A newly promoted female detective gets involved with a photographer who may very well be a psychopath, in leather suit and mask with zippers(he looks like the gimp from PULP FICTION, except with a little more girth)whose victims are mostly S&M prostitutes.
When Mayor Harris(Trisha Melynkov)demands that someone be arrested as an election is looming and her numbers plummet due to the killer remaining at large, detective Lisa Ryder's(Donna Adams)new love, S&M photographer(he also photographs head shots for hookers hoping to model)Michael Walker(Jonathan Mandell)becomes the main suspect due to his closeness with the first victim.
Veteran detective Harry Shine(David Clover), at first, isn't happy that his partner, Willy Scalia(Richard Vidan)was assigned desk duty, handed the zipperface case and rookie Lisa. Harris thought it would be a nice PR move for her new campaign to give Lisa a promotion over Willy and he doesn't take it very well. Lisa is reminded of just how disgruntled Scalia is every day he remains at the station while she is out on the streets with his partner. Meanwhile, Lisa's relationship with Walker is tested, as is her career, when he becomes the top suspect and Harris wants him arrested(Walker knows the mayor needs that arrest and would be willing to put an innocent man, who MIGHT be guilty just so she could be reelected, away), threatening Chief of Police, Wexford(Harold Cannon)the loss of his badge if he doesn't apprehend the supposed killer.
The film offers possibilities of who the zipperface killer might be. Walker has taken photos of bondage and is shown gripping Lisa's next firmly with his hands(not to mention Mandell has "psycho eyes"). Scalia talks about staying up late at nights as a reason for arriving to work late the past few mornings(one of the reasons he was sent to the desk). Mayor Harris' PR man, Devon McClain(Timothy D. Lechner)arrives to his boss' office with a suitcase..when it lands on the floor, opening to reveal chains and leather.
Like many other slashers in the past, each questionable suspect is eventually proved innocent until the great Scooby twist shows us who it really is, the zipper mask is taken off and...it's a laughable revelation that bookends a series of silly plot developments. The mayor commits a really dopey act at the end which is preposterous, even if it comes out of an angered response to what the great revelation MIGHT do to her political career. Instead of surprise us with who the zipperface killer might be, we get a secondary character barely in the movie enough to register any importance whatsoever. I was like, "Okay, that is the killer?!" Anyway, ZIPPERFACE, truth be told, is more of a detective thriller, absent the thrills or suspense. The movie opens right in the middle of a shootout with the police, quite a jarring way to introduce us to the characters. It does provide us with an understanding of how Scalia is about women police, how pigheaded and rude he is towards female cops promoted to a higher rank. He revels in the fact that Lisa falls for a suspect, damaging her credibility as the two go on the lam to find the real killer to clear Walker's name. I like the idea of a slasher movie having a female detective, as it does add a new dynamic rarely used in this genre. The killer's costume and motive for targeting his victims are a bit off the wall which might be of interest to slasher fans, but, other than that, nothing fresh or that worthwhile to report here.
When Mayor Harris(Trisha Melynkov)demands that someone be arrested as an election is looming and her numbers plummet due to the killer remaining at large, detective Lisa Ryder's(Donna Adams)new love, S&M photographer(he also photographs head shots for hookers hoping to model)Michael Walker(Jonathan Mandell)becomes the main suspect due to his closeness with the first victim.
Veteran detective Harry Shine(David Clover), at first, isn't happy that his partner, Willy Scalia(Richard Vidan)was assigned desk duty, handed the zipperface case and rookie Lisa. Harris thought it would be a nice PR move for her new campaign to give Lisa a promotion over Willy and he doesn't take it very well. Lisa is reminded of just how disgruntled Scalia is every day he remains at the station while she is out on the streets with his partner. Meanwhile, Lisa's relationship with Walker is tested, as is her career, when he becomes the top suspect and Harris wants him arrested(Walker knows the mayor needs that arrest and would be willing to put an innocent man, who MIGHT be guilty just so she could be reelected, away), threatening Chief of Police, Wexford(Harold Cannon)the loss of his badge if he doesn't apprehend the supposed killer.
The film offers possibilities of who the zipperface killer might be. Walker has taken photos of bondage and is shown gripping Lisa's next firmly with his hands(not to mention Mandell has "psycho eyes"). Scalia talks about staying up late at nights as a reason for arriving to work late the past few mornings(one of the reasons he was sent to the desk). Mayor Harris' PR man, Devon McClain(Timothy D. Lechner)arrives to his boss' office with a suitcase..when it lands on the floor, opening to reveal chains and leather.
Like many other slashers in the past, each questionable suspect is eventually proved innocent until the great Scooby twist shows us who it really is, the zipper mask is taken off and...it's a laughable revelation that bookends a series of silly plot developments. The mayor commits a really dopey act at the end which is preposterous, even if it comes out of an angered response to what the great revelation MIGHT do to her political career. Instead of surprise us with who the zipperface killer might be, we get a secondary character barely in the movie enough to register any importance whatsoever. I was like, "Okay, that is the killer?!" Anyway, ZIPPERFACE, truth be told, is more of a detective thriller, absent the thrills or suspense. The movie opens right in the middle of a shootout with the police, quite a jarring way to introduce us to the characters. It does provide us with an understanding of how Scalia is about women police, how pigheaded and rude he is towards female cops promoted to a higher rank. He revels in the fact that Lisa falls for a suspect, damaging her credibility as the two go on the lam to find the real killer to clear Walker's name. I like the idea of a slasher movie having a female detective, as it does add a new dynamic rarely used in this genre. The killer's costume and motive for targeting his victims are a bit off the wall which might be of interest to slasher fans, but, other than that, nothing fresh or that worthwhile to report here.