare flower, but with the kind companionship and understanding offered by his 17-year-old neighbor Georgia (Hanna Hall), who longs to escape her abusive father (Dern). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A psychotic madman with a penchant for sadistic riddles and impossible timelines corrals three unsuspecting individuals into a deadly game in which death draws closer with every second in director Robby Henson's dark, labyrinthine thriller. When the mysterious serial killer known as the Riddle Killer orders naïve seminary student Kevin Parson (Marc Blucas) to confess an unknown sin from his past, the clock soon begins to tick for this future man of the cloth. Fortunately for Kevin, police profiler Jennifer Peters (Justine Waddell) is determined to capture the elusive murderer before he strikes again. A well-known author who specializes in the subject of serial killers, Jennifer was scarred for life when she was previously targeted by the Riddle Killer and forced to watch as her brother was brutally murdered right before her eyes. As Jennifer and Kevin join forces to catch the Riddle Killer and end his murderous killing spree, Kevin's childhood friend Samantha (Laura Jordan) -- a former FBI agent-turned-insurance investigator -- returns to protect her friend, even if it means risking her own life. Now, with the minutes ticking away as Kevin struggles to recall the childhood sin that threatens to bring about his untimely demise, the three desperate souls journey into a grim world where your closest friend could be your worst enemy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Heart of the Beholder tells the harrowing true-life tale of an entrepreneurial young couple who owned an operated St. Louis' first videocassette rental store, and the challenges faced by their growing family when religious zealots from Rev. Donald Wildmon's National Federation for Decency (later renamed the American Family Association) launched a frightening campaign designed to intimidate them into removing movies deemed by the group to be ". . .obscene or a detriment to the community and its children." When Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ was originally released on home video, the majority of St. Louis video stores buckled to pressures by religious groups not to offer the film for rental. Ken and Carol Tipton - owners of a videocassette rental store known as the Video Library - refused to give in to the demands of the group they saw as modern day book burners, and as a result their store was picketed, and the life of their young daughter threatened. When the Tiptons refused to give in to the demands of the NFD, the case went to court. Unfortunately for the Tiptons, the NFD used scandalous information about the Prosecuting Attorney's secret sex life to blackmail the prosecutor. Later, due to the misuse of RICO racketeering laws, multiple movies from the Tiptons' store were confiscated before the jury found even a single video obscene. After the prosecutor made vague and damning references indicating that the Tiptons had ties to organized crime, the family was shunned by the community. Yet while the Tiptons subsequently emerged victorious in two court cases, the damage had already been done: Negative publicity had caused the family to become fragmented, and mounting court fees forced their business to go bankrupt. Later divorced from his wife and stuck in a suicidal depression, Ken ultimately made an accidental discovery that would not only turn his life around, but also expose the corruption and hypocrisy that nearly destroyed him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The only key to solving the riddle behind a shocking crime might be finding a woman who was driven mad by the tragedy in this horror story. A handful of college students are killed and mutilated during a camping trip, and the authorities, concerned about the gruesome crime, call in a secret military unit who has been trained to track information on unusually violent crimes. When their time-tested techniques of forensic science and aggressive interviewing don't bring results, the military authorities call upon the only survivor of the attack for help. However, Kate (Megan Molloy) was severely traumatized by the killings, and has been committed to a mental institution; can they find a way to break her out of the asylum so she can come to their aid? Produced as a sequel to the 1999 thriller Unseen Evil, Alien 3000 (aka Unseen Evil 2) also stars Lorenzo Lamas and Priscilla Barnes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this horror story liberally laced with comedy, an up-and-coming rock band called the Wiseguys are making their first music video and they are shooting on standing sets at a major Hollywood studio. Some of the world's best-known horror films were shot there and the band and their director plan on milking the spooky ambience for all it's worth. However, it turns out there are more than just pretend scares in store for the band -- it seems a masked murderer is stalking the studio lot, and is re-creating a number of well-known death scenes, with the band and their girlfriends as unfortunate "extras." The Back Lot Murders stars Priscilla Barnes, Corey Haim, Charles Fleischer, and David DeFalco. