David Wallace Movies
Lead actor, onscreen from the '80s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1983
- R
In this murder mystery, a daughter begins to suspect that her father's death was not an accident after she observes her mother and a mortician during a seance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
This plodding horror bore from Prom Night director (and one-time softcore porn-maker) Paul Lynch slogs through Friday the 13th territory with a tale of standard teen slasher-fodder falling victim to a shambling subhuman killer. This particular crop of annoying kids has stolen Daddy's boat for a sex-and-drug-filled orgy on a remote island. Sadly for them, the island is inhabited by packs of wild dogs and a shaggy Mongoloid. The Bigfoot-like behemoth is apparently the spawn of a savage coupling between a slavering rapist and a former female resident of the island. It lopes about, chopping and bludgeoning the teens (who are particularly obnoxious, even for a film of this sort). Whatever interest this deathly dull flick may have mustered is completely obscured by some of the murkiest cinematography on record; the fact that nearly every scene is shrouded in complete darkness may prove a blessing in disguise. The film's ad campaign sported the slogan "God help us," which could easily have been a plea from the film's financial investors. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Julian, David Wallace, (more)
Remember that controversial participation game of the 1980s called "Dungeons and Dragons"? Remember how sociologists warned us that the game was potentially dangerous to those who couldn't altogether separate fantasy from reality. This is the premise of Mazes and Monsters, a made-for-TV film based on the best-seller by Rona Jaffee. Future Oscar-winner Tom Hanks portrays one of four college students who become so deeply involved in a Mazes & Monsters session that the results may turn fatal at any moment. Despite its potential for silly sensationalism, the film is based on a believable premise, and arrives at a logical conclusion. When first aired December 28, 1982, this Canadian-American production was titled Rona Jaffee's Mazes and Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
Sure to generate conversation, this provocative drama tells the story of how a middle-class family is torn apart when their clean-cut high-achieving son, who has the potential of making it on the Olympic gymnast team, suddenly joins a religious cult. The parents become deeply worried and try to get him back. The twist is that, unlike other movie religious cults, the leader of this one is not terribly evil even though he does strongly indoctrinate his followers. The members of his group are good people who do good deeds for others. Unfortunately, the parents don't see it this way and so hire a free-lance deprogrammer to "rescue" their son and force him through a deprogramming process that traumatizes him more than the cult did. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Keefe, Karen Allen, (more)
- 1982
A high-school guidance counselor is about to retire and decides to finance his golden years with a plot to steal $50 million, and he enlists the help of two elderly people. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Underpublicized and underappreciated, the US ice hockey team heads for the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York. Driven a manner than can be described as merciless by coach Herb Brooks (Karl Malden), the team has learned how to swallow months of defeat and disappointment press on to success. The result: A stunning victory over the high-profile Russian and Finnish skating teams. Actual scenes from the Olympic finals are seamlessly blended with recreations of the event in this made-for-TV movie. Miracle on Ice costars Andrew Stevens as team captain Mike Eruzione. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Historically, most multiple-personality cases have been women. Based on the autobiographical book by Henry Hawksworth, The Five of Me centers on a rare male victim of this bizarre syndrome. David Birney plays Hawksworth, who for his first 36 years lived with four separate personalities. When a fifth manifested itself, the other four displayed reactions ranging from petulant to sadistic. Dee Wallace co-stars as Hawksworth's wife Ann ("Ann is married to five men!" screamed the insensitive ad copy for this film). Made for television, The Five of Me was first broadcast on May 12, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
Crown International's leading sleaze director, Hikmet Avedis (The Fifth Floor) was behind this bloody horror film. Greg and Christie are a young married couple who are investigating the mysterious death of Christie's father. Their search takes them to mortician Hank Andrews (Christopher George), who leads a Satanic cult along with his demented son Paul (Bill Paxton in an early role). However, even Christie's own mother (Lynda Day George) may be in on the series of embalming-needle murders surrounding the mortuary. This occasionally creepy chiller co-stars horror regulars Michael Berryman, Paul Smith, and Alvy Moore. Porn auteur Gary Graver (aka Robert McCallum) was the cinematographer. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary McDonough, David Wallace, (more)
- 1980
The Babysitter is sweet-faced Stephanie Zimbalist, who is hired as housekeeper by married couple Patty Duke Astin and William Shatner. As she takes care of the couple's daughter (Quinn Cummings), Zimbalist slowly, subtly poisons the child's mind against her parents. She then sets about to seduce Shatner, fully intending to ruin his relationship with Astin. While not as horrific as the similar theatrical feature The Hand That Rock the Cradle (1992), The Babysitter is unsettling enough to give married viewers pause before hiring their own nannies. John Houseman does a "special guest star" stint in this made-for-TV melodrama, which first aired November 28, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
