Prostitutes are being killed in copycat fashion of the Jack the Ripper murders exactly 100 years on, only this time London is swapped for Los Angeles, California. There is quite a curveball in the plot 30 minutes in when the likeable leading character is brutally killed, enter his estranged and identical twin brother, who sees his murder in a dream and is determined to hunt down the killer. James Spader is alright in the duo role but sadly some of the other cast members acting is of the wooden variety. Despite a few twists and red herrings the identity of the real killer is obvious early on, so no great surprise at the end when his identity is revealed. There are a couple of decent horror scenes but overall this film is more of a suspense crime thriller, slasher and gore fans best give this a miss. The plot is rather slow and the overuse of dramatic 1980's music gets annoying, though it does have some good shots of downtown LA. I was a bit surprised that this got a theatrical release, it looks more like a made for TV or straight to video movie. It is a reasonable watch but I would not give it another viewing. I did chuckle when reading the closing credits and saw that "Fatman" was played by one Brian "Fats" Bender! Jack won't be back on my TV!
Review of Jack's Back