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Lawrence Kasdan wrote and directed this comedy about a young psychologist named Mumford (Loren Dean), who arrives in a small town and sets up a practice. Mumford's style is short on analytic mumbo-jumbo and long on practical advice, and he soon finds that he has a long list of satisfied clients in his new home town, including many of the city's most prominent citizens. Mumford's advice also helps love bloom among the city's single residents. However, the city already had a psychologist, Ernest Delbanco (David Paymer), who is quickly losing business to Mumford. So Ernest starts asking questions: who is this Mumford, and just what are his qualifications? Mumford's supporting cast includes Ted Danson, Martin Short, Alfre Woodard, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this offbeat thriller, Ann (Amy Locane) is a young woman trying to put her life back together after she lost her child in a car wreck. Formerly a single mother, Ann has recently started dating a man named Tom (William McNamera), and one day Tom asks Ann for a favor -- would she be willing to baby sit for his boss' daughter? Ann agrees, and she soon finds herself becoming quite fond of the little girl. However, before long, Ann discovers Tom has something less than honest up his sleeve -- the child is actually the victim in a kidnapping scheme, and Ann has been made an accomplice against her will. Also shown under the title Wishful Thinking, Implicated also stars Frederic Forrest and Priscilla Barnes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Anthony Michael Hall and Cynthia Geary star in this suspense drama in which a group of hikers spending a relaxing weekend in the woods happen upon a cache of stolen gold. However, the violent thugs who stole it happen upon the hikers, who must now fight for survival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sean Penn wrote and directed this tale of loss, guilt, and revenge. The daughter of Freddy and Mary Gale (Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston) was killed by a drunk driver, John Booth (David Morse). The death of their child took a heavy toll on the Gales; their marriage broke up, and, while Mary has remarried and attempted to put her life back together, Freddy has become an embittered alcoholic, seething with directionless rage and searching for a purpose in life. Freddy intends to kill Booth as soon as he's released from prison, as he believes that jail was not a severe enough punishment for his daughter's death. But Freddy discovers that Booth is still wracked with guilt for his crime and can barely live with himself. He tells Booth that he has three days left to live; Booth tries to find solace in the arms of artist Jojo (Robin Wright), while Freddy continues to wallow in alcohol and self-pity at a strip club. The Crossing Guard also features an original song by Bruce Springsteen; Penn's previous directorial outing, The Indian Runner, was loosely based on a Springsteen song from his album Nebraska. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A resourceful and spirited woman leads a band of orphans across war-torn China to safety in this Taiwanese drama set in 1947 during the nationalist and communist conflict. May Jean goes to work for Catholic school after her husband is killed for deserting the communist army. At the school she meets Sister Helen who teaches 40 Chinese orphans. May Jean must take the children to safety after Sister Helen is injured. Her goal is to reach a ship that is preparing to sail to the U.S. They will have to walk for 20 days through the middle of the fighting to make it. While they march, another American nun and a diplomat battle it out. She wants the ship to wait for the children. He says it cannot. Will the children make it on time? Will May Jean get to accompany them? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A co-ed has a devil of a time getting even with the members of an upper-crust sorority in this horror-comedy. Becky (Veronica Carothers) is a pretty but woefully naïve college student who is determined to join the most exclusive sorority on campus. However, her would-be sisters seem to be more interested in putting her through one embarrassing hazing ritual after another than making friends with her. One night, Becky muses out loud that she'd be willing to sell her soul to be rich, pretty, and powerful like her sorority sisters. Who should conveniently appear but the Devil himself (Robert Vaughn), who informs Becky that he can make her dream a reality. Becky takes him up on the offer, and she's transformed into Leslie, a dazzling sex bomb who can shape-shift into a monster and wreck revenge against her enemies whenever the fancy strikes her. Witch Academy also stars Priscilla Barnes, Michelle Bauer, and Jay Richardson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Television fans fed up with the state of TV talk shows might get a kick from the 1992 Perry Mason TV movie The Case of the Reckless Romeo. The title character, a video personality who's just written a tell-all autobiography, is played by none other than Geraldo Rivera. When the future O.J. Simpson-obsessed talk host is murdered, actress Amy Steel is accused of murder. Mason (Raymond Burr) sets about to prove her innocence. When first telecast on May 6, 1992, The Case of the Reckless Romeo was advertised with the tag line "Geraldo gets killed!" Reports of dancing in the streets remain unconfirmed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi