Cassian Elwes Movies

Writer/director Adam Rifkin's The Dark Backward is set in a dark, grimy, garbage-strewn urban netherworld, where a company named "Blump's" apparently owns everything. Marty Malt (Judd Nelson of The Breakfast Club) is an unhappy garbageman who moonlights as an atrociously unfunny standup comic. His best friend and fellow trash collector, Gus (Bill Paxton), is the only one who laughs at his jokes, and his sincerity is questionable. The obnoxiously exuberant Gus plays an accordion, which he always carries with him. Marty is seeing Rosarita (Lara Flynn Boyle), a waitress, but she doesn't seem too interested in him, either. One day, Gus convinces a talent agent, Jackie Chrome (Las Vegas circuit staple Wayne Newton), to check out Marty's act. Jackie isn't impressed. Marty's luck seems to take a turn for the worse when a large lump starts growing on his back. He goes to a quack doctor (James Caan), who calls him a wimp and puts a Band-Aid on the lump. The lump continues to grow, eventually becoming a full-sized arm. While Gus uses Marty's newfound freakishness to impress his obese girlfriends, a horrified Rosarita breaks up with Marty, and he gets fired from the club where he does his act. Marty is despondent until Gus brings him to see Jackie, who, it turns out, has always dreamed of finding a real three-armed comic. Re-christened "Desi the Three-Armed Wonder Comic," and with Gus now providing musical accompaniment, Marty gets a fresh start on his career. The Dark Backward received devastating reviews upon its initial release, but has since developed a minor cult following. The film also stars Rob Lowe and King Moody, who was the original Ronald McDonald. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

A pair of garbage workers (Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez) are shocked to find the body of a city councilman in one of their trash cans. With help from a supervisor (Keith David), the duo must solve the case and find the man's killer while hiding the body from the cops. Estevez also directed and provided the screenplay for Men at Work. ~ John Bush, Rovi

When a suicidal woman meets up with a wayward young man, the two develop a strong relationship as they find comfort and sympathy in one another. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

The leader of a group of misfits (Keith Carradine), his girlfriend (Sally Kirkland) and a hit man (Tom Waits!) hatch a bizarre plan to smuggle stolen jewels across the Mexican/American border by means of implanting them in a racehorse surgically. ~ John Bush, Rovi

The "Jack" who's "back" in this contemporary chiller is none other than Jack the Ripper. The scene is Los Angeles: the time is August of 1988, exactly 100 years after the Ripper's original reign of terror in Whitechapel. When several LA prostitutes turn up murdered and disemboweled, young physician James Spader is accused of emulating Spring Heel'd Jack. Before the film is half over, Spader is killed, and so far as the police are concerned, the case is closed. But then, Spader's twin brother appears on the scene, determined to track down the genuine culprit (if it doesn't turn out to be him, that is!). Handled with restraint, Jack's Back covers much of the same ground as the classic Robert Bloch tale Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," though its crucial plot twist is a tad more clever (if a bit silly out of context). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A stylish take on the woman in jeopardy and mad killer genres, White of the Eye poses the question, What would you do if you suspected your loving husband to be a serial killer? Arizonan Paul White (David Keith) is an expert at installing high-end stereo systems in the homes of wealthy citizens. He has been married to Joan (Cathy Moriarty) for ten years, having seduced her away from a violent criminal, Mike DeSantos (Alan Rosenberg). A series of brutal murders of well-to-do women has citizens of Paul and Joan's town on edge. When evidence at the scene of the second murder points to Paul, Joan tries to fend off the suspicions of police detective Charles Mendoza (Art J. Evans), even as she begins to see signs of violence in her husband that confirm the accusation. Director Donald Cammell, who co-wrote the script with his wife China, offers a fragmented narrative characterized by quick cutting; subjective, handheld camera work; and optical tricks that suggest the unraveling of Paul's mind. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Nomads is a scary, supernatural horror movie without blood and guts and gore or bouts of eroticism. Pierce Brosnan is Pommier, an anthropologist who has spent years researching the nomads in some of the coldest and hottest parts of the globe. Apparently, his research went too far, because now he is haunted by evil nomad spirits who do not look much different than some of the '90s teens with purple or green hair, chalky-white faces with dark mascara, and clothes to match. As he starts out hunting down these beings, scenes of a young female doctor (Lesley-Anne Down) fighting off an evil spirit are also shown. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi